George's one idea was to run away, but the remarkable part of the
adventure was that it seemed to be impossible to shake off that from
which he was trying to escape.
A moment later he arrived at camp and spying his three friends seated
around the fire he made his way towards them. As soon as he reached the
spot where they were he threw himself upon the ground and commenced to
moan and groan violently.
"Oh, dear, oh, dear," he cried. "What have I done? What have I done?"
"Why, Pop!" exclaimed Grant in alarm. "What's the matter with--"
He broke off suddenly in the midst of the sentence and looked at George
in horror. All sympathy for the sufferer quickly left him.
"Get out of here!" he cried, but not waiting for George to leave he
departed quickly himself. He was accompanied by Fred and John who seemed
to be stricken with some strange malady, a mixture of anguish and
laughter.
"What shall I do? What shall I do?" cried George as he saw his three
friends leaving him.
"Do anything you want," called Fred. "Drown yourself if you like, but
don't come near me."
"Where'd you get it, Pop?" shouted John gleefully. "You'd better go soak
in the lake for a couple of days."
"Get away from that fire," cried Grant. "Our supper is being cooked
there and we can't come back until you leave."
"I'm not stopping you," replied George. "Come back and tell me what to
do."
"I told you," exclaimed Fred. "Go and drown yourself."
"Where'd you get it, Pop?" repeated John and immediately went off into
gales of laughter.
"You caught the trout all right," laughed Fred. "You caught something
else. Something a good deal bigger than that fish too."
"Isn't it awful!" exclaimed John holding on to his nose. "I remember my
younger brother once ran across a skunk like this and he had to live in
the barn for two days."
"To think that Pop should be the one, too," said Fred delightedly. "It
seems almost too good to be true."
"It's true all right enough," said Grant grimly. "Go up close to him if
you don't believe it."
"What shall I do?" called George to his three unsympathetic companions.
He was standing near the fire, anguish depicted on his face. He was in a
sorry plight, for no matter where he went he could not escape the almost
overpowering odor that clung to him.
"Take all your clothes off and throw them in the lake," said Grant.
"Then go take a swim yourself.
"After that we might let you come back," added Fred.
"But I can't throw away perfectly good clothes," protested George.
"They're not 'good' any more," laughed John. "Throw them away."
"Burn them if you like," suggested Fred. "Do anything you want with
them, only get rid of that smell. You can't come near us until you do."
"Is that so?" demanded George and he took a few steps forward. "Who says
I can't come near you?"
"Don't do it, Pop, don't do it," begged Grant. "If you only knew how you
smelled."
"I do know; don't worry about that. It follows me wherever I go."
"Please don't come near us," exclaimed Grant as George still moved
towards them.
"I thought I'd come over and hug Fred," said George. "He's so pleased
about it all that it seems only fair that I should share the smell with,
him."
"You stay away!" cried Fred in alarm. "Don't you touch me. Don't come
within forty rods of any of us."
"Oh, Fred," grinned George mischievously, "don't run away from me. I
just want to show you how fond of you I am."
As he spoke George walked slowly towards the group of three boys who
stood and watched him anxiously. They knew that George would stop at
nothing once he was started and his offer to share the smell of the
skunk with Fred gave them ample cause for alarm. Fred was the one most
worried and he really had good reason for his alarm, for he knew that
George would like nothing better than to rub up against him and inflict
the awful odor on him too.
"You keep away from me, Pop!" cried Fred uneasily.
"Don't you like me?" grinned George.
"Oh, yes, I love you," exclaimed Fred, knowing well that whatever he
might say it would be exactly the wrong thing.
"Then let me hug you," urged George, advancing steadily nearer.
"I'll hit you over the head with this rock."
"Why, Fred, how unkind of you; I really am surprised."
"You'll be worse than that if you don't keep away," warned Fred, but he
backed away a few feet as he saw George steadily approaching.
"Let's get out of here," whispered John to Grant and unnoticed by George
they withdrew and made their way back to the fire.
"Pop certainly has Fred worried now all right," laughed John.
"I should say so," agreed Grant. "The joke was on Pop at first but it
certainly is on Fred now. Just look at them."
George still advanced slowly towards the spot where Fred was standing.
He held his arms out, entreating Fred to come to him, but Fred very
evidently had no intention of doing any such thing. He was slowly
retreating, threatening George meanwhile with all manner of punishment
if he was not left alone.
"Come to me, Fred," begged George, a wide smile on his face. He was
content to suffer the discomfort of the terrible odor himself as long as
he could worry his friend so effectively.
"Keep away from me, I say!" threatened Fred, brandishing a stick in his
right hand. "I swear I'll hit you over the head with this if you don't."
"Oh, Fred, you wouldn't do that, would you?" exclaimed George,
pretending great surprise. "You wouldn't hit your old friend who only
wants to share something nice with you. You can't be serious."
"You heard what I said."
"But Fred--"
"Whew, what a smell!" cried Fred suddenly and he turned and fled as fast
as his legs could carry him. Close behind him followed George calling
out at every step for Fred to wait and share something nice with him.
These invitations however seemed to have no effect upon Fred, for he
merely increased his speed.
Now it so happened that the course Fred followed in his flight led
behind the tent and down the same narrow trail where George had had his
disastrous encounter with Mr. Skunk only a short time before. It also
happened that Mr. Skunk had not left the neighborhood with such
eagerness as had George; indeed he had been inclined to linger around
the same spot where they had met before.
As has been told the path was narrow and hard to follow and the night
was growing darker every moment. Unfortunately for Fred a vine stretched
across the path just before he came to the spot where George had
searched for the "cat." This vine caught Fred's toe and he sprawled at
full length on the ground; George, but a couple of steps in the rear of
him, had to jump over the prostrate body of his friend in order to save
himself from meeting the selfsame fate.
When Fred fell he not only surprised but greatly annoyed Mr. Skunk who
was lurking only a few feet away. As a result Fred was treated to the
same dose that had made George so unpopular around the camp.
Together the two boys returned to camp. They were fellow sufferers now.
Though nearly overcome by the powerful stench, they bore with it long
enough to walk arm in arm up to the fire and put Grant and John to
sudden flight. This provided them much amusement but the smell was too
strong to be borne any longer.
"I guess we'll have to do as Grant advised," said George.
"What was that?"
"Throw our clothes away and take a swim."
"I guess you're right," said Fred and side by side the two boys made
their way down the water's edge.