THE SPIRAL OF BLUE SMOKE
ONE thing, at least, pleased Rufus when he crawled forth and stretched
himself, giving a yawn at the same time--it promised to be a fine day.
To a fellow who expected to do considerable prowling around in the
vicinity of Raccoon Bluff this was a matter of material importance; for
a heavy rain must have put a damper on his cherished plans.
By the time the latest up had finished dressing the welcome call to
breakfast was sounding. Lil Artha performed this sacred rite, and in the
customary camp way, wishing to initiate the two tenderfoot chums in all
the mysteries that went with the ceremony. Taking the biggest frying-pan
they had fetched along, he rattled a lively tattoo upon it with a heavy
cooking spoon. And during the course of their stay it may be said in
passing that never was there a more eagerly anticipated racket, in the
opinion of Rufus and Alec, when their camp appetites developed, than
that same summons to the "festive board," as Lil Artha dubbed the rude
makeshift table.
While they enjoyed the fruits of the cook's skill in wrestling with the
culinary outfit, and made the bacon and fried eggs vanish in a most
remarkably swift fashion, the boys also laid out their plans for the
first day.
Of course Rufus was eager to get busy looking up the lines of the
survey; and he had already bound Alec to the task of being his helper.
The latter did not object in the least, though after a day or two had
elapsed, and the fever calmed down somewhat with Rufus, the Scotch lad
anticipated having his time more to himself; for he was eager to learn a
great many scout secrets which the accommodating lanky Lil Artha had
promised to impart to the new fellows.
Elmer, however, had no intention of allowing those two greenhorns free
swing for a whole day. The chances were ten to one they would get lost
the first thing; and it would be too bad if a good part of their limited
stay at Raccoon Bluff was taken up in hunting missing comrades.
"I appoint you, Lil Artha, as supervisor," he went on to say, with a
smile; "and your duties today will be to stick to Rufus and Alec like a
porous plaster. Don't let one of them get out of your sight for a
minute. You can lend a hand as much as you please; and fetch them back
to camp at midday, when we'll have lunch, leaving the big meal until the
day's work is all done."
Rufus looked as though about to rebel. He was so accustomed to having
his own way that it came hard with him to be ordered to do anything.
Then he suddenly remembered his scout vow, and that he had solemnly
promised to bow to superior authority. Elmer was the "boss," and his
word was law while they were away from home; so, making a virtue of
necessity, Rufus shrugged his shoulders and grinned.
"Just as you say, Elmer," he observed, a bit ungraciously, "but I never
was lost in all my life."
"That's nothing to boast of, Rufus," remarked Lil Artha. "It only goes
to prove how many splendid opportunities you've missed. On my part I was
just as proud of my ability to look after myself as you are; and yet I
used to get twisted in my bearings a heap until I got the hang of
things. I can remember several times when I walked straight away from
camp, under the belief that I was heading for it. You see, while I could
easily tell which was north and east, I didn't know _which way the camp
lay_; because my faculty for observation hadn't yet been developed to
any great extent. It'll all come to you by degrees, if you really want
to learn."
"Well, what am I to do this morning, Elmer?" asked George.
"That's an easy one," chuckled the leader. "As you're such a stickler
for having everything so neat about the camp, George, with things handy
to the reach, I'll appoint you camp warden for today. You can fuss
around all you please, and by night I expect we'll find that Camp
Comfort well deserves its name."
George looked pleased. His good qualities often more than
counterbalanced his poor ones; and being neat is something no scout
should ever feel ashamed of.
Elmer did not mention what he meant to do himself. In fact, he had not
wholly determined that point, though he fancied that he might take a
wide turn around, and see what the country about Raccoon Bluff looked
like.
Although Elmer had not said anything about it to the others, the fact is
he had made a little discovery that aroused his interest considerably.
Just before they sat down to breakfast he had chanced to step over to a
point where the best view was to be had, and using a pair of
field-glasses which had been brought along, took a casual survey of the
country.
In one particular spot he believed he could see a faint column of pale
blue smoke climbing straight skyward from amidst the thick growth. Elmer
was a pretty good woodsman, and he did not have to be told that such
smoke always comes from well seasoned wood, while black smoke springs
from greener stuff.
Some one had a fire over there, that was evident, and knew what sort of
fuel to select in the bargain; which fact made it patent that he was
educated in the ways of the woods. Elmer's curiosity was excited. He
wondered who their neighbor could be. Was it some fishing party, perhaps
camped on the shore of the unseen lake on the bosom of which that loon
they had heard cry had been swimming at the time?
Of course there might be numerous answers to the question Elmer was
asking himself. Perhaps lumbermen were looking over the property which
had lately come into the possession of Mr. Snodgrass, with an idea of
making him a proposition for the right to cut off the big timber. Then
again, charcoal-burners sometimes worked in the season; or it might be
game wardens were abroad, with the idea of catching detested poachers at
their work.
Then last of all Elmer thought of Jem Shock, the slippery customer whom
no warden had thus far been able to catch red-handed, breaking the game
laws; and who, it seemed, had gained an unenviable reputation for
boldness as well as knavery, so that his name, bandied about from lip to
lip, had gradually become a synonym for everything that was bad, whether
the fellow deserved it or not.
Well, they knew that this same Jem lived somewhere in the wilderness,
since he seldom appeared in any town; and what more likely than that his
camp lay over yonder, where the blue trail of smoke lifted toward the
sky?
Elmer felt an enticing temptation beginning to assail him. It has been
said before that he had found himself attracted toward Jem Shock, simply
because of a curiosity to know what the _real_ man might be like; for
Elmer was loath to believe all he heard about any one, knowing how
stories are magnified in the telling.
And by the time breakfast was over with, the scout leader had decided
that he would take a little stroll, which might, there was no telling,
carry him in the direction of the blue column of smoke.
It happened that Rufus was so busy getting ready to start out with his
surveying instruments that he had given no thought to looking around.
Lil Artha on his part would, of course, take note of the general lay of
the land; but with the ridge to serve as a guide he believed he could
always make a bee-line back to camp whenever the necessity arose.
All was soon ready, and Alec, laden with the heavier material, called
out a cheery goodbye to the two who were being left behind.
"I'm glad this day that I've got on the braw khaki breeks," he was
saying, "for if they were woollen ye maun rest assured it would tak all
my time picking off the beggars' lice, as ye call these little burrs.
We'll be back the noo and expectin' lunch to be served, George,
remember, lad."
"Well, stick by Lil Artha then, if you know what's good for you,
Scotchy," called out the keeper of the camp. "And I'm glad Elmer made
each one of you put a little snack of cheese and crackers in his pocket.
If you have the misfortune to get lost that will be the only thing to
stand between you and starvation."
Rufus sniffed in disdain.
"Talk away, George," he told the other, "we all know that you're one of
these pessimists, and always seeing the black side of things. Who
expects to get lost? Certainly neither of us. And besides, what do we
have a guardian angel like Lil Artha along with us for? Not because of
his good looks, that's sure."
"Oh! come along, and don't talk so much, Rufus!" the said "guardian
angel" called out, though smiling broadly at being so highly
complimented.
"Just see Lil Artha feeling of his shoulders, will you?" George jeered.
"Now you've gone and spoiled him for any decent sort of work, Rufus;
after this he'll be spending most of his time looking for his angel
wings to sprout. But goodbye, and good luck, fellows. Look for you about
noon, remember."
So they went off, seemingly as happy as boys could well be; for Rufus
was about to test his superior knowledge of survey work. Alec saw a
chance of having many little talks between whiles with the tall guide,
upon whom he was leaning more and more as an exponent of the jolly
times to be had in the open; while Lil Artha, himself, was always
supremely happy when he could shoulder his Marlin gun, and stalk abroad,
no matter whether he meant to do any hunting or not.
Elmer knew very well that nothing would tempt Lil Artha to fire his gun
with the intention of breaking the law. The only reasons he insisted on
taking it along were that it might come in handy in case they met a
wildcat, always a possibility, of course; and that he loved to feel its
familiar touch upon his shoulder, where his khaki coat was well worn
from contact with it.
For some little time afterwards Elmer busied himself in fixing certain
things of his own. George had already cleaned up the mess of breakfast
pans and dishes, so that he could devote himself to other matters. He
had already sized things up, and made a list of certain improvements
that were calculated to add to the comfort and peace of mind of the
campers.
"While we're only going to be up here at Raccoon Bluff for a matter of
seven days or so," he had remarked in the hearing of the tenderfoot
squad, "that's no reason we ought to let things run along in a slipshod
fashion. It's a pleasure to me to have the camp look spic and span to
begin with, no matter if it does get littered up somewhat as the days go
by."
That is just the way with scouts, as a rule. No one of them unites all
the virtues in his single person; but while owning up to certain faults,
at the same time he will be found to possess a number of splendid
qualities that add to the comfort and health of his comrades. George
could make himself one of the most disagreeable chaps going, when his
argumentative and unbelieving mood was upon him; then again, he would
suddenly blossom out in another phase, and cause all his chums to bless
him as a real public benefactor.
Finally Elmer strode forth from the tent.
"I'm going to take a little turn around, George," he remarked casually,
"and see what this part of the country looks like."
"All right, Elmer," the busy one told him, "I can manage alone, I guess,
because I've got a heap to do before I'm satisfied with the way things
look. No use telling _you_ to not get lost; because that'd be next to
impossible."
"Nevertheless," the scout-master assured him, "I mean to keep on the
alert, for when you're in the woods constant vigilance is the price of
safety. I always take observations as I go along; and notice many
queer-shaped trees, so that I'll know them again when I see them. I also
look back considerably, too, because it pays to notice how things appear
from the other side."
"It certainly does," agreed George, very amiably; "I've had that
experience myself more than once. Thought I had taken stock of
bent-over trees and rock formations, yet on trying to follow the trail
back, they all looked vastly different from what they had before. Taught
me a lesson I've never forgotten either. Well, so-long, Elmer. I'll
expect you when you turn up. I hope though you don't happen to run foul
of that ugly poacher chap, Jem Shock. I didn't much fancy the cut of his
jib when we met him on the road; and I reckon he'd be a bad one to rile
up."
Elmer only laughed lightly and walked off. He had cut a stout cane, and
this was the only kind of weapon he cared to carry along. It would serve
him in good stead should he happen to come across a rattlesnake, for
this was likely to happen at any time, since they had been warned by the
friendly farmer that such venomous reptiles abounded along Raccoon
Bluff. And in case a bobcat should turn up, Elmer fancied he could
defend himself against attack with that choice staff. Besides, it was
not often that a cat was to be met with in broad daylight, since they
prefer to do most of their wandering about in search of food after
nightfall comes.
He stopped and looked back at the camp. It had a very picturesque
appearance just at that time, with the fire casting up a spiral of smoke
toward the clear heavens, George bustling around in the capacity of
campkeeper; and the whole overhung by those magnificent trees.
Elmer dearly loved this sort of thing. Something implanted in his
nature, coming down possibly from far-back ancestors who used to hunt
game for a living, caused the boy to possess an earnest yearning to
spend a season every year in the primeval wilderness, close to Nature's
heart. It was as near the "call of the wild" as the ordinary boy ever
gets, since school duties, as well as home ties, have dominion over him
most of the year.
Elmer prepared to enjoy himself to the full. The air was certainly
delicious at this time in the morning, though growing rapidly warmer as
the sun climbed higher. All outdoors seemed to be rejoicing with him. He
could hear the merry voices of insects all around; the croaking of frogs
in a nearby marshy spot he passed; and the constant cawing of crows in
the treetops, as they prepared to sally forth bent on finding a late
breakfast, or possibly teaching their young how to use their wings in
short flights around the home nests.
"This is the life!" said Elmer, exultingly, as he walked along with a
brisk step, and used his eyes to notice a thousand and one things around
him, most of which would of a certainty never be seen at all by an
ordinary boy, until his senses had been sharpened, brought about through
practical scout activities.