WHEN THE STORM BROKE
WHEN Jem Shock discovered that he and his wife and boy were not alone in
the cabin his manner instantly changed. Elmer saw the heavy brow knit,
as though in sudden suspicion. He remembered that this man distrusted
all his fellows, and that he had even defied the majesty of the law with
regard to shooting wild game out of season, as well as catching fish by
methods called illegal.
His manner of life would make him scan with suspicious eyes any stranger
who came to his isolated cabin home, and who might just as well as not
be some clever game warden, bent on securing evidence that would convict
him.
"This is Elmer, and he is the good friend who promised to see that I got
a chance to play my violin the proper way," said Conrad, with a dignity
that would well have become a grown man.
As he spoke, he took the young scout-master by the hand and led him a
pace or two forward. Elmer tried to be most cordial. He wanted to win
the good will of this man, for many reasons. First, there was Conrad,
and his possible brilliant future, if his amazing genius could be placed
under the fostering care of a master. Then there was Elmer's belief that
Jem had been badly treated by the whims of Fortune, and possibly the
greed of some man; he needed a friend if ever any one did.
So Elmer held out his hand as he advanced. He also smiled warmly, as if
to chase away that look of distrust he could see gathering on Jem's
strong face.
"We have met before, Jem, on the road, while our party was on the way up
here," he went on to say in as cordial a tone as he could muster. "You
remember I said then I hoped to see something more of you, and invited
you to stop in and have a cup of coffee with us, in case you happened to
be passing our camp. And now that I have made the acquaintance of Conrad
and your good wife, I hope we can be friends, Jem."
The man still continued to frown. Under his heavy eyebrows he was
looking keenly at the speaker. Elmer's manner was surely enough to
disarm suspicion; and doubtless he would have quite won the man over
then and there only for one thing. This was the presence of a boy in the
party bearing that unfortunate name of Snodgrass; and which seemed to
represent everything that was evil, in the estimation of the poacher.
So Jem did not make the first move to take the extended hand. If he had
suspected the other to be ready to suddenly snap a pair of handcuffs on
his wrists, he could not have held more aloof.
"I'm not making friends with anybody these days," he managed to mutter,
"leastways when they are so thick with the son of the man who sold me
out and left me high and dry on the bank."
"But the rest of us never heard of you before, Jem; and even Rufus says
it must be some terrible mistake, because his father would never do such
a mean trick, even if he is a real-estate operator. But, Jem, I want to
be friends with you just because of Conrad here. It would be a burning
shame if he didn't get his chance to prove that his grandfather's talent
is running in his blood. I am sure that I'll be able to interest some
really good people, all of them lovers of the best music, in Conrad; and
that arrangements can be made to put him under the charge of a leading
teacher, who will see that he has a chance to thrill the world, when he
grows older."
The man's face lighted up for just a brief interval. Perhaps he had
dreamed of some day seeing Conrad the centre of a madly applauding
throng of well-dressed people, who would be ready to crown the lad as
the greatest genius of the decade. Then the old doubts returned again,
and he scowled darkly.
"We may be poor," he said bitterly, "which isn't my fault, but my
misfortune; yet we're not paupers; and even to see my boy snatch the
prize he deserves I wouldn't beg money from any living man or woman.
I'll die before I accept _charity_. If I had my just dues there would be
plenty of money to fix Conrad out; as it is he must wait, and take his
chance."
"But, Jem, this wouldn't be charity," Elmer insisted, earnestly. "It
could be done on strictly business principles, a bargain being made in
black and white, so that a record of the expense might be kept; and
after Conrad began to earn big money, he could gradually return the loan
to those kind friends who had been so deeply interested in his fortunes.
Don't shut him out from his only chance, Jem, just because one man may
have injured you. There are other kinds of people in this world,
kind-hearted people who are always looking for an opportunity to help
struggling genius. Oh! please don't decide in a hurry. Think it over,
talk it over with your wife here before you turn the offer down; because
it is given in good faith, Jem."
Mrs. Shock listened, and her eyes grew moist. She apparently did not
think it wise to interfere while a stranger was present, but Elmer
believed her influence was bound to be thrown in favor of the
proposition. Therefore he did not quite despair, though the poacher
continued to shake his head, and keep his teeth firmly clenched, after
the manner of a stubborn man who has made up his mind, and against whom
all power cannot prevail.
You see, Elmer, young though he may have been, was somewhat of a
philosopher. He knew that gentle influence may sometimes accomplish much
more than the most sturdy strength. He had never forgotten the moral of
that old story about the traveler who was trudging along a country road,
when the two rival elements, the Sun and the Wind, entered into a heated
argument as to which might be the more powerful, and determined to test
their assertions upon the devoted head of the pilgrim. So the wind blew
harder and harder, but only had the effect of making the traveler draw
his cloak tighter about him. Then the sun has his turn, and began to
warm up to his task, until the almost baked man was glad to throw off
his cloak, which result gave the victory to the heavenly orb.
And so perhaps the gentle but persuasive influence of Conrad's mother
might in the end prevail against the wild gusts of the man's anger.
Elmer at least would continue to hug that hope to his heart.
He saw that his continued presence would do no further good. It were
perhaps better that he took himself off, and allowed the seed he had
sown to germinate. Time can often work wonders, and the look Mrs. Shock
gave him somehow further aroused his confidence that all might yet be
well.
So he said he would be going, and the last he saw of them Conrad was
waving his hand in farewell, while his mother nodded her head
significantly. As for Jem, he continued to stand there looking glum, as
though a riot of thoughts might be holding high carnival in his brain,
the old suspicion and hatred for mankind engaged in a desperate conflict
with newly awakened hopes.
Elmer made his way back to camp, and arrived long before noon came, so
that he had plenty of time to rest and think over the situation. He
wondered whether he had succeeded in making any progress by his
morning's expedition. He had met Jem, for one thing, and told him how
much he was interested in Conrad's playing. Yes, Elmer concluded that
the game he meant to play had been advanced more or less since the
coming of another day.
The surveyors came trooping into camp along about noon, heated and
tired. Rufus was apparently getting quite enough of that hard work, for
the time being. Besides, he admitted that he had gone sufficiently far
by then to make sure that the previous survey had been a failure, and
that the job would have to be done over again in order to get the right
lines.
Elmer was not sorry to hear him say that, and for several reasons. First
of all, he wanted the tenderfeet to have further opportunities for
picking up more or less useful knowledge of woodcraft, while in camp;
and this could not be done if most of their time was spent in using
those instruments, and worrying about backing new lines through the
thickets and swamps that beset their course.
Then again Elmer did not like the looks of the weather. It was beginning
to act suspiciously, as though a big storm might be brewing. The sun
still shone up there in the sky, and both Rufus and Alec only thought it
insufferably hot; but to one more experienced in such things, there was
a deeper meaning in the heavy atmosphere, the strange silence on the
part of birds and smaller animals, and the peculiar bank of clouds that
lay low along the distant southwestern horizon.
Lil Artha sensed danger, too, for he spoke of it as they were eating
lunch.
"Perhaps, Elmer," was the way he put it, "we'd be sensible if we took an
extra reef or two in our sail this afternoon, while we have the chance.
An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, I always did
believe; and scouts are taught that it's wise in time of peace to
prepare for war."
"Hey! what's all this talk mean?" demanded the bewildered Rufus. "To
hear you, Lil Artha, a fellow would think we had something terrible
hanging over our heads. It must be you're prognosticating a _storm_, but
I don't see what makes you think that, when the sun never shone
brighter. Do the birds carry the secret, and have you fellows found a
way to understand their lingo?"
"Well, in a way that's correct, too, Rufus," chuckled the lanky scout.
"When you get on familiar terms with everything that lives in the woods,
you can tell a heap. It does seem that insects, birds and animals are
given instinct in place of reasoning powers. So the squirrel knows when
it promises to be a severe winter, and he lays in an extra big store of
nuts. And in the same way something warns these little creatures when a
storm is coming, although human beings see no sign. Well, from the
change that's taken place all around us we scouts can give a good guess
that these same birds and insects are making ready for trouble; and it's
bound to come from that quarter yonder, where you can see a bank of dark
clouds hugging the horizon."
"But, Lil Artha," protested Alec, strenuously, "I noticed yon bank o'
clouds mair nor two hours back, and I gie ye my word it hasn't moved a
wee bit in a' that time."
"Oh! that's often the way a storm comes along," the other assured him,
in a positive fashion, as though he had no doubt concerning the accuracy
of his prediction. "Clouds will lie low for half a day, and then
suddenly with a shift of the wind spread out over the whole heavens like
magic. I promise you that before two hours have gone by you'll be
stopping your ears with your fingers so's to shut out the crash of
thunder."
Of course, as both Elmer and George seemed to agree with what Lil Artha
said--and it was really wonderful to have "Doubting George" let an
opportunity to object pass him by, the greenhorns had to believe what
they heard.
When lunch had been disposed of, Elmer gave orders that set the whole
five working to improve the security of the camp. Extra pegs were driven
deep down so as to hold the tent more firmly; and some bits of strong
rope were also brought into play with this same end in view.
Rufus could not restrain his amusement, and finally burst out with:
"Well, from the way you're carrying on, fellows, it must be you expect a
regular old hurricane to break loose in this region. I guess it would
take a whole lot of wind to tear that tent loose from its moorings now.
Besides, we're sheltered somewhat by those trees over yonder."
"Wait and see, that's all," warned Lil Artha, not one whit abashed.
"You've never been caught in a big storm, and so you can't know how the
wind tears at a tent as if it had a special spite against the canvas.
I've seen more'n one tent carried away like a big balloon, and lodged
far up in a tree. This is only following out the scout rule of
preparedness. It's better to err on the side of safety, Rufus; just
remember that as you pass along the road. It's no sign of timidity to
get ready for trouble; the wisest of business men always insure their
property, and when the storm comes they weather it, where the more
reckless go to the wall."
"That's sound logic, Lil Artha," commented Elmer, smiling to hear the
other give such splendid advice; for, as a rule, the lengthy scout was a
bit inclined toward that same recklessness himself.
In many other ways did they prepare for the coming storm, particularly
in seeing that a small stock of wood was placed so that it might be kept
dry; since they might be glad of a fire later on. Their stock of
provisions, too, had to be provided for; and Rufus also covered the old
car with a tarpaulin which he had fetched along for that purpose.
During the last half hour of work even the most skeptical found himself
forced to admit that there was no longer any doubt about the approach of
bad weather. As the dark bank of clouds advanced up the heavens the
birds again made their appearance, and flew wildly about, uttering
warning cries that impressed Rufus visibly.
Then they began to hear distant muttering of heavy thunder that was soon
causing a distinctly felt vibration of the earth under their feet. The
wind had entirely ceased, and there seemed to be an ominous calm upon
Nature. Rufus and Alec had an apprehensive expression on their faces as
they waited for further developments.
"Don't you think it might be safer over among the trees than here,
Elmer?" asked Rufus at one time, after the thunder had temporarily died
away.
"Not on your life!" burst out Lil Artha, taking it on himself to answer.
"If the gale gets half as severe as I expect, you'll hear trees crashing
down like toothpicks. It'd be all your life was worth to be caught in
the woods then. An experienced hand might manage to escape, but often
the best of them get caught under a falling tree and killed outright.
That's one reason why we built our camp away from all trees but this
dwarf one that isn't apt to go down, and serves as a sort of wind-break,
you see. But listen, everybody!"
A distant but terrifying sound stole to their ears. The lack of a
movement in the atmosphere had prevented them from catching it sooner.
"Is that the storm coming?" asked Rufus, trying to keep his voice
steady, though there was a distinct quaver to it, despite his efforts.
"Yes, that's the wind, and back of it is the first burst of rain,"
advised Elmer. "It will be on us in a jiffy now, so we'd better get
inside, and lace the opening up. We faced the tent to the north
purposely, you see, because we knew that any storm at this time of year
was likely to jump out of the southwest."
Hardly had they made the flap secure when the gale broke upon them.