SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE
EVERY step they took now was carrying them on toward the twin lakes that
nestled amidst the woods and valleys, their presence really unsuspected
by the vast majority of people living in towns within thirty miles of
the place. Elmer himself was wild to try the fishing there, for he
fancied that the bass must be enormous fellows, and as gamey as could be
found anywhere. Lil Artha, too, would be sure to want to make more than
one trip across country, and spend a few hours casting in the almost
virgin waters in the solitudes where sportsmen had possibly seldom
invaded.
Conrad kept up amazingly, but then it was love that gave him additional
strength, and Elmer knew full well what that could do for any one. Many
times they heard some slight sound that gave them a start, for their
nerves being on edge they imagined every such noise to be a feeble cry
for help. The snappy bark of a red squirrel as he clung head downward to
the lower trunk of a tree, and watched the intruders of his sacred
realm; the sudden cawing of a startled crow; the rasping cry of a
bluejay; or it might be the distant screech of an eagle poised above
some fish-hawk that had darted down and secured its dinner which the
bald-headed robber of the air would snatch away from him presently,
after a swift pursuit upwards--all these they heard, and many times did
one of the greenhorns ask to be told what it meant.
Still nothing was seen or heard to indicate that Jem Shock had been
overtaken by a falling tree while on his way from the first lake. They
did come across several such overthrown monarchs of the forest that had
fallen close to the trail; and once the way was really blocked by a mass
of broken limbs, together with the heavy trunk of a tree that had come
crashing down.
Conrad darted hastily forward before Elmer could interfere, and was
looking, oh, so eagerly, and with such an expression of anxiety, for any
sign to indicate that the dear one he sought might be lying under the
wreckage.
"Father, father!" he called out, with such a plaintive ring to his voice
that Rufus felt something rising in his throat; while Alec McGregor
might have been seen to turn his head aside, and then violently blow his
nose, as though he had taken cold.
But there was no response. Elmer and Lil Artha went all around the
fallen tree, and even crawled underneath the same to make positive that
Jem was not there. Finally even Conrad became assured as to this, for he
expressed an eagerness to once more go on.
So they proceeded. From the lay of the land, and other signs that his
quick eye caught, Elmer guessed that they could not be far away from the
first lake. Perhaps he was guided somewhat in making this decision by
the sight of that fish-hawk or osprey, which he knew would be apt to
hover over a body of water, since it must obtain its whole sustenance
from the lakes.
"What's that glistening in the sunlight yonder, Elmer?" suddenly asked
Alec, who, it seemed, possessed a pair of incredibly keen eyes.
Lil Artha laughed.
"That's one on us, Elmer," he remarked, "when a tenderfoot is the first
to discover the presence of water. I reckon now, Alec, you've got the
making of a pretty good scout in you, if you stick at it; and they do
say the Scotch are the most persevering chaps going. That's the lake,
the first one Conrad told us about, I should say."
"Yes, that's the first one," hurriedly admitted the boy, "and we'll soon
reach its border. You will say that it's a lovely little sheet of water,
too. Father told me he had never set eyes on one that struck him as more
beautiful. And I love to sit and look out over it when the wind dimples
the surface, or it is so quiet that you can see a picture all along the
shore, with the trees reflected in the water like a big looking-glass."
"Then we'll have to call it Mirror Lake," said Lil Artha, struck by the
wonderful poetic way in which the small boy described things, which may
in part have come to him through his mother.
"Yes, that is what my mother calls it," Conrad instantly told him; "for
once she crossed over with me to see the water. We shall be there very
soon now, in less than ten minutes I think."
Nothing further occurred to startle them during the balance of the time
that was consumed in covering the ground separating them from the shore
of the lake. When Elmer and his three comrades found themselves staring
out upon that wonderfully clear and altogether charming body of water,
they felt that words must fail to describe it and do justice. Elmer had
looked upon a good many pretty lakes, both large and small, but never
one the equal of this.
As for Lil Artha, he knew now what would be occupying considerable of
his spare time during the balance of their stay in camp. Why, even as he
looked he could see big bass "break" here and there, as though they
might be feeding on flies, late though the season was. All the sporting
blood Lil Artha possessed was on fire at the sight. He had resolved to
give up much of his love for hunting, because of the change that had
taken place of late in his ideas concerning the cruelty of such sport;
but nothing would ever cause him to lose that eager desire to match his
wits and a slender line with a fly attached to the leader against the
strength and cunning of a bronze-backed black bass, and see which could
win in the struggle for supremacy.
"Oh! listen, please!" exclaimed the boy, anxiously, his very soul in his
voice.
"That was only a kingfisher calling," said Lil Artha, who knew all about
such things; "see, there he flits across that little bayou, and perches
on the limb that overhangs the water. He's after his dinner, I guess,
and was calling to his mate. But lead the way, Conrad, and we'll keep
along after you."
They began to follow the uneven indentations of the shore. Elmer knew
that this must be the favorite course taken by the fish poacher when
going to see what his set lines held. A plain trail it was, and even
Rufus or Alec might have followed it most of the way; though at times
they would have hard work to pick it out, since the heavy rain had
washed things pretty badly.
But Conrad knew where he was going, and just at which point they were to
turn their backs on Mirror Lake, heading for its mate near by.
"We'll like as not run across the intake or outlet of this water," Lil
Artha told the two new scouts, "because, of course, the lakes are
connected by a little stream. And sure enough, there it is right now."
Both tenderfeet were visibly impressed with this show of knowledge on
the part of the elongated scout. Doubtless they mentally determined that
eventually they too would be able to tell just such things by using the
power of deduction that a scout's education puts into his head.
Conrad turned sharply upon arriving at the small stream. Elmer noticed
that it ran _from_ the lake they were just in the act of leaving; and
this fact told him the other must set somewhat lower down, and have an
outlet of its own.
All these things were interesting enough to fellows who had made a habit
of observing whatever took place around them; nevertheless, Elmer wished
the main object of their coming might be attained without much further
loss of time. He was himself beginning to grow exceedingly nervous from
the long-continued strain; and could understand just how poor Conrad
must feel.
Lil Artha was more and more amazed to learn what a wild bit of scenery
lay within thirty miles of the home town. He never would have believed
it possible, had he been told about it by any one; but seeing is a
convincing way of settling things, and Lil Artha certainly knew he could
depend on his own eyes.
Through small openings among the trees they quickly caught glimpses of
the other sheet of water. The second lake was about the same in size as
the first, but lacked of the wonderfully rugged surroundings that made
the other so beautiful. Still, had they not set eyes on Mirror Lake, the
boys would have quickly called this one a spot well worth a long tramp
just to see, not to mention its potentialities along the line of
fishing.
Once again they had come across a fallen tree that lay close to the
trail, even bridging the little stream with its trunk, and forming a
picture that Elmer immediately resolved to take with his snapshot camera
before leaving the region.
"Looks to me," remarked Rufus shrewdly, "as if the old storm must have
hit this particular section a whole lot more violently than any place
we've struck so far. Right from where we stand I can see three, yes,
four trees that have been uprooted, and tumbled over, all lying in the
same direction, too, which is odd, I should think."
"Oh! that's a common occurrence," said Lil Artha, "I've seen hundreds of
fallen trees in a place where a hurricane passed through the timber, and
they lay like a sheaf of matches, all in the same identical direction.
You see, the same wind took them down, as it did here. But so far as I
can notice, there's no sign of anybody under this tree; how about it,
Elmer?"
"No, he wasn't here when this fellow crashed down," admitted the other,
in a satisfied tone. "He had either passed farther along, or else had
not reached this place."
"Then let's go on farther," pleaded Conrad.
Lil Artha knew that their chances of finding Jem were gradually getting
less and less, as they covered more of the ground he must have passed
over. He wondered what they should do if after all their efforts they
could manage to obtain no trace of the missing man. Perhaps it would be
good policy to head for the cabin, in the hope that since Conrad had
left, his father might have managed to make his way home, and
consequently they would find him there, too weak and exhausted to start
out again.
"We must go around the lake, to make sure," the boy was saying in a
strained tone that cut Elmer to the heart, because he could understand
how Conrad must be beginning to fear that his father was dead, since he
did not answer any of his cries.
As they began to circle the new sheet of water, Conrad again lifted his
childish treble and kept calling that one word: "father!" He seemed to
have faith to believe that if only he could reach the ears of Jem Shock,
an answer of some kind would be immediately forthcoming.
Again his appeals were mocked by some of the startled birds,
unaccustomed to having their solitary haunts invaded by two-legged
creatures that gave forth such doleful sounds. Step by step the little
party persevered along their course, following the shore of the second
lake. It was harder going than before, because of the density of the
growth surrounding this body of water; but Conrad kept along, always on
the lookout for signs or sounds that would assure him success was near
at hand.
After all, it was Lil Artha who gave the word, and he thrilled them when
he went on to say:
"I think I heard a voice just then, fellows, and it seemed to come from
over on the other side of that little bayou just ahead of us. Get a good
grip on yourself, Conrad, because mebbe we're going to find him right
away."
The boy was really beyond the power of making any verbal reply, but the
look he threw Lil Artha, because of those cheering words, was full of
gratitude. To gain the other side of the indentation, they must go
around for quite some distance. Conrad, too, had by now managed to
remember something; and finding his voice he weakly remarked:
"Oh, yes! I know now where we are. Father told me he always had the best
luck with a line set from that point over there. The fish seem to be
larger than anywhere else about the lake, too. Oh! and I can see that
there is another big tree down, right in sight!"
Elmer knew that this was so, for he himself had already made the same
significant discovery. He raised his voice and gave a lusty shout.
"Jem--Jem Shock, are you there?" was what he called.
Then they all listened eagerly. A woodpecker tapped noisily on a dead
stump; but even the breeze seemed to temporarily stop rustling through
the tops of the tall trees, as though sympathizing with their anxiety,
and bent on giving all possible chances for their hearing any reply to
this hail.
"There, somebody answered you, Elmer," snapped Rufus, delightedly.
"We've found him," said Elmer, gravely. "Be brave now, my boy," as he
laid a hand affectionately on the shoulders of poor trembling Conrad.
"For one thing, he's alive, and that's enough to be thankful for."
"Yes, oh! yes, I _am_ thankful!" cried the boy, "but please hurry,
Elmer. Oh! what he must have suffered; but he _did_ answer you, didn't
he, and so he must be alive! Poor father. We're coming!" he tried to
call aloud, though the effort only resulted in a screech; "I'm here,
father, your own Conrad! Mother sent me to find you. Just be patient,
and we'll soon reach you. Oh! if only I had wings how glad I would be!"
Elmer and Lil Artha led the way. They quickly started around the tongue
of marshy land bordering the little bay, for the ground was low there;
and doubtless the natural outlet of the twin lakes would be discovered
somewhere in that section, the scouts concluded.
Now they were advancing upon the fallen tree. They could see it was a
big one, and that it reached almost to the water's edge as it lay there,
a derelict of the recent storm.
Every eye was keenly on the alert to discover a first sign of the
unfortunate poacher who had been caught, not by the stern hand of the
law, but through a freak of the storm, and pinned to the ground, so that
he was utterly helpless to free himself from the toils.
Then Conrad gave a sudden shriek.
"I see him!" was the burden of his shrill cry. "Oh! there, he moved and
tried to wave his hand at me! Elmer, did you see him do that? He's
really alive, and that is enough for me!"