RUFUS MAKES A STAND
THEY were quickly at the tree, for every one just had to keep up with
Conrad, who fairly flew along, such was his eagerness. Elmer saw
immediately that they had a pretty tough job before them, for the tree
in falling had caught Jem Shock fairly and squarely in a trap. A
good-sized limb bore him down so that he could hardly do more than
breathe.
His face was streaked with blood from various scratches, and so he
looked considerably worse than might otherwise have been the case. At
sight of Conrad, however, he actually smiled, which was enough to prove
what a hold the lad had upon the father's heart.
"We'll get you out of that in short order, Jem," said Elmer, promptly.
"You see, we fetched our ax along for just such a purpose. Lil Artha,
get busy, and start a cross-cut of this limb. Strike in about here. I'll
spell you if you want me to."
"Shucks! watch the chips fly, that's all!" jeered the tall fellow, as he
immediately set to work; and the lively ring of steel smiting hard wood
rang through the aisles of the adjacent forest as well as out upon the
water of the second lake, where a loon was swimming, and watching these
newcomers suspiciously.
Elmer noted the fact that the limb seemed to have fallen directly across
only one of Jem's legs, a rather peculiar circumstance, by the way, he
considered. There was not the least doubt in his mind but that the leg
must have been broken; indeed, he could already see that this was so.
Apparently, then, they must be ready to make that stretcher which had
already been mentioned to the greenhorns; but then such a task presented
few real difficulties to experienced scouts, trained in all the ways of
the woods, where every one had to _know_ how to do things.
Conrad was fondling his father, who had one free arm about the shoulders
of the little chap. No doubt Conrad took occasion to tell Jem how kind
these new friends of his had been, and how readily they had responded to
his appeal for assistance.
The scout-master wondered just how Jem would take it. That proud spirit
of his was bound to show itself. He might feel indebted to the others,
and not mind so much, but to realize that one of his rescuers was the
son and heir of the very Snodgrass whom he believed he had such abundant
cause to despise and hate, would gall him, and "cut to the quick."
Yes, Elmer, watching, could see the different shades of feeling crossing
the strong face of the injured man, just as sometimes he had observed
clouds chasing athwart the blue sky in fleecy array. Love for the child;
pain because of his injury and long wait there by the lakeside;
suspicion concerning the presence of Rufus Snodgrass, and something like
genuine gratitude toward the rest of the scouts--all these varying
emotions Elmer could detect as they passed in review across the face of
the other.
In the endeavor to take Jem's thoughts from his late precarious
condition, Elmer now started to talk with him, asking how it happened
that a woodsman of his long experience should be caught by a falling
tree in a storm.
The man laughed a bit harshly, as though disgusted with himself.
"It was an accident, pure and simple, boy," he went on to say. "Jem
Shock never believed he would be caught like a rat in a trap; but I
ducked the wrong way, my foot slipped, and before I could recover I was
down. So I've lain here for hours, hoping my Conrad might come along,
for he knew about the lakes, and where I went to look after my
fish-lines. I never once thought about you boys. Yes, I'm glad, of
course, you came, because Conrad never could have got me out alone; only
it hurts me to be beholden to _his_ son."
And Rufus, hovering near by, heard this. His face flushed painfully,
and he bit his lips until the blood came, while his eyes flashed
indignantly. With an effort, however, he managed to get a grip on
himself. Perhaps it was the look he caught on the face of the
scout-master that brought this about. At any rate, when Rufus spoke, his
voice was fairly calm; and, moreover, there was a note of entreaty in
it.
"Jem Shock," he said, in thrilling tones, while the methodical "chunk"
of Lil Artha's ax told how its sharp edge was biting deeply into the
hard wood of that limb by which the man was pinned down, "please listen
to me. I can understand just how you must feel while you believe my
father did you a great wrong. I don't blame you a particle either, for
feeling mean toward him. But you must know that sometimes terrible
mistakes do happen, and that even the best of men may blunder. I tell
you I am dead sure such a thing came about, and that at this day my
father is utterly unconscious of the fact that you believe he wronged
you."
"Not quite that, youngster," said the man grimly. "He knows before now
what my opinion of Hiram Snodgrass is; because, after I learned that
he'd come to a town near by to live, I sent him a letter."
Rufus refused to be disconcerted by this startling intelligence.
"All right," he said, "I'm real glad you did, Jem. My father ought to
know what a cloud his name is under. I meant to tell him all about it
myself just as soon as I got home from this trip. Make your mind up
you'll hear from him before long, Jem. He'll never rest easy until he's
investigated the thing to the bottom, and found out the whole truth. If
some men bamboozled you, and let you believe he was in the bunch, my
father'll fix them, all right. They'll do the right thing by you when
_he_ gets after them with a sharp stick, or I'll eat my head. I guess I
ought to know my dad better than anybody else could, and he's straight
as a die, even if he is a real estate speculator."
Elmer was visibly impressed with the splendid way in which Rufus stood
up for his father. He only hoped the elder Snodgrass might prove to be
just the kind of man the boy claimed. Jem Shock, too, could not but be
somewhat affected by the sturdy championship of the accused man's cause;
though a sneer found a place on his blood-streaked face, and his eye
still showed signs of coldness and unbelief.
At least, he allowed the subject to drop as though he did not wish to
say anything further in that line, which was so unpleasant. He confined
himself to petting Conrad, and giving Lil Artha further directions as to
just how to finish his task; for, as a competent woodsman, Jem Shock
knew all about the use of an ax. Elmer could see that, despite his
agonizing condition, the man had kept his wits about him.
Finally, the limb separated, and after that the boys, by uniting their
strength, were enabled to raise the portion that still held Jem pinned
down. He wriggled free, although the pain was so great that he almost
fainted.
After that, Elmer took charge again. Water was brought, and a fire made
to warm it in the pail Alec had been told to carry along. Once it was
heated, Elmer proceeded to cleanse first Jem's face, so that he might
not look so terribly grim; and after that he started to get at the
broken leg.
He found that it was indeed pretty serious, for it had swollen
dreadfully on account of the neglect; but Elmer was a pretty good
amateur surgeon, as his chums all knew, and understood just how to go
about setting the fractured bone, after carefully washing the limb.
Alec and Rufus had their hands full just about that time. They did not
want to lose a single thing of all that was going on around them, and
were often called upon by Elmer to lend a helping hand. It was
noticeable that Rufus was always the one to do this. Jem seemed to
visibly shrink from the touch of the boy's fingers, as though they
affected him somehow; but even this aversion failed to prevent Rufus
from persevering. Evidently, he was determined that Jem should know that
the Snodgrass family did not have all the bad traits with which he,
Jem, had in his mind endowed them; and, besides, Rufus was bound to keep
in close touch with the man who had so long believed ill of his father.
It pleased Elmer more than a little to notice this trait in the
tenderfoot. He believed Rufus had the making of a good scout, and that
association with the other fellows of the troop would in time serve to
cast out the bad traits in his character mainly produced through the
mistaken weakness of his adoring mother, who had always given in to his
every whim.
But the wonderfully clever way in which Elmer managed to handle that
broken leg, and then bind it up carefully, was not the only thing Rufus
and Alec had to watch in their ardent desire to acquire practical
knowledge of what a scout should know.
There was the industrious Lil Artha, working away like a trooper, and
making a rude but amply sufficient stretcher, on which the wounded man
could recline, while four sturdy boys bore him toward his home, since it
would be utterly impossible for Jem to even hobble, with that injured
limb under him.
Both greenhorns watched the stretcher grow, and marveled at the skill
displayed by the accomplished Lil Artha, who felt proud to be the one to
show them how easy it was for a fellow who had been taught to bring his
knowledge into play when the emergency arose.
Finally everything was done. Elmer had bound the leg up so firmly that
Jem was full of praise for his work.
"I want to say that you boys sure know your business," he told Elmer,
still refusing to look at the persistent Rufus, who continued to hover
near him, despite all these rebuffs, for he was a stubborn fellow, it
seemed, and would not abandon his plans easily. "I've heard some about
scouts, and thought they didn't amount to much, but I reckon I'll have
to change my mind after this. A regular sawbones couldn't have done the
job neater, Elmer. I'm thanking you for it too; and I calculate that a
lot Conrad's been telling us about you must be true."
"Oh! it is, father, it is!" ejaculated the pleased boy, with tears in
his eyes. "Elmer is just a grand fellow; and besides, he promised me
that I'd get a chance to be taught by some one who would know what to do
with me. You'll not set your foot down on that, will you, father?"
The man smiled grimly, though this changed to a tender look as he
smoothed the fair hair of his little son.
"We'll see, Conrad, we'll see," he told him. "Just now it don't look
like I could set one of my feet down on anything for a month or more.
But they're going to have a hard job of it getting a heavy man like me
all the way home."
"Oh! don't you worry about that, Jem Shock!" sang out Lil Artha,
blithely enough; "we know just how to go about it; and besides, it isn't
going to be such a very tough task divided among four of us. Now, Rufus,
you can take the upper left end, and I'll look after the right. Elmer
and Alec will manage the foot of the stretcher easy enough."
Rufus shot him a look of gratitude, showing that he readily understood
how the wise Lil Artha had purposely allotted him one of the holds that
would be apt to keep him as close to Jem's face as possible. The
elongated scout evidently considered it good policy to force Jem to grow
accustomed to the proximity of a Snodgrass; while familiarity is said to
often breed contempt, in this case Lil Artha meant that it should be the
cause of a growing confidence.
So they gaily started forth. Conrad ran alongside, and at times
persisted in keeping hold of his father's hand. He would now and then
utter words calculated to cheer the other up, as though he feared that
the strain of the trip, on top of his father's condition after lying
there so long unattended, might cause him to show signs of a relapse.
But they got along famously. The first lake was soon reached and put
behind them. Lil Artha cast several longing glances over his shoulder as
they left, and it did not need the aid of a prophet to tell that he was
making up his mind to be back there the first thing in the morning, to
test the voracity of the bass fighters that dwelt in those waters.
Following the plain trail, they continued to put much ground between
themselves and the spot where they had found Jem. The man bore the
journey well, all things considered, though many times Elmer could see
him compress his jaws as if to better stand the acute pain that shot
through his bruised body.
So they finally drew near the clearing where the cabin stood. Elmer, who
had been there once before, as will be remembered, saw familiar signs to
tell him of this fact, for he had impressed certain landmarks on his
memory.
"Oh, listen!" suddenly exclaimed Conrad, "I hear voices, and they are
men talking, too, strangers. What can it mean, father?"
The man on the stretcher winced painfully, and then smiled grimly.
"Well, things generally come with a rush, Conrad," he said. "There are
some men that have been wanting to interview me for a long time now. I
reckon they've found the nerve to come away up here, just to see what's
going on. But they've got to have proof in order to convict a man of
poaching game out of season. Anyhow, I'm in no condition to resist now;
and I don't believe they'll stir up any evidence around the cabin. Woods
mutton is scarce these days."
It was Rufus who now uttered a cry.
"There, I can see several men now in front of a cabin," he went on to
say, "and oh! as sure as you live, one of them is my own father! Do you
hear that, Jem Shock, the Snodgrass you've been believing cheated you in
a land deal has come straight up here to see you just as soon as he got
that letter of yours. Does that look like guilt, tell me? Oh! something
is going to happen, and before long you'll be changing your mind about
the Snodgrass tribe!"
Quickening their pace, the little procession hastened to reach the
cabin, where several men stood watching their coming, with both wonder
and interest showing on their faces. The good wife ran out to meet them,
and was soon crying copiously over the figure on the stretcher, though
Jem told her it was all right, and not to worry.