PICKING UP CLUES
The leader of the Wolf Patrol laughed when he heard Lil Artha make this
remark.
"Every word that you are saying, Lil Artha, is the truth," he
announced. "I've been watching those ragged edges of bushes myself.
You see, the time might come after a while when I'd get mixed on the
directions given by Johnny Spreen. Then I'd want to have some other
scheme so as to find my way."
"But after a bit, Elmer, we'll get to a spot where Johnny changed his
course from one day to another, as he went to different traps; how're
we meaning to regulate our hunt then?" asked Toby.
"We've got to search the best way we can for the missing skiff," Elmer
explained. "If only we can find it hauled up somewhere on the bank
we'll know they went ashore at that point, don't you see?"
"Why, how eathy!" declared Ted, evidently lost in admiration for the
simplicity of the scheme, that could never have occurred to him before.
"Oh! then, if that's the case I reckon we'd better not be making quite
so much racket as we go along," said Mark.
"I was just going to remark about that," the patrol leader added. "If
all of a sudden we found the boat, and had been talking loud, or
laughing, the chances are the game would give us the slip. So after
this whoever is doing the pushing try not to splash more than you can
help; and when you talk do it in whispers."
Perhaps all this mystery added to the pleasure of such a fellow as Lil
Artha; at least his eyes were sparkling much more than their wont as he
continued to ply his pole with the air of a Venetian gondolier along
the Grand Canal.
Once, however, he must have rammed it too hard into the yielding ooze,
for when he tried to pull it out there was considerable resistance.
Lil Artha managed to stop the moving skiff in time to save himself;
even then he might have been pulled overboard only that watchful Mark,
anticipating something of the sort, threw his arms around the long legs
of the pusher, and held on grimly until the pole could be extricated.
An hour, two of them had slipped by since parting from Johnny Spreen.
They were now in the heart of the swamp. All around them lay a solemn
silence broken only by the splash of a bullfrog leaping from a bank,
the gurgle of some water snake or the solemn croak of a bittern fishing
near by, followed by the flap of its wings as it flew away, alarmed by
their approach.
All of the boys were more or less impressed by this strange silence.
It seemed as though some heavy weight were pressing down upon them.
Toby even whispered to one of his mates that it could hardly be worse
if they were passing through a country graveyard at midnight.
At the same time, all of them being bright, wide-awake fellows, there
were plenty of interesting things continually cropping up to arouse
their interest as scouts. Every minute or so someone was calling
attention to this or that thing, though never forgetting the need of
caution.
If at any time a voice was raised more than Elmer deemed wise, a single
"hist" from his lips caused the speaker to moderate his tones instantly.
By now they were not so much concerned about where they went as the
possibility of finding the missing skiff. Eager eyes were ever on the
alert. A number of times Lil Artha, or it might be Toby or Chatz, felt
a sudden thrill as some object caught their attention ahead, which at
first glance seemed to open up great possibilities. Then as they moved
closer and a better chance came to investigate, deep disappointment and
chagrin would follow; for after all it turned out to be only the end of
a log, or some such simple thing, and not the stern of the old skiff at
all.
Elmer happened to be a little ahead of the other boat at the time
Chatz, consulting his nickel watch, found it was just ten o'clock.
When he showed this to Toby the latter grinned as though very much
pleased.
"I nominated ten, didn't I, Chatz?" he remarked in a low tone; "when
you asked me to take a squint up at the sun, and say what the hour
might be?"
"You certainly hit it that time in the bull's-eye, suh," admitted the
Southern lad; "and I confess that I thought it half an hour later. I'm
still some shy, it seems, on telling time by the sun and stars."
A low hiss from Elmer just then, as he wielded the pole, caused the two
scouts to stop talking, and turn their attention to what was going on.
The first thing they discovered was that the skiff was now heading for
the near shore. Then looking further the boys could see that evidently
someone must have camped there, for to the practiced eye many things
indicated as much.
When the prow of the flat-bottomed boat ran gently up on the shore, at
a low order from the skipper, Ted, who happened to be further up in the
bow than any of the others, jumped to the land and began to draw the
skiff up.
There was a bank several feet high just beyond, but Ted waited until
the others had also disembarked before attempting to ascend this. By
now the other boat had also reached shore, with its crew tumbling out,
though avoiding any sign of confusion, for they were pretty well
drilled in the elements of obedience to orders, as all true scouts
should be.
No sooner had the boys gained the higher ground than they readily
discovered that it had been the site of a camp at some time in the not
far-distant past.
A number of things told them this, chief of which might be mentioned
the little pile of dead ashes that lay in plain sight. They could even
see the sticks that the unknown party had used when cooking some sort
of meat close to the red coals.
All of them gathered around. Elmer gravely examined the ashes, while
the others eagerly waited to hear his decision.
"Quite some time old," said the leader at last, having figured out the
solution by means of certain rules well known to those who have made
woodcraft a study. "At least a couple of rains have passed over since
this fire was left. There are no footprints that I can see. That also
goes to show it was some time ago; but I think it was only one person
who camped here."
He pointed as he spoke to where soft hemlock browse had been gathered
as if for the purpose of forming a couch; and there being but a single
bed even Landy could guess Elmer was correct when he said one party had
made the temporary camp.
"Then it must have been the unknown man," said Lil Artha, "and our chum
Hen wasn't along at the time."
They moved around as if looking for further signs, because scouts are
always keen to find tell-tale marks that will add to the size of the
edifice they are building up, founded partly on conjecture and also on
"give-away" facts.
Lil Artha it was who emitted a low whistle, and the others glancing up,
well knowing that he must have made some sort of important discovery,
saw him waving one of his hands to them--he held the Marlin
double-barrel with the other, of course.
"See that?" he told them when they reached his side amidst the bushes
adjacent to the little opening where the long-cold fire ashes lay.
"Feathers, for a cookey!" exclaimed Toby, "and a heap of the same, too."
"Now we know what he cooked on the ends of those sticks!" observed Mark.
"Yeth, and now we know where one of Farmer Trotter's henth went to,"
added Ted.
"This is more than Johnny ever ran across," remarked Lil Artha,
"because he only guessed the chicken thief was hiding in the swamp, for
he'd seen tracks. Hold on, he did say there was ashes, too, at the
place he picked up that filed half-circle of steel, but it must have
been in a different place from this."
"Well, it's only a little incident after all," said Elmer, "and doesn't
tell us much that we didn't know before."
"Only that we're on the track of those lost chickens, you know,"
chuckled the tall scout. "But see here, Elmer, if they made a fizzle
of their raid last night, how d'ye suppose they're going to keep from
starving to death in here?"
"Ask me something easy, please," retorted the other; "though if I was
in their place I think I could manage to keep alive. There are lots of
ways for doing that, if you only stop to think."
"Sure there are," spoke up Toby, eager to show that he had learned his
lesson fairly well, even though not claiming to be as expert at some
things as were Elmer and Lil Artha. "Now, with some cord and a bait I
reckon rabbits could be trapped or snared. Then gray squirrels are
plenty in here, if only you found a nest of the same in a hollow tree."
"And," added Landy with a yearning vein in his voice, "haven't we seen
whopping big green-back bullfrogs aplenty? If there's one dish I'm
fond of more than any other, that's fried frogs' legs. Yum! yum, don't
I wish we could spare the time to knock over a dozen of those bullies."
"Not while we're on such a duty as we started out to fulfill, Landy,"
Elmer advised the fat scout.
"Then there are fish in these waters, too, fat sunfish as big as any I
ever set eyes on," continued Toby; "and when you're hungry they taste
prime, though I hate the bones, and came near choking to death once on
a sunny. Worse than pickerel, according to my mind, and that's saying
a lot. Oh! I guess a smart fellow with matches to make fires, could
manage to keep the wolf from his door in here all right."
"But all men are not up to one-tenth of the resources known to Boy
Scouts," ventured Elmer, "which is why they generally have to rely on
staving off hunger by raiding the chicken roosts of poor farmers.
That'll be enough for this time. Suppose we get aboard again, and
continue our exploration of Sassafras Swamp."
"It's a sure-enough big patch of mud and water and brush and mystery,"
admitted Mark, as they began to climb into the boats again as before.
"And from what Johnny told me we haven't seen as much as a tenth of the
place yet," Elmer assured them; whereat there were all sorts of
incredulous looks to the right and to the left, as though the magnitude
of their task might by this time be making a stronger impression on the
boys' minds.
A change was made in pushers as they started off once more. It turned
out to be no child's play handling that long, heavy pole which had a
faculty for clinging to the ooze below the surface of the water, and
necessitating more or less exertion in order to drag it loose each time
it was used.
Landy had not taken his turn as yet. It really looked as though Lil
Artha was a little afraid of the fat scout, for he and Mark had
alternated in doing the work. Landy was not complaining at all.
Indeed, Lil Artha felt sure he could see a satisfied grin upon the
rubicund face of the happy-go-lucky, fat scout from time to time as he
heard the one at the pole puffing with the exertion.
Perhaps in the end it would prove to be a case of the "last straw on
the camel's back," and Lil Artha, casting discretion to the winds,
would feel impelled to thrust the push-pole into the inexperienced
hands of Landy Smith. He was evidently putting off the evil hour as
long as he could, fearful of consequences.
So noon came and found them well into the depths of Sassafras Swamp.
They went ashore to eat their lunch, Lil Artha begging that they have a
small fire and make a pot of coffee.
"I c'n pick up aplenty of real dry wood, you know, Elmer," he went on
to say in his wheedling way, "so that there ain't going to be hardly a
whiff of smoke that anybody could see with a field glass. And say,
when you're all tuckered out with pushing a boat through the grass and
lily-pads, nothing makes you feel so fine as a brimming cup of coffee.
So please say yes, Mister Scout Master!"
Of course, Elmer could not resist such a piteous plea as that.
"You could wring tears from a stone, Lil Artha," he told the other,
laughingly, "when you put on a face like that. I reckon we might have
a small cooking fire and a pot of coffee. None of us would object to
it, and sandwiches are dry eating all by themselves, even when you're
hungry. So go ahead; but no chopping, mind; break all the small stuff
you gather over your knee."
Landy eagerly assisted, though Lil Artha kept a watchful eye on what he
gathered lest he mix in green stuff that would make a black smoke when
it burned. Another scout managed to find a stick with a crotch that
would hold the coffee-pot over the blaze until it had boiled.
The scouts were not in the habit of putting up with such apologies for
comfort as these; as a rule, when they camped out they had tents,
blankets, and a little spider contraption that folded up in small
compass, and which served as a gridiron stove, being placed over the
red coals, with cooking utensils resting on the bars.
The coffee was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, and a vote of thanks
taken for Lil Artha, who had first suggested making it. Resting for a
short time afterwards, the boys felt refreshed when once more the task
was taken up.
Lil Artha looked at Landy tumbling contentedly into the middle of the
old skiff, and seemed on the point of saying something; then he shook
his head and picked up the push-pole himself.
"Not yet, but soon it's just got to be; only I hope he won't upset us
all," Mark heard the tall scout mutter to himself, nor did he need a
further hint to know what was passing through Lil Artha's mind; Landy
was not going to evade his share of the arduous labor forever.
It, doubtless, took considerable thinking and planning on the part of
Elmer to make sure they did not "repeat." So far, none of the boys
could say as they moved along that they had ever before seen the
stretch of water and scrubby shore, covered with trees and vines.
This spoke volumes for the smartness of the young patrol leader, though
somehow his chums did not seem to consider it such a wonderful feat for
Elmer. That is the penalty for being successful; others expect great
things from such a comrade, so that he is constantly put to his best
efforts to satisfy them.
It must have been quite some time, perhaps as much as two hours after
they had stopped to eat their lunch when without warning the swamp
explorers met with a surprise that gave them a new thrill.
At the time, Lil Artha happened to have passed a little in the lead,
though he would soon be dropping back again, especially when there came
a chance to make a mistake in direction, for he wanted Elmer to decide
such puzzles.
The tall scout must have forgotten his warning from Elmer, for he cried
out:
"Hey! everybody look what we're up against! A bear, Elmer, that's what
it is!"