A NIGHT ALARM
Up to then none of them had apparently bothered about figuring how they
would make themselves comfortable, so that Elmer's suggestion was like
a bomb thrown into the camp.
"I should think we had better get busy if we want to have a place to
sleep on," Landy exclaimed, for the hard ground did not appeal very
much to the fat scout, accustomed as he was to a feather bed at home.
"We have no blankets, remember," said Elmer, "and that is one reason
why I laid out to keep the fire burning in a small way through the
night."
"But luckily," added Mark, who apparently had been looking around more
or less since they came ashore, "there are plenty of spruce and hemlock
and fir trees close by. We can make our beds like hunters always used
to do, away back in Daniel Boone's time."
"Every fellow will have to shift for himself, then," said Elmer; "so
let's start in and lay a foundation for a soft and fragrant bed."
"Hay was good enough for me last night, suh!" declared the Southern
boy; "but I've got a hunch I can sleep just as sound on balsam."
"Hemlock for mine every time!" announced Lil Artha.
Then there was a bustling time as the entire seven scouts started to
break off small branches and twigs from the adjacent trees, laying them
in piles until it looked as though they had secured enough for their
purpose.
The beds were arranged in something like a circle around the fire, and
acting on the advice of Elmer, who had been on the cattle range and
knew what was right, each sleeper expected to keep his feet toward the
fire.
"Looks a heap like a big cart-wheel," observed Lil Artha.
"The fire is the hub, and each scout a spoke, that's right, suh," Chatz
agreed.
Landy acted as though he would never get enough of the fragrant browse.
Long after the others had stopped gathering it, he continued. When
they joked him about being greedy when there was no price to pay, he
had an answer ready.
"I'm a whole lot heavier than anybody else, don't you know?" he told
them. "And on that account I ought to have a higher pile under me.
Besides, I always did like to gather things in."
"We'll remember that, Landy," threatened Lil Artha, "the next time we
need a big supply of firewood. You've fixed it up good and tight, and
you'll find us the most obliging lot of scouts east of the Rockies."
After considerable fussing and joshing, they managed finally to get
"fixed." As none of them had slept too soundly on the preceding night,
owing to their strange environment, and the wild alarm that sounded
when Johnny's chicken-thief trap was sprung, the boys were both weary
and drowsy.
Elmer was really the last to drop off, and he smiled as he raised his
head to glance around at the stretched-out figures of his six chums.
Some were breathing pretty loud, but Elmer could forgive that, and so
he also gave himself up to indulging in refreshing slumber.
He was awakened by a horrible crash that made him instantly sit up.
Other figures were bobbing up all around the smouldering camp fire.
From the condition of this latter, Elmer knew that he must have been
asleep much more than an hour.
"What happened?" gasped Landy the first thing, for he was digging his
fat knuckles into his heavy eyes as though trying to rout the last atom
of drowsiness from them.
"It was me," replied Lil Artha, promptly; "I fired my gun!"
"What at?" demanded Elmer, thrilled in spite of himself.
"A creeping man!" came the astounding answer.
"Wow! what's all that, Lil Artha?" Toby exclaimed; "you must have been
dreaming, and did it in your sleep. It's a good thing none of us
happened to be in range of your old Marlin scatter-gun, that's all."
"Rats! I tell you I was wide awake, and sitting up when I fired,"
insisted the tall scout.
Of course, by this time all were on their feet, for the excitement had
gripped hold of them. Elmer realized that Lil Artha was speaking
earnestly, and showing no symptoms of having played a practical joke.
"Now tell us all about it, Lil Artha," he commanded.
"Why, it was about thisaway," said the other, obediently. "I happened
to wake up and felt a bit thirsty, so I sat up thinking I'd crawl over
to our big jug of fresh water and take a swig. But just as I sat up I
saw something moving over in the bushes about twenty-five feet away.
Yes, sir, and the fire picked up just then so I could make out what
looked mighty like a man peeking at me through the same bushes--fact
is, I _know_ that's what it was, and nothing else."
"Well, what did you do then?" asked the patrol leader.
"I always keep my faithful Marlin handy when I sleep out in the woods,
you remember, Elmer," continued the other, with a touch of boyish pride
in his voice; "so all I had to do was to grab up the gun and blaze away
as quick as I could throw the same to my shoulder."
Elmer caught his arm in a fast grip.
"Not aiming at a man in the bushes only twenty-five feet away, Lil
Artha--don't tell me you were silly enough to do that?" he asked,
somewhat hoarsely.
The tall scout chuckled, and Elmer's fears were instantly dissipated.
"I'm not a fool, Elmer," he said, loftily. "I aimed away up in the
air, and shot to scare not to hurt!"
"Good enough, Lil Artha," the scout master went on to say in a relieved
tone; "I couldn't believe you'd be so reckless. A charge of bird shot
at that distance goes like a bullet, because it hasn't a chance to
scatter."
It was apparently Toby's turn to appear skeptical now.
"Huh! I s'pose he lit out then like a streak, after you'd wasted a
good charge of shot in the air, and knocked leaves from the branches of
trees--is that what you want us to believe, Lil Artha?"
"Didn't you hear the row he made rushing away?" demanded the other,
severely; "but then all of you started talking at once, and I guess you
didn't take much notice."
"I heard some sort of noise off that way," asserted Elmer, pointing.
"Correct, Elmer, for that's where he was kneeling, right over there in
those thick bushes. You see I mightn't have noticed him at all only he
happened to move just when a little flame shot up along that piece of
partly burned wood."
"Oh! I admit that you may have seen _something_," persisted Toby; "but
the chances are ten to one it was a white-faced heifer that had hit on
our camp, and was looking to see who and what we were. We happen to
know there's a stock farm not a great ways off, and I reckon their cows
get into the swamp once in so often."
"Think you've laid it down pretty pat, don't you?" sneered Lil Artha;
"but I'm going to show you where you're away off your base. Guess I've
got eyes, and know a human from a white-faced heifer. Watch my smoke,
that's all."
With that the indignant scout handed his gun to Chatz, and stepping
over to the fire picked up the half-burned brand which he had mentioned
before. This Lil Artha whirled briskly around his head several times
until he had it crackling and taking fire afresh, so that it promised
to make a very fair torch, if used for only a brief time.
Elmer made no objections to the programme. Indeed, he was deeply
interested in the outcome, whatever it might prove to be.
After having made sure of sufficient light, Lil Artha boldly strode
directly toward the spot he had indicated as the scene of the
near-tragedy.
"Go slow, Lil Artha," warned cautious Landy; "he might be laying for
you there. Keep him covered, Chatz, with the gun, won't you?"
"Oh! give us a rest, Landy; didn't I tell you he hoofed it like fun
after that shot gave him a scare? Who's afraid?"
With that Lil Artha reached the bushes indicated, and the others were
close on his heels, every fellow eager to find out whether what he had
told them was in fact true, or if the apparition had only been a
figment of Lil Artha's imagination, the tail-end, as it were, of a
stirring dream.
Bending down, the long-legged scout began to scan the ground. His
discoveries started almost immediately, as his excited words announced:
"Here's where he pushed back the brush, as you c'n see for yourselves.
Yes, and there's aplenty of footprints besides. Looky where he knelt
down, because here's the mark of his knees as plain as anything. Now
what do you say, Toby Jones? Is the laugh on me, after all?"
Toby had to confess that it did not look that way.
"Oh! I'm ready to own up you did see a man snooping around our camp,
Lil Artha," he confessed, frankly; "and when you let fly with that load
he lit out like all possessed. Elmer, of course the chances are it was
_that man_, don't you think?"
"We know of no other in this region," said the patrol leader. "He must
have discovered our fire, and was creeping up when our vigilant comrade
saw him, meaning to steal part of our food supply. We happen to know
they're short of grub, and now that the country is being roused against
them this man is beginning to be more or less afraid to venture out of
the swamp to secure another lot of fowls, or anything else along the
eating line."
"But it looks as if he came here alone, Elmer, seeing we can find only
one set of footprints," remarked Lil Artha.
"Oh! mercy! I certainly hope now he hasn't done anything _ter_rible to
our chum, Hen Condit," quavered Landy, in a panic.
"There's no reason why we should believe such a thing," announced
Elmer, decidedly; "we've already agreed that he possesses some sort of
strange power over poor Hen, and I suppose the boy is waiting in their
camp away from here, for the man to come back with provisions."
They walked back and the fire was revived, for since no one felt just
like trying to sleep again they concluded to sit up a while and talk it
all over. This attempted visit on the part of the unknown man had
apparently put a new face on the whole matter. It might change their
plans considerably, too, some of the scouts feared.
"I don't see why that should be," Elmer explained. "Of course, after
this we'll have to keep a watch every night, so as to hold him up if he
tries to get away with any of our stuff. It may hurry things along in
the end. If they have little to eat, and the man is really afraid to
go outside of the swamp thinking the police are waiting to arrest him,
he may make up his mind to surrender to us."
"Then you believe he knows why we're here, do you, Elmer?" demanded
Toby.
"It seems possible, although, of course, we have to jump at
conclusions, because we really don't know," came the answer.
"Whew! but this is all a dark mystery," confessed Landy; "and I never
was much account at guessing the answer to riddles. Who is this man;
what is he holding over Hen Condit's head; why should our chum do that
awful thing, and then leave such a silly letter behind to convict
himself? I'm all in a whirl, and if anybody can straighten me out I'd
be a heap obliged."
Apparently, nobody could, at least there was no effort made in that
direction. In fact, to tell the truth, all the boys felt that they
were groping in the gloom, and even their best guesses had only a
slender foundation.
"We've enlisted in the war, though," said Lil Artha, grimly, "and we
won't be kept back by any little thing. If that chap comes snooping
around any more he stands a mighty good chance of getting hurt, that's
all I'm going to say about it."
"And we'll run across Hen, sooner or later, you can put that in your
pipe and smoke it," asserted Toby Jones, firmly.
When they had discussed the subject from every side, without picking up
much additional information worth while, the boys began to feel sleepy
again. So Elmer told them off in watches, two scouts being assigned to
duty at a time. Landy was left out, because he was the odd fellow, and
perhaps for other obvious reasons.
He pretended to be quite indignant over the slight, and vowed that he
would certainly sit up through one of the watches with the pair whose
turn it happened to be. But none of them took his threats seriously,
because they knew full well when Landy Smith once got asleep it
required something like a young earthquake to arouse him. Elmer hardly
anticipated another visit from the mysterious unknown that night. He
fancied the fellow must have imagined Lil Artha really shot point-blank
at him, and that it was only his good luck which enabled him to escape
disaster.
Being too good a scout to take unnecessary chances, and not wishing to
lose the main part of such supplies as they had fetched along for
several days' use, the patrol leader took all due precautions.
The fire was kept up the balance of the night in the bargain, for they
felt as though the illumination helped to guard them. Complete
darkness might have tempted a raiding thief to try again, while he
would be afraid to attempt such a risky move while the flames crackled
and lighted up the immediate surroundings.
After all, nothing happened to disturb them. The sentries stuck
diligently to their duties, and changed at the time appointed. This
had been laid out by Elmer, as the sky had cleared and the stars could
be plainly seen in places. He figured time from the position of
certain bright planets, and their setting would mean the different
changes in guard mount. Scouts who have been in camp have learned
these methods of telling time by the use of the heavenly watch, and few
of them after once mastering the interesting method find a need for
Ingersols.
When daylight sifted in through the treetops overhead, the boys gave
signs of arousing. Landy, of course, was the last to awaken, and he
professed to be quite heart-broken because no one had called him in
time to help stand out that watch. The gleam of humor in his eyes,
however, told Elmer that the fat boy was not quite so much disappointed
as he made out to be. In fact, the patrol leader was beginning to fear
that Landy had latterly shown signs of developing a new trait in his
composition, and started to play the part of a deceiver, in return for
constant badgering on the part of his fun-loving mates.
It was while they were eating breakfast that Elmer propounded a new
scheme, and after placing it before his comrades asked them what their
opinions were.
"The question now is," was what he said, seriously, "whether we mean to
keep on poling our skiff along the waterways; or shouldering our packs
take the shore from now on; and as our rule always has been, majority
votes carry the day."