THE TWO WOLF PATROL BOYS
"I want to own up that I'm pretty nearly all in and done for!"
"Same here, Bud. The going was tough over that frozen side of old
Stormberg mountain. Then we are carrying such loads into the bargain."
"For one, I'm glad we are nearly there, Hugh."
"Yes, another steady pull and we ought to strike the shanty. We aimed
to get to it by nightfall, you remember, Bud."
"Yes, and after eating such a big Thanksgiving dinner, we've been
pretty spry to accomplish all we have. Why, I haven't had a pull
anything like this since we broke camp last summer up at Pioneer Lake!"
"And we never could have done it only for the lift we got from
Farmer Badgely, going home from market. That put us some miles on
the way. If you've rested enough, Bud, perhaps we would better be on
the move again. The sun is getting close to the diving line, you
notice."
"Here goes, then!"
With these words Bud Morgan, first-class scout and one of the leading
boys in the Wolf Patrol, inserted his arms in the loops of the pack
he was handling, and managed to heave it on to his sturdy back.
His companion did likewise, for each of them was "toting" much more
than the customary amount of luggage that a scout on the hike would
carry with him.
This comrade was an agile chap, about the same weight as Bud, but
with a wide-awake expression on his face that let everybody know in
the start that he was one of those born leaders who forge to the
front through circumstances often beyond their control.
Hugh Hardin was not only leader of the Wolf Patrol. Sometimes he had
been deputized to act in place of the regular scout master of the
troop, when Lieutenant Denmead and Assistant Rawson chanced to be
called away and could not serve. So well had Hugh carried out his
task on such occasions, it was generally accepted as a foregone
conclusion that in case the latter officer resigned, as he had lately
given hints of doing, Hugh would be elected in his stead. There might
be a few boys in the troop, now consisting of four patrols, who would
prefer to see Alec Sands, leader of the Otters, placed in that elevated
position, but his popularity was confined to his particular chums,
while that of Hugh embraced members of every patrol.
On this day, Hugh and Bud had started from home immediately after
partaking of a glorious Thanksgiving feast. As all preparations had
been made for this trip up into the wilderness many miles above the
home town, it was evident that they had a particular object in view;
which, in fact, was the case.
Bud Morgan was rather given to conjuring up new and sometimes
startling inventions. These he usually tried upon some of his mates
and not always in a fashion to add to their peace of mind, either.
On more than one occasion in the past they had been suddenly
confronted by some innovation that for the moment rather demoralized
the valiant wearers of the scout khaki.
Bud had not been very successful in his wonderful inventions. They
were apt to disappoint him in the severe testing out. Theory might
be all very well, but when it came to practice there was generally
a screw loose in his figuring that could not be tightened; and, in
consequence, trouble often perched on Bud's shoulders.
During the late summer and early autumn he had been working on some
idea that seemed to have taken hold of his mind to a greater extent
than any previous effort had ever done. His chums knew of it, but
no one had been able to coax Bud to let them share his confidence.
When the time came that Bud could not contain his secret any longer,
he had gone to the leader of his patrol and confessed. At the same
time he managed to interest Hugh to such an extent that the other
promised to go off with him during the few days of grace granted by
the school authorities around "turkey-eating time" in late November,
so as to give his new invention at least a fair trial.
And this was why they had started so soon after the annual big dinner,
which fact in itself spoke volumes for the grit and determination
of the two lads. Few boys would have been in condition to walk three
miles during the balance of the day.
They knew one fellow at least, Billy Worth, also a Wolf scout, who
was so fond of eating that doubtless at this very moment he was
stretched out at full length on the sofa in his den at home, trying
to figure how ever he could partake of supper after disposing of such
a stupendous amount of turkey and fixings.
In the previous stories of this series, the reader who may have been
fortunate enough to peruse them has come to know both Hugh and Bud
pretty well. They have been followed through many adventures
calculated to prove their worth as scouts, and, taken on the whole,
it will be admitted that in most cases the boys carried off the
honors. In the Wolf patrol, as well as among the Otters, Hawks,
and Foxes, there were other lads who were also animated by the
same sort of progressive spirit, and who never allowed an opportunity
to improve their minds or to broaden their knowledge of Nature
escape them.
After taking up their heavy burdens again, Hugh and his comrade
walked on for some time through the woods. The leaves were well
off the trees, though the oaks still held their brown mantle, being
the very last to shed their summer coat. It had frozen quite hard
for several nights previous, and some of the town boys had cherished
vague hopes that there might be ice for the Thanksgiving holidays, a
custom that used to prevail years before, according to the accounts
given by their parents. As yet, however, only a covering an inch
or so thick had settled on the ponds, and of course the running river
showed no signs of congealing, so that skating would have to be
postponed to a later date.
Around the two scouts there lay a complete wilderness of trees. Had
they searched high and low it is doubtful whether they could have
found a more lonely spot within twenty miles of home.
Stormberg Mountain, on which many of their previous adventures had
taken place, reared its peak on the right; and Rainbow Lake was
within two miles of their present location. In selecting this place
for their little outing, Bud had probably figured that the chances
of their being disturbed or spied upon by any of the curious town
boys would be very slight. And, like all modest inventors, Bud was
very shy about showing off until he could be certain that he had
actually something worth talking about to display.
The sun had seemed to hesitate upon the horizon, but now it took a
sudden dip below the earth's rim, and Bud exclaimed:
"Say, did you see the sun just slide out of sight then, as though he
was ashamed to leave us in the dark? This place has all grown up
since I was here last, so I hope we'll get to the shack before night
really sets in."
"We will all right, Bud, so don't worry any," laughed Hugh, whose
aim it seemed to be to take things as philosophically as possible,
especially when they could not be changed. "Right now I'm beginning
to recognize some familiar things around us. There is that chestnut
that has thrown out three young suckers. When it gets big, it will
make a land-mark worth talking about. I noticed it the last time I
was through these woods."
"Yes, like as not," grumbled Bud, who was very tired, "if the old
chestnut bug that's killing all the trees in the next county doesn't
get up here next year and put the kibosh on our fine nut trees for
keeps. Oh! look at that rabbit spin out of that brush pile! He's
on the jump, let me tell you! Hugh, I'm beginning to recognize some
things around here, too, that I remember must have been close to the
shack. There's the meadow clearing that I had in my mind when
choosing to come away up here to try out my latest wonder. Yes, and
as sure as anything, I can hear the singing of that little waterfall
just below the big spring."
"It seems to tell _me_ that I'm thirsty enough to stop and get a
drink before going on. The shack lies just back of that screen of
trees and bushes, anyway," Hugh remarked, as he turned slightly aside
and headed directly toward the quarter from whence that melodious
song arose.
Apparently Bud was of the same mind, for he instantly followed suit.
In another minute both scouts had deposited their packs on the hard
ground and were kneeling at the rim of the little basin where the
clear water, bubbling up from the sand, ran away in a busy stream
that as yet had not felt the chilling hand of Jack Frost.
Each boy produced a collapsible metal cup with which he could dip
into the sparkling spring. This is a much better way than bending
down and sucking in great quantities of water, without knowing what
impurities may be swallowed. Some scouts on their tramps even carry
a small filtering stone such as is used in the army, and this is
considered a wise precaution by thoughtful scout masters.
"Well, that tastes pretty fine," remarked Bud, after he had drunk his
fill and carefully replaced his cup in its receptacle; "and now to
get under cover. I reckon the very first thing we ought to attend
to is getting a supply of wood indoors, so as to make the old shanty
feel comfortable. I never think of a camp without seeing a camp
fire as the best thing in it. It is that that binds scouts together
more than any other part of the outdoor game, I think. Does it
strike you that way, too, Hugh?"
"Yes, I came to that conclusion," replied the leader of the Wolf
patrol, "after watching how anxious the boys always were to get
plenty of fuel ready long before night came. Then you know a
fire stands for grub time, too, and that always appeals to scouts
who have done lots of things during the day to tire themselves out."
"That's so, I've had heaps of fun just watching Billy Worth's eyes
dance while he hauled firewood into camp. With every armful he
seemed to be saying, 'There, that's going to help cook our supper
to-night! And we're going to have fried onions, and potatoes and
ham omelette!' I had half a notion to ask Billy to come along with
us on this trip, but somehow I hated to think of the fun he'd poke
at me in case my wonderful invention turned out to be a fizzle,
like so many of them have in the past. I knew _you_ wouldn't give
me away, Hugh, if that happened,---and if I lived to tell the tale!
Well, I hope I can get my pack on my back again for the last hundred
feet; but it comes harder every time. Thanks awfully for the poke,
Hugh; it did the business. Now I'm in harness and ready to go on."
The two weary scouts staggered more or less as they started to push
through the last barrier of trees and brush. They knew that they
would speedily discover the long deserted shack there among the
second growth thicket of young trees. Indeed, it was hardly half
a minute later when Bud came to a sudden halt, at the same time
saying in a hoarse whisper:
"Hugh, look there, will you? There's a light in the shanty! What
do you think of the meanness of that? After we've come all the
way up here just to keep to ourselves, then to find somebody camping
on the ground! Shucks! It makes me feel as if it was a bad omen,
and right in the start, too!"