A SCOUT IS RESOURCEFUL
Bedlam reigned at the quarry hole. A score of frantic circus men were
shouting orders at each other, lanterns were bobbing about among the
wagons, and every one was beside himself with excitement. One little
gray-haired man seemed almost distraught over the situation. He was
storming up and down the road, alternately roaring commands and
delivering tirades against everything in general. It was quite evident
that he was the manager of the outfit.
"Now we're in a fine mess," he thundered as he strode to the edge of the
quarry and peered down into the darkness. "It's so dogon dark down there
we can't even see th' brute. How'll we ever get him out? That's what I
want to know. Hang the man who's responsible for this mess! Gol-ding
t'--_wush_--_phew_."
His soliloquy on the brink of the quarry hole ended abruptly when with a
snort the elephant shot a trunk full of water out of the darkness,
bowling the little man over and drenching every thing and everybody.
"Kill t' beast! Kill him, Gol--ding his hide!" screamed the dripping
manager as he picked himself up out of the mud. But he was such a
comical figure that every one shouted with laughter.
To Bruce and the Scouts the whole situation was extremely humorous.
Evidently the lead elephant had wandered into the washout and lost his
footing. The next thing he knew he had slid with a big splash into the
quarry hole. And then, having a fondness for water and seeing no way to
climb up the twenty-foot wall of rocks, he had decided to stay there and
have a thoroughly good time.
But Bruce realized that they could not indulge their humor long, for as
guardians of the road it was their duty to give all the assistance they
could. Hastily the patrol leader made an inspection of the pit by the
light of his pocket flash. He remembered a derrick on one side of the
cut. And he hastened to look that over, for already he was beginning to
form plans for getting the beast out of trouble.
He noted with satisfaction that the derrick had been only partly
dismantled and that the rusty steel cable was coiled up in a pile beside
the heavy upright. Then he returned to the roadside and approached the
agitated little manager.
"We are the Guardians of the Highways for Woodbridge, sir," he said, "and
we would--"
"You are the WHAT!" roared the manager.
"The Guardians of the Highways and--"
"Well, why in tarnation didn't yuh guard 'em then? I--I--I--"
Bruce interrupted the sputtering manager by pointing to the red light.
"There's our light. We did our part. It must have been your fault. But
no matter; we'll help you get the animal out of the quarry if you'll let
us.
"How'll yuh do it? Haven't got a thing in my outfit t' pull him out
with."
"Oh, we'll do it all right," said Bruce. Then briefly he outlined his
plan to the skeptical circus manager. And when he had finished talking
the old man looked at him in amazement.
"Can you do all that?" he demanded.
"Sure we can," said Bruce. "We're the Boy Scout Engineers. Just loan me
some of your canvas men who know how to rig a block and tackle and we'll
have the elephant on his way to St. Cloud by daylight at the latest."
"All right, I'll go you," said the manager.
Bruce gathered about him all the Scouts not doing patrol duty.
"Fellows," he said, "we can get the elephant out of the hole all right,
but it will mean some hard work. I want you, Romper, to go back to
Woodbridge and tell the parents of every fellow here that we have serious
work to do. Tell them not to worry if we don't get back until late.
Then I want the Owl Patrol to go to headquarters and get all the No. 10
wire we have on hand, load it on a couple of wheelbarrows and start
stringing a line from our switchboard in the machine shop down to the
quarry hole here.
"String it along the fences and where you have to cross Druery road put
it overhead from tree to tree. Remember, no monkeying with the telegraph
or telephone poles! We can be arrested for anything like that. Romper,
you can stop in and ask Mr. Ford if he won't go up to Headquarters and
connect up the new line. I don't think we should fuss with the
switchboard at night.
"Now, I want the Blue Herons to go to headquarters and disconnect the big
five-horsepower motor on the lathe. Load it aboard 'Old Nanc' and bring
it down here as fast as you can. On your way turn in at Druery road and
run up to the Baldwin quarries. Ask Dave Porter, the night foreman
there, if you can borrow the largest and heaviest blasting mat he has.
We'll need that. Now hurry, fellows."
The Scouts started off immediately, and Bruce turned to the circus
manager.
"Now, if you'll bring your canvas men along, I'll give them a good, hard
job. It's one we boys couldn't handle. Are you ready?"
"Sure!" said the manager. Then to his men, "Come on, boys!"
Bruce led the group around the quarry hole to the north side and pointed
out the derrick and the coil of rusted steel cable.
"Here's what we'll lift the elephant out with, providing the boom will
hold and your men can string the heavy cable through the pulleys at
night."
"Huh! our end of it is no trick for a bunch of canvasbacks," said the
foreman of the gang. "Get busy, boys, quick now! Some of you bring some
gasoline torches so's we kin see! Move now, you fellers!"
In five minutes the circus men were working like beavers, weaving the
cable through the pulleys, placing the heavy boom and getting the derrick
fitted up for service. The system and speed with which the trained tent
riggers went about their task was nothing short of marvelous to Bruce.
He watched them almost fascinated until the little manager came up and
claimed his attention.
"Look here you feller, I ain't sure your scheme is goin' t' work out,"
said he, skeptically. "How'er we goin' t' get some light into t' hole t'
see the brute? These gasoline torches can't be lowered down there. The
elephant would go wild and probably drowned hisself, an' if--"
"I'm figuring on using the headlights of Old Nanc (that's the troop's
automobile we built last winter) for searchlights. They are powerful
enough and can be turned anywhere we need 'em. There, you can get a look
at them now. That's Old Nanc on her way here."
Up the road sounded a siren, and the little manager turned to see two
headlights bowling toward him. It was Old Nanc loaded down with the
heavy motor, blasting mat and tools.
"Fine, Bud; you made a fast trip. How are the wire stringers getting
along?" shouted Bruce to the Scout who was driving the machine.
"We passed them about a hundred and fifty yards from here. They are
coming along in fine shape."
"Good," said Bruce. "Now bring Old Nanc right up to the edge of the
quarry hole. We want to shine her headlights down into there and see
what it looks like below. Some of the circus men can unload the motor,
and Nipper, you can show them how to set it up on the derrick platform.
And while all this is going on, Babe, you take charge of making a sling.
Take this blasting mat and get a couple of circus men to help you head a
section of cable to each of the four corners. Fasten the ends together
around that rusty derrick hook attached to the end of the cable. Hurry
it, will you, fellows?"
With the help of some of the "canvas-backs," the automobile was worked
off of the road and into the field on the north side of the quarry hole
near the derrick. Then it was pushed cautiously toward the edge of the
pit and its wheels blocked by some big pieces of marble so that it would
not roll into the hole. The rays of the headlights dispelled the
darkness below immediately and there was His Highness the Elephant,
almost submerged, looking up at them with his ridiculously small eyes.
"Huh! Consarn it! I _knew_ you kids was playin' me fer a fool," roared
the circus manager when he looked into the cut. "How'er you're goin' to
hitch anything around _that_ animal, I'd like to know?"
"We don't intend to hitch anything around him. We're going to make a
sling of that big blasting mat and raise him out that way."
"Yes!" roared the furious manager, "but how in tarnation are you going to
get it _under_ his belly? Think some one is going down there and dive
between his legs with your blooming old sling, do yuh? That animal is
nearly all under water, remember."
To tell the truth, that question _had_ been bothering Bruce from the
first. He had hoped that the water was only two or three feet deep. But
there was at least ten feet of drainage in the quarry hole! He stood
beside Old Nanc and bit his lips in his embarrassment. Luck seemed
against him. Was everything going to fall through at the last moment?
He did not answer the irate manager, but began to turn one of the
headlights slowly so its rays illuminated the west wall of the hole.
Then suddenly the light paused, and a smile crept over the boy's face.
The white beams had revealed to him a shelf of marble two feet above the
water-line and at least ten feet across, skirting the lower edge of the
west wall. He saw defeat turned into victory!
"Will that elephant mind his trainer?" Bruce demanded of the manager.
"Huh! Will he? Well, you'd better guess he will!" stormed the man.
"Then everything is simple. You lower the trainer in a bo'son's chair
over the west wall there and down to that ledge of marble. He can coax
the animal out of the water and up on the rocks, and after that we can
send a couple more men down with the sling and they can do the rest. See
the plan?"
"Well, I'll be hanged! You win, young feller," said the manager, smiling
for the first time since the accident.
At this point the lads of the Owl Patrol reached the quarry hole
trundling several empty wheelbarrows. Jiminy Gordon was carrying the
remains of the last roll of wire.
"Here we are, Bruce, ready to connect up, but you'd better believe
building a line at night is no easy job, by Jiminy."
"Guess it isn't," said Bruce in a businesslike tone. "Is Mr. Ford at
headquarters?"
"Yes, he's waiting to turn on the current whenever he gets your signal."
"Great!" said Bruce. "I was a little worried about that. There isn't
any real danger, but you might have made a ground or a short circuit and
upset everything." Then turning to Nipper Knapp, he shouted, "How about
the motor, Nipper?"
"Set and ready for connections," shouted the Scout.
"Right-o! Then we'll have Mr. Elephant out of the hole in a jiffy,"
shouted Bruce, as he seized the two ends of the wires and began to bend
them about the terminals of the motor. He worked with speed and accuracy
and the little circus manager could not help commenting on his skill as
an electrician.
"Hum! I guess you lads know what you're doin', all right," he said.
"Well, we hope our efforts are successful," said Bruce. Then he added,
"It's time you sent your trainer down there on the ledge to get the
elephant out of the water."
"Don't worry, son; we ain't losin' no time on our end of this game. He's
down there now an'--."
Shouts of laughter from the crowd assembled around the edge of the hole
interrupted the little manager.
He and Bruce both looked up involuntarily. Then they, too, burst into
uproarious laughter at the spectacle.
The trainer had gone down onto the ledge with an armful of bread loaves
to tempt the elephant out of the water. There he stood holding out a
loaf invitingly while the elephant, still half submerged, held his great
mouth open and his trunk aloft expecting the man to toss the bread toward
him. But this was not the trainer's intention.
"Come on, Toby; come on. Yuh gotta come out t' git this meal," he
called.
The elephant moved a little closer and waved his trunk aloft impatiently
as if beckoning the trainer to toss the loaf.
"Oh, no, yuh don't. Come on out, Toby; come on--Hi! Go! ding yuh,
leggo!-- Hi! _Help!_ Help!"
Toby had refused to be tempted any longer. The waving trunk descended
and wrapped quickly about the trainer's leg. Then slowly the animal
began to pull the man toward the water. The trainer was startled half
to death. He dropped the bread and began to struggle mightily, for the
black water looked cold to him even though the elephant did seem to enjoy
it. He clutched at the smooth marble floor and tried to brace himself with
his unincumbered leg, shouting lustily all the time.
"Hi! help me! Help! Kill th' beast! I don' wanna git a duckin'!
I--I--got a cold in--my--" _Splash--blub--blub--blub--_
Toby's black little eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief as he gave a
final tug and plunged the trainer into the water. Then while the man
floundered about, the animal deliberately put his two front feet onto the
edge of the shelf and reached out toward the pile of loaves. One by one
he picked them up and deftly slipped them into his mouth, disregarding
the shouts of the trainer.
But once in the water the man decided that he would stay in and drive the
elephant out.
"Hi, Jerry," he shouted. "Throw me down the pike. I'll git the blasted
critter out o' here if it takes me all night!"
Jerry tossed the short pike pole down onto the shelf and the trainer
climbed out to get it. When the elephant saw the pole he immediately
began to wade across the quarry hole.
"Oh, no, yuh don't, Toby. I'll git yuh, now," shouted the man, as he
plunged back into the water and began to swim toward the beast.
"Git outa here, yuh brute," he thundered, when he came alongside the huge
bulk. And he accentuated his command by jabbing the pike deep into the
beast's hide. As meekly as a lamb the elephant turned around, after
allowing the trainer to climb onto the top of his head, he waded toward
the shelf and climbed out of the water without the slightest sign of
rebellion.
"There, consarn his pesky hide, he's out now," said the little manager to
Bruce, who was still laughing over the comical antics of the big beast.
"Good," said the lad. Then, turning, he called to Babe, "Hi! how about
the blasting mat sling--is it finished?"
"Yes, it's ready," shouted the fat Scout.
"Well, then, we're all in good shape," said the patrol leader, inspecting
the outfit. "Now for business. Ho, Jiminy, flash Mr. Ford the signal."
Instantly Gordon bounded out of the circle of light and climbed the
nearest stone pile. Then with his battery he began to flash the Morse
code toward headquarters, where Mr. Ford was waiting. The circus manager
took the whole performance in with wide eyes.
"Say, hang it all, you Scouts know a thing or two, don't yuh?"
"Yes, we know enough to be fairly helpful," said Bruce modestly. Then,
as he saw Mr. Ford flash back his O.K., he said, "Now we'll let 'er go."
He seized the reverse lever on the motor and threw it over. The derrick
drums squeaked a moment before settling down to a business-like grumble.
Then the rusted steel cable, with the improvised blasting mat sling
dangling at its end, was played out swiftly until the mass of woven rope
settled down on the ledge beside the circus men, who were hard at work
putting chains about the elephant's feet and trunk so that he could not
squirm about in the sling. The adjusting of the heavy affair was no easy
task, but the men worked with a will and a few moments later Bruce caught
their signal that all was ready.
For a moment he paused with his hand on the starting switch. He was
almost afraid to throw it into position. "Oh, if the boom will only
hold," he whispered to himself, for to have his plans fail now would have
been more than he could endure.
He moved the switch. There was a slight arc as contact was made. Then
slowly the motor began to turn. The boom stiffened and creaked ominously
as the cable tightened. He pushed the switch over another notch. The
big animal was lifted off its feet!
Would the boom hold? Bruce and every member of the troop stood tense and
silent, as they saw the big body of the elephant dangling over the pit.
He was lifted a foot, two feet, _five_ feet! He was snorting and
squirming in protest, and Bruce's heart almost stopped when he saw the
boom give under his weight.
"Oh, if he would only hold still!" muttered the boy. "He'll smash the
timber, sure."
The patrol leader pushed the switch over still another notch and the
motor began to hum and sputter. The beast was raised ten feet, fifteen
feet, eighteen, twenty. Now he was on the level with the top of the
quarry!
Slowly the boom began to work in, creaking and snapping under the strain.
Splinters were raising here and there on the timber. Bruce knew it was
only a matter of seconds now before the great stick would be shattered.
The elephant was but a few feet from safety. Canvas men were reaching
out over the quarry's edge to seize the side of the sling. They gripped
it! They pulled and tugged, and with a prodigious squeak the boom swung
over. Then with a crash it buckled, dropping the elephant on the very
brink of the hole!
Fortunately, the timber did not part entirely or some one would have been
killed. The lacing of steel derrick cable held it in place, and
everything was safe.
It took the Scouts and the circus men a brief instant to realize this,
and when they did a cheer went up that must have waked the villagers in
Woodbridge.
The little circus manager was delighted. He rushed up and grasped
Bruce's hand.
"Fine work, young feller! Fine work, I say! Now you Scouts all git home
and tumble into bed. My men will clean things up here in fine shape.
It's half-past three. Sleep 'til ten o'clock and by that time a couple
of my best vans will be at that buildin' yuh call headquarters waitin' t'
take yuh t' St. Cloud. Yer goin' t' be my guests at t' circus er I'll
know the reason why."
"Gee, that's mighty good," said Bruce, excitedly. "How about it,
fellows? We don't mind taking _that_ sort of pay for a good turn, do
we?"
"You bet we don't," shouted the Scouts, enthusiastically. And a few
moments later they fell in line and started off toward Woodbridge.