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The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts
ENDURANCE TEST
or
How Clear Grit Won the Day
* * * * *
A SERIES OF BOOKS FOR BOYS
Which, in addition to the interesting boy scout
stories by CAPTAIN ALAN DOUGLAS, Scoutmaster, contain
articles on nature lore, native animals and a fund of
other information pertaining to out-of-door life, that
will appeal to the boy's love of the open
I. The Campfires of the Wolf Patrol
Their first camping experience affords the scouts
splendid opportunities to use their recently acquired
knowledge in a practical way. Elmer Chenowith, a lad
from the northwest woods, astonishes everyone by his
familiarity with camp life. A clean, wholesome story
every boy should read.
II. Woodcraft; or, How a Patrol Leader Made Good
This tale presents many stirring situations in which
some of the boys are called upon to exercise all their
ingenuity and unselfishness. A story filled with
healthful excitement.
III. Pathfinder; or, The Missing Tenderfoot
Some mysteries are cleared up in a most unexpected
way, greatly to the credit of our young friends. A
variety of incidents follow fast, one after the other.
IV. Fast Nine; or, a Challenge From Fairfield
They show the same team-work here as when in camp. The
description of the final game with the team of a rival
town, and the outcome thereof, form a stirring
narrative. One of the best baseball stories of recent
years.
V. Great Hike; or, The Pride of The Khaki Troop
After weeks of preparation the scouts start out on
their greatest undertaking. Their march takes them far
from home, and the good-natured rivalry of the
different patrols furnishes many interesting and
amusing situations.
VI. Endurance Test; or, How Clear Grit Won the Day
Few stories "get" us more than illustrations of pluck
in the face of apparent failure. Our heroes show the
stuff they are made of and surprise their most ardent
admirers. One of the best stories Captain Douglas has
written.
Boy Scout Nature Lore to be Found in The Hickory Ridge Boy Scout Series
Wild Animals of the United States--Tracking--in Number I.
Trees and Wild Flowers of the United States in Number II.
Reptiles of the United States in Number III.
Fishes of the United States in Number IV.
Insects of the United States in Number V.
Birds of the United States in Number VI.
_Cloth Binding_ _Cover Illustrations in Four Colors_
_40c. Per Volume_
THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
147 FOURTH AVENUE (near 14th St.) NEW YORK
* * * * *
ENDURANCE TEST
or
How Clear Grit Won the Day
* * * * *
COMPLETE ROSTER, WHEN THE PATROLS WERE FILLED, OF
THE HICKORY RIDGE TROOP OF BOY SCOUTS
MR. RODERIC GARRABRANT, SCOUT MASTER
THE WOLF PATROL
ELMER CHENOWITH, Patrol Leader, and also Assistant Scout Master
MARK CUMMINGS
TED (THEODORE) BURGOYNE
TOBY (TOBIAS) ELLSWORTH JONES
"LIL ARTHA" (ARTHUR) STANSBURY
CHATZ (CHARLES) MAXFIELD
PHIL (PHILIP) DALE
GEORGE ROBBINS
THE BEAVER PATROL
MATTY (MATTHEW) EGGLESTON, Patrol Leader
"RED" (OSCAR) HUGGINS
TY (TYRUS) COLLINS
JASPER MERRIWEATHER
TOM CROPSEY
LARRY (LAWRENCE) BILLINGS
HEN (HENRY) CONDIT
LANDY (PHILANDER) SMITH
THE EAGLE PATROL
JACK ARMITAGE, Patrol Leader
NAT (NATHAN) SCOTT
(others to be enlisted until this patrol has reached its legitimate
number)
* * * * *
[Illustration: "We're gaining a little all the time, fellows!" exclaimed
Elmer.]
The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts
ENDURANCE TEST
or
How Clear Grit Won the Day
by
CAPTAIN ALAN DOUGLAS SCOUT MASTER
[Illustration]
The New York Book Company
New York
Copyright, 1913, by
The New York Book Company
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I.--SURPRISING LANDY 17
II.--SIGNS OF TROUBLE AHEAD 25
III.--THE LURE OF THE RED FLAG 35
IV.--THE FINISH OF TY'S FAMOUS SWEATER 42
V.--A DOUBLE-ACTION JOKE 50
VI.--STRANGE SOUNDS FROM THE WATER 58
VII.--THE NEWS THAT GEORGE BROUGHT 66
VIII.--UNDER THE TWINKLING STARS 74
IX.--THE INVASION OF THE CAMP 82
X.--THE EDUCATION OF ADAM 90
XI.--A LOUD CALL FOR HELP 98
XII.--SHOWING THEIR METTLE 106
XIII.--HOW THE SCOUTS WON OUT 114
XIV.--SEARCHING THE HAY BARN 122
XV.--THE CAPTURE OF THE TRAMPS 130
XVI.--GOOD-BY TO THE SWEETWATER 138
ENDURANCE TEST
OR
HOW CLEAR GRIT WON THE DAY
THE HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS
ENDURANCE TEST;
OR,
HOW CLEAR GRIT WON THE DAY.
CHAPTER I.
SURPRISING LANDY.
"LET Adam Limburger have a try, fellows!"
"Yes, give the new tenderfoot scout a chance to show what he can do in
the water."
"That's the ticket; just watch him take the high dive, will you, boys?"
"Mine gootness gracious, poys, oxcuse me, if you blease. If you dink I
can dot blunge make vidoudt upsetting mineself, you haf anudder guess
coming."
"Try it, Adam!"
"You've just got to, you know, old chap! Everybody's jumped but you; and
all the while you've just sat there on the bank and watched us cutting
up!"
"Shut your eyes, Adam, if you're timid, and then go; head or feet first,
we don't care which, so long as you make a big splash."
"Ach, idt vould not, pe sooch a surprises if Adam he preaks his neck:
put, poys, if dot happens, somepody carry de news to mine mudder. Py
chimineddy, here I go!"
"Get out of the way, Ty Collins, if you don't want to get squashed; for
here comes Adam down the shoot-the-shoot plunge!"
A number of lads were in swimming out in the country quite a number of
miles away from the home town of Hickory Ridge. Besides the stout German
who was standing in a hesitating way on the springboard that had been
thrust out from the high bank, some ten feet above the water, there were
Elmer Chenowith, Ty Collins, Landy Smith, and Ted Burgoyne, the latter
of whom, though afflicted with a decided lisp, was looked upon with
considerable respect among his fellows in the Boy Scout troop, because
of his knowledge of medicine and the rudiments of surgery.
They had been splashing and having a splendid time for at least ten
minutes after entering the water, when somebody happened to notice that
the new recruit in the Hickory Ridge troop of Boy Scouts, Adam
Litzburgh, a name that had been quickly corrupted into Limburger by the
boys, did not seem to enter into the sport, but contented himself with
either dipping his feet into the water, as if afraid, or else sitting
ashore in the shade watching his new mates.
Adam seemed to be inclined toward stoutness, although hardly in the same
class with Landy, who had long been bantered by his chums on account of
his ever-increasing tendency to put on flesh in spite of all he could
do.
"Lock at the board bend, would you, fellows!" cried Ty Collins, as the
German recruit stood there, balancing at the end, as though fearful of
what the result would be should he jump.
"He's glued to it, that's what," said Landy, who was anxious to discover
whether Adam would make a greater splash than he himself produced when
he came down like a huge frog into the water of the Sweetwater River;
for this was not the familiar "swimming-hole" of the Hickory Ridge
boys, but miles farther away from home.
Adam made several violent gestures as though he might be going to jump,
and then shook his head vigorously in the negative.
"Noddings doing, poys!" he grinned.
"Hey, none of that crawfishing, now, Adam!" cried Ty. "You've just _got_
to jump, once anyhow. We'll stand by and yank you out if you can't swim.
Perhaps the boys over in your beloved Yarmany don't learn as early as
Yankees do. Go on, now!"
"Want us to come up there and push you off, you Dutch cheese!" called
Landy, in the hope of arousing the belligerent nature of the Teuton, and
thus making him conquer his timidity.
"Vell, py shiminy crickets, off you dink you can scare Adam Litzburgh,
poys, you haf anudder guess goming. Look oudt pelow!"
Elmer had been watching the antics of Adam with a critical eye. Before
these last words were spoken he had turned to Ted, who chanced to be
swimming near him, and remarked significantly:
"That fellow is pulling the wool over the eyes of Ty and Landy."
"Think tho?" asked Ted, quickly.
"Just watch and see," replied the other, who, besides being the leader
of his patrol, known as the Wolf Patrol, was also the assistant scout
master of the troop and authorized by certificate from the headquarters
of the organization to assume the duties of Mr. Garrabrant whenever that
gentleman was away on business.
Suddenly Adam gave a bound up and down until the springy board had taken
on a motion superior to anything that had been done by the others in
their efforts to excel.
As it came up finally, the body of the German boy leaped into the air.
Those who were watching with distended eyes saw him turn over twice
before he struck the surface of the water, beneath which he shot with
the grace of a fish.
Elmer gave a shout.
"I thought as much; Adam was hoodwinking you, boys!" he laughed.
"Wow, did you ever see the like of that! A double somersault before he
struck, and then he dived under like a greenback frog from a log!" and
Landy's fat face was a study as he looked his utter amazement.
"I take it all back!" shouted Ty. "They _do_ know how to dive over in
Yarmany and beat us all hollow. Say, fellows, I bet you Adam is going to
prove to be the best water dog in all Hickory Ridge. Look at him
swimming there, will you? I've seen an otter or a muskrat doing it that
way, but never a boy. Ain't he the peach though! I take off my hat to
Adam!"
"That'th what we all thay!" cried Ted, enthusiastically.
"Three cheers for our new comrade, fellows; here's to Adam, and may he
prove as great a find as a true scout as he has a water duck!" exclaimed
Elmer.
The cheers rang out, and were followed with a "tiger." Adam was coming
back now, and his red face beamed with satisfaction. They had been
inclined to look on him as a real greenhorn; and no doubt that was what
he would prove to be with regard to most of the ways of woodcraft in
which scouts desire to become proficient; but the boy from across the
big water had certainly surprised his new mates this day by his
expertness at diving and swimming.
So long as they remained in the water they kept Adam busy showing off.
He had a dozen clever tricks from the springboard; and there was no one
in Hickory Ridge who, as Ty declared, could "hold a candle to him."
"No, nor in Fairfield, either," said Elmer, after he had seen what the
German lad could do; "and if we ever have another series of rival tests
with our friends over there, make up your minds, fellows, that Adam will
stand in a class all his own."
Finally, when some of the boys began to show signs of blue lips, Elmer
declared they had been in long enough. When one is not accustomed to
being in the water at all hours, the vitality of the system is exhausted
after a certain time; and those who are wise will make it a point to
come out before they get to shivering, even on a hot September day, like
the one that found these Hickory Ridge scouts in camp up on the
Sweetwater.
A few of the boys, it seemed, had not had quite enough of outdoor life
during the long vacation and they had induced Elmer to start out for
three days more of camping, taking a tent along and a few things
calculated to add to their comfort.
Adam, as the latest addition to the troop, asked permission to accompany
them, and as he was something of a comical fellow they expected to have
more or less fun at his expense as a greenhorn.
After this remarkable experience, however, some of them began to suspect
that the shoe might frequently prove to be on the other foot; and that
the German boy would turn the tables on them, even as he had done in the
water test.
The tent was pitched close by, at a point selected by Elmer as the best
to be found along that part of the river. The ground had the proper
drainage in case of a heavy storm and was not under any high tree, so
that the danger from lightning was reduced to a minimum.
They had brought a few things along to eat; and as farms lay not far
away, each day some of the scouts trailed over to one of these in order
to purchase other articles, such as fresh milk, eggs, butter, and green
corn, and on this morning Elmer had brought back a couple of fine
chickens which a farmer had presented to him.
Of course, the rest of the boys understood that at some past time Elmer
must have done the farmer a favor; for he was always eager to lend a
helping hand when an occasion arose; but he declined to tell the story,
and as they had the chickens the boys found no fault.
Elmer had made an oven in the ground, after the type used by hunters in
many lands. A deep hole was scooped out, and a hot fire kept going for
some hours; then the red ashes were removed, and the chickens, properly
wrapped in big leaves, placed in the oven which was then hermetically
sealed with clay.
This might be called the first "fireless cooker." It is the very
principle upon which all those now on the market are constructed; and,
indeed, the bottles that are guaranteed to keep their contents hot for
twenty-four hours are fashioned on some similar lines for retaining the
heat.
For six hours now had those spring roasters been in "hot storage," as
Landy called it, and many were the appeals to Elmer to know if they
would be ready by the time they had the corn and other things done.
The afternoon was wasting away. In another hour the sun would be
setting. Elmer was busying himself at the fire with Ty, who claimed to
be something of a cook and had proved this on various occasions. Ted was
overhauling the little case of remedies, without which he seldom went
anywhere. Adam and Landy had taken a small camera, loaned by one of the
other members of the troop, a tall scout known to his chums as "Lil
Artha," and with this they expected to take a few snapshots of the camp,
the picturesque river as seen in the afternoon glow, and such things as
appeal to the average boy looking around for subjects on which to
execute his skill as a photographer.
They could be heard rummaging among the bushes not far away, and Landy
seemed to be getting more or less fun out of the German tenderfoot, who
was utterly new to the ways of the American woods, however familiar he
might be with any species of water.
Elmer had just made up his mind, after a sly investigation on his own
account, that the chickens were deliciously done, and hence there need
be no further delay about starting the balance of the dinner, when he
heard Landy's rather whining voice approaching, and raised his head to
watch.
When the two came into camp it was noticed that Adam seemed to be
leading his companion, who was acting rather queer. At first Elmer
wondered whether the fat boy could have been overcome by the heat, for
his face was unusually red. Then he saw that Landy seemed anxious to dig
his knuckles into his eyes.
"What's the matter, Landy?" asked Ty, whose attention had also been
directed to the incoming pair.
"I declare if I know what to make of it, fellows," said the fat boy, as
he stood there, trying to grin at them, though he certainly looked
foolish, with his cheeks beginning to puff out and furiously red. "Just
can't seem to see right. Feels like my eyes were going to close. And no
wasp stung me, either; that is, as far as I know. It feels awful tough,
I tell you now, and that's no joke."
Elmer bent forward to look closer.
Then his face assumed a serious expression.
"Well, I should say it wasn't a joke, Landy!" he exclaimed.
"But what's the matter with me, Elmer; tell a fellow, won't you?"
pleaded the afflicted one.
"Why, you're poisoned, that's what!" declared Elmer.
Landy immediately let out a whoop; but although he was undoubtedly
frightened, it seemed as though his face could not possibly turn white,
as might have been expected under the circumstances.
"Me poisoned!" he exclaimed. "Oh, whatever do you mean, Elmer!" he
cried, laying a puffy hand on the sleeve of the other's outing shirt,
which he had rolled up above his elbow in order to have greater freedom
in his movements.
"You've been foolish enough," Elmer went on with grave concern in his
voice, "Landy, to handle that rank stuff, poison ivy, and then rubbed
your hands all over your face. You've got a dose, all right, I'm
afraid!"