THE INVASION OF THE CAMP.
"OH! what is it?" cried Landy, who was actually trembling all over as he
stood there in the night air, which had grown a trifle cooler during the
hours they had been asleep.
"What's Elmer going to do?" exclaimed George, as he saw the patrol
leader spring suddenly forward, and bend down.
"He'th got thomebody!" yelled Ted. "Perhapth it'th jutht one of the
trampth come over here to rob the camp!"
"Aber I dinks me he iss yust getting some off der vood to puts on der
fire," remarked Adam, who, strange to say, in all the excitement, seemed
to keep fairly calm.
It turned out to be exactly the case; for immediately Elmer threw
something on the smouldering fire, which started up a cheery blaze. When
this came about it was wonderful how much better all of them felt. A
crackling fire can do more to dispel thoughts of ghosts, and all such
silly things, than any other agency.
"But Ted," said George, "I don't think you could have guessed right,
because you see there ain't any sign of a tramp here."
"Sounded to me," ventured Landy, "like it was out there on the river.
Say, p'raps it might have been some poor duck just going down for the
last time!"
"Shucks!" grunted that unbeliever, George; "he'd never be able to let
out such a whang-doodle yell in that case. I ought to know, because I've
near drowned myself twice, and all I could do was just to gurgle and
kick and grab."
"How about that loon Elmer wath telling uth about?" suggested Ted,
softly. "From all he thaid I reckon it'd let out jutht thuch a noithe
ath that."
"Elmer, you heard it, didn't you?" demanded Landy.
"I sure did," came the reply.
"Wath it a loon, then?" went on Ted.
"Not the kind you mean, boys; I give you that straight," replied the
other.
"But it came from out there on the river, didn't it?" persisted Landy,
who seemed to have that notion imbedded in his brain pretty strongly.
Elmer shook his head in the negative.
"Then where did it come from?" asked Landy.
"I didn't tell you, boys," went on the patrol leader; "but knowing that
six in the tent would make it stuffy, I planned to sleep out here under
the stars, just as I've done many a night, you know. And so I was in a
pretty good position to hear where that whoop came from."
"Tell us, Elmer, tell us right away," demanded Landy, impatiently.
"The tent!" said Elmer, without hesitation.
The boys stared at each other.
"Say, he means that one of us let that yell out," remarked Landy.
"I know I didn't!" declared George.
"Not guilty!" chirped Ted immediately, holding up his right hand as he
spoke.
"Noddings doing, poys, mit me," Adam ventured to say, positively.
"How about Ty?" asked Elmer, chuckling.
"Where is he?" demanded Landy.
And thus, all at once, they awakened to the fact that one of their
number was absent, though no one save Elmer had noticed this before.
Landy rushed to the tent and looked in. The fire was by this time giving
out enough light to make it possible to see the entire interior.
Landy crawled inside, and almost immediately came forth again.
"Say, he ain't there! Ty's disappeared, fellows! Mebbe he's been taken
with a fit, and jumped into the river!" he cried, in tones that were
filled with horror.
"Elmer, what have you got to thay about that?" demanded Ted, who had
noticed the significant fact that the patrol leader did not seem to
share the alarm of the rest; indeed, he even smiled as though amused.
"Watch me," said Elmer.
He strode back of the tent, while the other boys waited with wondering
eyes. In a minute Elmer reappeared, nor was he alone. He had hold of a
shrinking figure, also clad in pajamas, and these of so violent a color
that they instantly recognized them as belonging to the boy who had
clung so long to that red sweater.
Yes, it was surely Ty, and he did not seem to be suffering to any great
extent. There was evidence of a grin hovering around the corners of his
mouth. Evidently Ty was the one who had crawled hastily under the canvas
of the tent after that fearful yell had awakened the entire party. "The
wicked flee when no man pursueth," and Ty knew that he was probably in
for a good raking, after giving his mates so great a scare.
"Hey, he's got him!" declared Landy. "Elmer knew where to find him. See
here, did you let off that awful whoop, Ty Collins?"
"I s'pose I did," replied the culprit, meekly. "I was dreaming about
that old bull, you see. Thought I was sitting up there between his
horns, and he was just gallivanting around the whole country with me,
jumpin' fences and all that. Then we came to a barn, oh, as high as the
church steeple at Hickory Ridge; and as sure as you live if that critter
didn't make straight for the same. I felt him rising in the air like a
balloon, and then I think I must have let out a squawk, fellers."
"Listen to him, would you!" cried Landy; "he calls that a squawk! Why,
it sounded like a whistle for down-brakes on the track; or else a feller
falling over a precipice ten thousand feet deep! And he's got the nerve
to say it was only a little squawk, just like a chicken would give!"
"Well, if you'd been dreaming like I was, you'd holler too," argued Ty.
"Say, I reckon I scared myself pretty bad too, for I crawled out of the
back of the tent in a big hurry, and tried to hide in the bushes. Then I
heard you talkin' and it struck me what I'd done. Didn't feel much like
walkin' in after that; but Elmer, he came and convinced me."
"No great harm done, boys," said Elmer. "And as Ty didn't mean to
frighten anybody, we'll have to let him off this time."
"Yes, if he'll promise not to repeat the dose, we might," grumbled
Landy.
"Don't believe him, if he does, because he won't keep his word,"
declared Doubting George.
"Well, what sort of remedy would you suggest?" asked Ty, indignantly.
"Gag him; that's the only way," returned George; "and even then I think
he'd find a loophole to let out another howl. Ty always could whoop it
up better than any other fellow at school. That's why they made him the
cheer captain when he couldn't get in the football game on account of a
sprain."
"You just try it," muttered Ty. "I've got troubles enough, and a plenty;
but a gag is going it a little too strong. Elmer says it's all right,
and that anybody is liable to have bad dreams. Think of what I went
through with, when that bull chased after me! Forget it, fellers, and
let's go back to our blankets."
"Yes, get along there, the whole bunch of you," laughed Elmer,
pretending to "shoo" them as he might a flock of little chickens. "It's
getting cool out here, and we've got a few more hours for sleep. So
long!"
So the five crept inside the tent again, and for some little while the
murmur of voices told that they did not find it so easy to drop off into
sleep as on the earlier occasion.
But finally all became silent. The episode was closed; and once more
sleep dominated the camp by the Sweetwater.
There was no further alarm that night. Perhaps Ty took warning from the
awful proposition made by George, and found some way of restraining his
inclination to dream; but no one ever knew how he did it.
When early morning came, with the cheep of birds in the thickets, Elmer
was the first one to be stirring. He kindled the fire afresh, and tidied
up around the camp a bit, after the manner that was so much to his
liking.
Then he went down to the river and plunged in.
It was now broad daylight; indeed, the sun was peeping up beyond the low
hills far away to the east. The sound of splashing must have reached
the ears of Landy as he awakened, for presently he came crawling forth.
"Hi, get up there, you sleepy-heads!" he shouted, stooping to thrust his
head into the tent. "Here's Elmer occupying the whole river, and there
won't be any of it left if you don't hurry!"
That brought the balance out in a hurry, and soon the six were sporting
gayly in the water. Adam had to do the high dive, with all its attendant
"frills," as Landy called them, in the way of double somersaults,
backward and forward, in order to convince the newcomer of his
accomplishments. For, of course, Doubting George refused to believe
until he had been shown; and even then declared that there must be some
sort of trick about it, because it stood to reason that a greenhorn
could not excel in anything.
Adam, however, was too good-natured to take offense. As long as they
remained in the water he was kept busy showing the many tricks he knew.
Tenderfoot though he might be in most things connected with boy life in
America, Adam certainly stood in a class by himself when it came to
aquatic events.
Then came the pleasing job of getting breakfast. Ty, assisted by George,
consented to look after that part of the business. Since George would
only have one whole day in camp, with two nights thrown in, he purposed
getting all he could out of it, and had laid out a list of things he
wished to try before sundown, consisting of fishing, taking a few
pictures with a little camera he had fetched along, and roaming the
neighboring country, looking for promising nut trees for the October
gathering, because George was very fond of hickory nuts, chestnuts and
walnuts, in season and out.
"Just as like as not there won't be a fish willing to nibble at my
bait," he grumbled, after his customary fashion; "and I'd like to wager
that this year is a bad one for nuts."
"Oh, let up on that cranky way of looking at things," said Ty. "Perhaps
something's the matter with your new camera too, George!"
"Well, you never know," replied the other, sighing. "It looks all right;
but the proof of the pudding lies in the eating; and I'm sorter
expecting the thing to turn out a fizzle. Cheap things never do amount
to much, you know."
"But that was a present on your birthday!" ejaculated Ty.
"Sure it was; but all the same it's not one of the best; and I'm always
suspicious of these things that don't cost top-notch prices," George
continued.
"I'd just like to know what you ain't suspicious of," snapped Ty. "Here,
don't you go smelling at my flapjacks like you thought there was a bad
egg in 'em. Every egg we get is fresh from the coop that day, and marked
gilt edge. Before I'd have a way like yours, George, I'd, well, I
believe I'd jump in the river."
"I don't believe you would," grinned George, once again true to his
reputation as a skeptic.
"What's Elmer going to say?" remarked Ty, he noticed the patrol leader
coming hastily into camp, with a queer look on his face.
"Get ready!" Elmer said, mysteriously.
Ty, Ted, George and Landy looked up at this.
"Get ready for what!" demanded the fat boy, attempting to gain his feet
in haste, but having to clutch hold of Ted in order to assist himself.
"To vacate the camp," replied the other.
"But, Elmer, explain, won't you?" asked Ted.
"Yes, tell us why we must get out," echoed George, and adding: "I don't
believe he means anything at all, that's what; he's just fooling us,
fellows."
"Wait and see," Elmer continued, gravely nodding his head, although his
eyes were sparkling with humor. "It's coming, and I tell you that after
it arrives there won't be any room here for you fellows. It will occupy
the whole place!"
"But, Elmer, what is it that's coming?" asked Landy, visions of the two
desperate hoboes filling his mind.
Elmer, in reply, commenced to raise his head, and make a face as he
sniffed the air.
"Just try that and see," he remarked, simply.
Upon that the whole lot started to drawing in their breath. Immediately
various exclamations told that they had "caught on," as Landy expressed
it.
"Oh, murder! What sort of an odor is that!" ejaculated George.
"I know!" cried Landy, who had started to clutch his nose between thumb
and fingers; "it's a skunk, that's what it is. Wow! It's getting worse
all the time, too!"