THE PERIL OF THE FALLING TIMBER.
No sooner had the trio of venturesome scouts found themselves outside
the friendly shelter of the bunk-house than they faced the full rigor of
the storm. As yet the air had not turned cold, which was a remarkable
phenomenon in the eyes of Arthur Cameron, whose study of weather
conditions had made him something of an authority along the lines of
predictions, among his chums at least.
The wind was howling madly through the trees, making all sorts of weird
and actually terrifying noises, Gus Merrivale thought, as he cowered a
little closer to Hugh, who was on his right.
Gus was not a coward by any means, but he might have shuddered at
finding himself abroad in such a gale, only that his heart was now bound
up in the idea of finding his lost brother, who was somewhere out
yonder, exposed to the full fury of the storm.
He had long in secret envied those of his chums who were entitled to
wear upon the breasts of their khaki coats one of the three emblems
given to show that the bearer had been found worthy of having his name
inscribed on the roll of honor kept at scout headquarters. Fortune,
however, had, up to this time, never knocked at the door of Gus
Merrivale, perhaps partly because of his lack of “push” and zeal, such
as had taken the others to the front. Then the want of a suitable
opportunity may have had something to do with it.
They found the going pretty hard. Hugh wondered how Casey had ever
managed to make his way back to the lumber camp, after once leaving it,
because of his weak condition and the fearful nature of the storm. Then
he remembered several facts that helped explain this puzzling thing.
In the first place the tramp was injured while on his way back to the
bunk-house, and may even have been almost at his destination when caught
by that falling tree and knocked down as its branches struck him. Then
again his back was toward the worst of the gale, so that it even
assisted him along.
The scouts had another story to tell of their progress, for they almost
faced the wind, and at times had to bend low in order to simply hold
their own against its mad fury.
Every yard covered counted in the race to find and rescue Sam Merrivale,
Hugh realized, as he plodded steadily along, yielding nothing to the
elements that sought to hold them in check, but surely gaining ground.
Several times they were compelled to stop behind some shelter in order
to regain their breath. All the while Gus was trembling like a leaf, in
constant expectation of having a tree topple over upon them, just as had
happened to Casey. If the tramp, who confessed that he had once been a
lumberjack himself, could be caught in such a trap, it was evident that
greenhorns like the three boys were taking desperate chances indeed.
Still, where Hugh led his comrades were always willing to follow; and
Gus told himself over and over again that perhaps this would all turn
out for the best. If only they could find poor Sam, and manage in some
way to get him under shelter, who could prophesy what wonderful results
the experience might not bring about in the heart and mind of the erring
young man?
Gus himself had laid out a campaign in which he intended to appeal to
whatever element of good remained in the breast of his brother. The
devoted mother would largely figure in this, and he hoped through some
such means to reclaim Sam. Indeed, although Gus had as yet said nothing
about it to his chums, a little scheme had been arranged between his
mother and himself, whereby Sam, if he could be coaxed to agree to the
conditions, was to be hovering near his old home at a certain time when
the wife and mother meant to make a last great effort to placate the
stubborn father, and secure his consent to give the boy one more trial.
All these things, then, must have been gripping the mind of Gus as he
labored with set teeth and tense muscles to keep alongside his mates.
The thought of that little woman at home, and how her prayers were
following him in his venture, gave Gus additional courage to face the
difficulties that beset him. He was resolved to keep on to the end
though he died for it. If Sam were to be saved, there must be no sign of
weakness on the part of any scout.
Several times a tree did go down close by, and gave them all a severe
shock, such was the terrific crash accompanying its sudden fall. Even
Hugh was bound to confess that his heart seemed to stand still when,
directly across their very path, one of these lofty pines came whirling
down in the grip of the wind, now raging at hurricane force.
All this while it required considerable ability to keep going straight.
Hugh did not forget a single word of the scanty directions given by
Casey. The night was not absolutely dark, even though heavy clouds
obscured the moon, near her fourth quarter, so that they could manage to
avoid collisions with such trees as came in their way.
Hugh was following the downward course of the creek, and if at times the
nature of the obstacles they met forced them to turn aside, he always
took his bearings, and managed to get back again to the little zigzag
stream.
A quarter of a mile may not seem much of a jaunt under favorable
conditions. To Gus, who was a pretty good stepper, it had indeed many a
time looked very small; but as long as the boy lived he would never
forget what he experienced on this occasion when pitting his puny
strength against the herculean force of a veritable cyclone of wind.
If he had felt any reason to hope that Hugh could hear a word of what he
said, Gus, no doubt, on more than one occasion would have endeavored to
ask eager questions concerning the possibility of accomplishing the task
they had set out to perform.
Still, though he could not get such comforting assurance in words, Gus
at least felt that all must surely be well, else Hugh would not be
pushing so steadily onward as though he had every confidence in his
ability to attain his end.
It might be noticed that the scout master was commencing to be more
vigilant than heretofore. When next he stopped it was not to regain his
breath in a sheltered spot, as had happened several times before. On the
contrary, Gus noticed, though his eyes were dim with tears on account of
the sting in the wind, that Hugh was intently examining the ground. Gus
could not help but admire Hugh.
When the other arose from his feet he drew first one of his chums toward
him and then the other. A temporary lull in the roar about them gave him
a chance to shout a few words, though Hugh was chary about wasting his
breath, feeling that he needed it all.
“This must be the second bend Casey told us about,” he explained. “Here
are the rocks on the right. We must go this way!”
Neither of the others attempted to make any answer. In fact, they had
submitted so many times to Hugh’s guidance that they were ready to do
anything he said without a word or question as to its advisability.
At least one thing favored them—a change in their course was bound to
work more or less to their advantage, since it would no longer be
necessary to plunge directly into the teeth of the biting wind.
Gus was almost ready to drop. He staggered like a drunken man at times.
Part of this came from exhaustion, but no doubt the despair that was
commencing to tug at his heart had much to do with the state of his near
collapse. Could he have been assured of success just then, probably he
would have felt quite invigorated, and capable of enduring much more
than had already come his way.
Hugh must have guessed this much, for somehow he managed to take hold of
the other’s arm while pushing steadily on along the rocks, as called for
in the scanty directions given by Casey the tramp. And no one but a
fellow who has been in somewhat similar conditions bordering on collapse
could understand just how much this friendly act did for poor Gus. He
would never forget it, he told himself again and again, as he plucked up
a little more courage just through sheer contact with the boy with the
valiant heart.
Hugh knew they must by now be close to the spot where they hoped to come
upon the castaway. He was hoping for the best, even while gritting his
teeth, and preparing to face the worst. His one thought was Gus. He
expected that if they were doomed to meet with bitter disappointment the
other might give way utterly, and even faint, such would be the shock of
his discovery.
Well, it was a comfort to Hugh to remember that he had Arthur along,
Arthur who would be quick to meet just such an emergency as that, and
who it seems had before this made out to grip the other arm of Gus in
order to add to his stability.
Arthur may have been worrying greatly to account for this remarkable
phenomenon of Nature, when an actual thunder-storm could come along on
the eve of Thanksgiving, a thing never before known in all his reading
of weather freaks. At the same time he was not giving up any time just
then to bothering about such things. It was a condition that confronted
them, not a theory, and they must devote all their attention to
weathering the gale and finding Sam Merrivale.
Suddenly Hugh stopped short, and seemed to be trying to look around him.
“Oh! is this the place, Hugh?” almost shrieked poor Gus, overwhelmed
with renewed anxiety.
“So far as I can tell it must be,” replied the other, loud enough to be
heard.
Upon hearing this Gus shivered with a new dread, for there was certainly
no sign of his brother.