GINGER PLAYS WITH FIRE.
AT the time the loud cries had come, Elmer was just leaving the water
himself, having had enough of a morning bath. He saw several of the boys
running toward a point down stream, where Ty Collins and Nat Scott were
when they shouted, and without wasting a second Elmer had sped that way.
So fast did he run that he easily outstripped the rest, and reached the
spot where Ty and Nat stood on the bank, beckoning wildly to him, while
they stared out upon the eddying water.
One look Elmer gave. It enabled him to glimpse something white emerging
from the foamy water, and a pair of arms beat wildly in the air. Then he
sprang in, and hand over hand made for the spot.
Luckily he had arrived just below, so that the chances of his reaching
the drowning lad were better than would have otherwise been the case if
he had the swift current against him.
Perhaps in all his life Elmer Chenowith never struck out with such
intense eagerness, for he had seen that something serious must have
happened to Jasper, since he was under the surface of the water most of
the time and undoubtedly gulping in great quantities of it.
Keeping his eyes fastened on the struggling figure as best he could,
Elmer made his way furiously through the surging Sweetwater. Just at
this place, on account of a decided drop in the bed of the river, there
was a swift current and considerable foam around the rocks that partly
blocked the rapids.
"He's got him!" shrilled Tom Cropsey.
"But look out, Elmer; don't let him get a grip on you! Size up the way
Jasper is fighting to get hold of him! Oh! he nearly did it, then! What
ought we to do, fellows? If he grabs Elmer they'll just both drown!"
It was Red Huggins who thus gave vent to his feelings. He generally
became so excited in an emergency that he could not collect his wits
enough to be of any great use. And it was fortunate that all of those
present were not built upon the same model as impulsive Red.
Mr. Garrabrant had snatched up a rope as he ran. Perhaps, with rare
wisdom the long-headed scout master had even placed it there, looking to
a possible sudden need for such a thing.
He had no occasion to ask where the thrilling event was taking place.
Every boy was staring in that one quarter, and before he even saw the
two figures in the swirl of the yeasty river Mr. Garrabrant realized the
condition of affairs.
He found that Elmer had managed to seize the drowning boy from behind,
always the very best method of doing in such a case. Had he been unable
to accomplish this, and the frenzied Jasper seized upon him, doubtless
Elmer would have broken away, even though he might have had to strike
the other quite sharply in the face and partly stun him to do so. Better
that, than that both should go down together.
So Elmer was endeavoring to push the other in toward shore. Sometimes
the water would go over them both with a rush, for they happened to be
in one of the roughest parts of the river.
Mr. Garrabrant sized up the situation at a single glance. Then he ran
down the shore a dozen paces, and started to wade into the river.
"Here, take hold of this end of the rope, boys!" he cried, as he came
upon several of the scouts who were standing knee deep in the water,
seemingly half paralyzed by the terrible nature of the scene before
them.
Mark Cummings had just arrived on the scene. He had been dressing in the
tent at the time the alarm sounded. Regardless of the fact that he had
on his clothes, he sprang into the water alongside the scout master.
Together they buffeted the waves, and made for the approaching pair.
Elmer saw them coming and redoubled his efforts to keep the drowning boy
afloat, and at the same time avoid being clasped in his desperate
embrace.
Then friendly hands were laid upon them, and with three to take charge,
Jasper was borne to the land. He had collapsed before the shore was
reached, and the balance of the boys gathered around, staring in great
fear at his pallid face.
Mr. Garrabrant knew the theory of restoring a person who has come very
near being drowned; but it chanced that Elmer had more than once had
active participation in that sort of work. So he lost no time in
stretching poor Jasper, face down, on the ground, placing his knees on
his back, and having his arms worked regularly by some of the boys,
while he pressed downward, again and again with considerable force, so
as to induce artificial breathing.
As Jasper was not far gone he quickly responded to this rough but
effective treatment. He belched out a small Niagara of water, groaned,
trembled, and finally tried to beg them to have a little mercy on him,
saying that he was now all right, upon which the boys of course ceased
their efforts intended to bring him to.
Breakfast was slow in coming along that morning. Ginger had been
tremendously unnerved by the exciting spectacle of the rescue of the
drowning lad, and he continuously made all sorts of foolish blunders
while trying to cook, so that in the end Mr. Garrabrant chased him away
and set Elmer and Ty Collins at the job, both of whom he knew were very
good cooks.
Afterwards the tents had to come down, and the entire outfit be stored
away in the two boats which were intended to carry them the balance of
the way.
Ginger sent the horse and wagon back in charge of the other colored man,
and announced himself prepared to accompany the troop into the heart of
the wilderness. He was so good-natured, and they could make use of him
to do much of the drudgery of the camp; so Mr. Garrabrant decided to let
Ginger go along, even though he was not to be trusted to get their meals
any longer.
The boats were stoutly built, and of a good size. Both were capable of
being rowed by two pairs of oars: and, indeed, this was rendered quite
necessary by the swiftness of the Sweetwater in parts.
Once they reached the first little lake and the worst part of the
struggle would be over; after that the going must prove much easier.
At first the scouts considered the rowing a picnic. That lasted less
than ten minutes. Then, as the strain of the current started to tell
upon them, grunts began to be heard, and these were followed by heavy
sighs and glum faces.
Blisters began to appear on palms that were quite unused to labor of
this severe kind. True, Mr. Garrabrant in one boat, and Elmer in the
other, tried to show the greenhorns how they could save themselves much
of this pain by proper handling of the oars; but like everything else,
experience after all was bound to be the best guide.
A number of the lads, however, were more or less familiar with rowing,
even though there was no body of water close to the town on the railroad
known as Hickory Ridge. Of course Elmer himself took an oar, and kept up
his part of the drudgery from start to finish; and his chum Mark also
did his share with credit.
There were places where the river widened, and the current was less
savage. Here those who tugged at the oars managed to rest up a bit for
the next hard pull.
So the morning passed with frequent rests, for Mr. Garrabrant knew
better than utterly to weary his command in the beginning. They were,
after all, out for sport; and it would have been an unwise move on his
part to have sickened the tenderfeet scouts before they had had a fair
chance to get hardened to it.
Just before noon the boy in the bow of the leading boat gave a yell.
"What is it?" asked the scout master.
"I just had a squint at a body of water, sir; and I think it must have
been a lake," replied Jack Armitage, who was in the boat with the Wolf
Patrol, Ginger working one of the oars in the other craft.
"That must be the first lake, Jupiter they call it," Mr. Garrabrant went
on.
"Hurrah! that means a rest, and lunch, fellows!" cried Lil Artha, who
had been resting after his turn at rowing.
"Don't crow too soon," barked Toby, mysteriously. "The worst is yet to
come. Remember that these two lakes are joined by Paradise Creek. I've
heard that stream is worse than the river here to pull against."
"That's where you're mistaken, Toby," remarked Elmer. "I talked with a
lumberman, and also a sportsman who comes up here every fall to shoot
wild ducks on the lake they call Solitude. Both of them assured me that
once we got to this point our troubles would be over. So cheer up, my
hearties, the pulling will be a picnic after this."
Then they passed out from the head of the romantic Sweetwater. The lake
was a pretty little sheet of water, with shores that, as a rule, were
wooded; though in several places it looked as though farms ran down to
the water's edge.
The boys soon clamored to get ashore and stretch their weary legs; nor
was Mr. Garrabrant in the least averse to such a change himself. It is
always inducive to cramp to sit in a boat several hours.
Lunch was eaten under a patch of friendly trees that grew on the bank.
Then the troop was allowed half an hour to lounge around, ere once more
embarking for the afternoon row.
Just where they had landed it was very wild. Rocks jutted up out of the
sides of the hills, and the trees grew in every crevice where earth had
gathered.
Toby was lying on his back, looking longingly up at the bald top of a
neighboring elevation that might almost be called a mountain.
"Say," he said to Red, who happened to be sprawled out near him, "did
you ever in all your days see such a splendid place as that for a
starter? Just think what a jolly good thing it would be to stand there
on the edge of that cliff and just give one big spring off, flapping
your wings as you jumped. Wow! I can see myself sailing through space,
and coming down as gently as a thistle ball. But how could a fellow ever
get up there in the first place?--that's what's bothering me."
"Look here, Toby, you don't really mean to say that if you had those
silly old wings along with you, anything'd ever tempt you to take such
chances as to jump off that high place? Why, it'd be your finish sure,
if you ever did. You'd come down with an awful jar. And ten to one we'd
have to gather your poor remains up with a shovel. I'm glad Mr.
Garrabrant refused to let you fetch along all that stuff you had laid
out to bring."
"He near broke my heart when he said that, Red," sighed Toby. "But we're
going to be up here some time, you know, and perhaps I might get a
chance to rig up some sort of flying machine. I'll never be happy till
I'm sailing through the clouds, and that's a fact."
"Your heart, could stand it better than your blessed neck," retorted
Red. "And that's what would have happened to you, sure, if he'd let you
try to play your game of being aviator to the troop."
"Sit still, fellows!" sang out the photographer just then; "I've got you
in just a dandy picture, the entire bunch! There, done with a click, and
thank you."
Mr. Garrabrant sat up and looked at his watch.
"About time we were moving, boys," he remarked, at which there were
numerous uplifted eyebrows, and not a few groans, as the unfortunate
tenderfeet looked at the red spots in the palms of their hands, unused
to hard work.
Of course, as there was little to pack, it would be a matter of only a
few minutes ere they could be on the move again, and speeding up Jupiter
Lake toward the link that connected with the other sheet of water.
"All here?" asked Mr. Garrabrant, as a precautionary measure; since some
of the scouts had shown a weakness for wandering whenever half a chance
arose.
Elmer had just been in the act of counting heads.
"We seem to be one shy, sir," he remarked.
"It's Ginger," declared one of the scouts. "I noticed him walking off
some little time ago, sir. He told me somebody said there was gold up in
these mountains, and the poor old silly was lookin' for signs of it, I
guess."
"Give him a call on the bugle, Mark!" said Elmer, looking annoyed; for
it would be too bad if, after all their plans, Ginger should take it
into his head to delay them now by getting lost.
So the bugler let out a blast that could easily be heard a mile away.
Then they one and all listened to discover if any answer came floating
back.
"I heahs yuh, suh," came the voice of Ginger from the neighboring woods.
"I'se jes' be'n havin' heaps o' fun wid dis leetle snake hyah. Glory be,
but he am de maddest critter yuh eber see, a shaking ob his tail; an' de
locust asingin' in de tree."
"Keep away from him, Ginger!" shouted Elmer, jumping up; "keep away from
him, I tell you! My stars! that must be a rattlesnake he's been playing
with!"