A BLAZED TRAIL.
THERE was a chorus of exclamations from the gathered scouts, when they
heard Red express himself in this startling way. Eyes grew round with
wonder, and more than one lad almost held his breath, as he waited to
catch further particulars of the strange happening that had befallen
their two chums during their tramp.
"Where was this at, Oscar?" asked the scout master, quickly, alive to
the importance of ascertaining all there was to be made known.
"I think it must have been all of a mile and a half from here, sir,"
returned Red, who seldom heard his real name mentioned save in school or
at home.
"And the way is mighty rough, too, sir," Larry put in, rubbing his chin
as if it might pain him somewhat, which action caused Ted to grin, and
nod his head.
"Thee you later, Larry," he muttered. "I bet you now, I don't let thith
chance get away from me. That boy'th badly hurt, and just won't
acknowledge it, but wait till Dr. Ted geth hold of him, that'th what."
"Do you think you can lead us back there, in case we make up our minds
to go to-night after supper?" Mr. Garrabrant continued.
"Easy, sir," came the answer, in confident tones. "You see, we made it a
point to mark the trail as we came along, by cutting the trunks of
trees, and breaking branches so as to catch the eye. Elmer was telling
us lately how he did once when lost in the timber in Canada, the 'bush'
he called it, and we remembered."
"That's just fine, Oscar," commented the scout master, as though pleased
at so great a show of forethought in two of his charges. "It shows what
this business is already doing for all of you--teaching you to use your
heads at any and all times. That was well done, and I imagine we'll have
little or no difficulty in tracing your progress back, even if you are
too tired to accompany us, for we will have Elmer along."
"Oh! but I'm bound to go, if I have to drag my game leg behind me,"
asserted Red. "You see, both of us feel sore over coming away without
trying longer to find out what it was groaning so in that cabin, and we
want to make good."
"Does it hurt you _very_ much, Red?" asked the solicitous Ted, coming up
with a face that seemed marked with feeling.
"Sure it does, Ted," replied the other, promptly, "and I'm going to ask
you to rub some liniment on right away. Reckon I just sprained it a
little, slipping down the side of the mountain."
"Good for you, Red!" ejaculated the pleased amateur surgeon, as he
clasped the other by the arm. "Come right along with me, and I'll fix
you up in a jiffy. Only too glad to be of thervice. And Red, you're the
only gentleman--" he suddenly paused, gave one smiling look around at
the frowning faces of his mates, and then completed his sentence: "who
hath applied to me for treatment. I'll never forget this kindneth,
never!"
"Hold on!" remarked the scout master. "We must know a little more about
this matter before you drag your patient away; though of course we
expect him to survive the treatment. Tell us about the lone cabin,
Oscar. How did you happen on it?"
"We had turned," Red started to say, "and were heading toward home, when
all of a sudden I thought I heard a plain human groan. Larry said he had
caught some sort of sound, too. So we began to advance in that
direction, going slow-like, because you see we didn't know what sort of
trickery we might be up against. Then we caught sight of a cabin that
was half hidden among the trees and bushes."
"Ugh!" Larry broke in with, "it just gave us both the creeps, sir, to
see how awful lonely the old place looked, run down and neglected like.
If Chatz had been along, he'd sure have believed his pet ghost lived
there."
"But surely two sensible chaps like you and Oscar wouldn't think of such
a thing as that?" remarked Mr. Garrabrant.
"Oh! no, sir," replied Red, after shooting a swift look toward his
comrade in misery. "But you see, the groans kept on acomin' out of that
window, and we could hear voices too. We didn't hardly now what to do,
go on and knock at the door, or hurry back here to report. Larry, he
gave me a cold chill, I admit sir, when he just accidentally said that
it might be a ease of smallpox in that hut--you know there were some
cases this last spring to the north of the Ridge."
"And after talking it over, you decided that the wisest thing to be done
was to make your way to camp, and throw the responsibility on my
shoulders?" said the scout master. "Well, perhaps it was far better you
did this than take chances. I have no doubt but what you might have
adopted a different course if you had not had help near by."
"Yes, sir, that's just what I said to Larry--that you'd know best what
ought to be done; but that if we were all alone in the region, we'd
just have to go up to the door and knock."
"And so you set out to reach camp as fast as you could?" continued Mr.
Garrabrant.
"That's what we did sir, and in such a hurry that several times we
slipped and barked our shins, while I got a jar when I tumbled."
"Oh! I'll fix that all right, in three thhakes of a lam'th tail, if
you'll only come over to my tent," said Ted, tugging at the arm of each
returned wanderer.
And unable to resist his urgent plea, they allowed him to lead them
away. Later on when they once more appeared, as supper was announced by
the assembly call, the pair of wounded scouts admitted that Dr. Ted had
indeed done wonders, inasmuch that their pains had miraculously
vanished, and they felt able to undertake the rough journey again--after
they had broken their fast.
There was much speculation during the meal as to whom Mr. Garrabrant
would select to accompany him on his trip. Of course Elmer was a
foregone conclusion, as his natural ability along the line of following
a blazed trail might come in pat.
But the scout master settled all doubts by announcing toward the close
of the meal that he wished Red, Elmer, Arthur, Dr. Ted (in case his
services were needed), Jack Armitage and Ty Collins to accompany him.
No one murmured, for they knew it would do no good. Larry started to ask
why he had been left out; but Mr. Garrabrant had noted his pallor, and
understood that he did not possess the sturdy physique his comrade of
the tramp boasted, and on that account had better remain in camp.
Another thing some of the observing lads noticed, and this was the fact
that as a rule those selected, outside of Dr. Ted, were the strongest
in the troop. Perhaps, then, Mr. Garrabrant might anticipate trouble of
some sort, and wished to have a healthy band of scouts at his back,
especially since none of them carried arms of any kind--though the scout
master really did have a revolver secreted in his bag, which, unseen by
any of the boys, he now made sure to hide on his person.
There could be no telling what they might find themselves up against.
Rumor had it that certain hard characters at one time made their
headquarters somewhere up in the woods around the lakes, and who could
say that the lone cabin might not prove to be a nest of yeggmen or
hoboes?
"How does your thprain feel; think you can thtand it?" asked Ted of Red,
as they got up from around the fire and prepared to sally forth on their
mission of mercy.
"If you hadn't reminded me of it just then, I'd sure never have thought
I had a game leg," remarked the other. "You're all to the good when it
comes to doctoring a fellow, Ted; if only you wouldn't talk so much
about sawing off legs and all such awful things."
"Well, I'll be along in ease you feel it again, and I'll make thure to
carry a tin of that magic liniment," remarked the ambitious surgeon, as
he reentered the tent, to make up a little package of things he thought
might come in handy in case they found some one sick in the hut.
Meanwhile, acting on the suggestion of Elmer, the other boys selected
such stout canes and cudgels as lay around camp.
"Be prepared!" grinned Lil Artha, as he swung a particularly dangerous
looking club around his head until it fairly whistled through the air.
"That's the motto of the Boy Scouts, and I reckon it applies in a case
of this kind, just as much as when stopping a runaway horse. I'm
prepared to give a good account of myself, that's dead certain."
Mr. Garrabrant had fetched out a couple of lanterns, making sure that
the oil receptacles were well filled, so that they would last through
the journey, going and returning.
"Now we're off, boys," he remarked, with a pleasant smile. "The rest of
you stay here and look close after the camp. I've appointed Mark
Cummings to serve in my place while I'm gone, and shall expect every
scout to pay him just as much respect as though I were present. Lead
off, Oscar, we're with you."
Red took up his place at the head of the little bunch. He carried one of
the lanterns with which he cast sufficient light ahead to see where he
was going.
"First to take you to the seven sentry chestnuts," he said. "We named
'em that, of course, when we came on 'em. The blazed trail commences
right there, sir. We didn't think it worth while to do any more slicing
of bark after that, because we knew we could easy enough find our way
back to that place."
And he did lead the party to the seven chestnuts, with only one or two
periods of hesitation, during which he had to puzzle things out.
"There's the first blaze on that oak yonder," he remarked, pointing as
he spoke. "We tried to make the marks close enough so as to show by
lantern light, because we both had an idea you'd want to come on before
morning, sir."
Elmer was at the side of the leader by this time, prepared to lend his
experience in case the other ran up against a snag. He took especial
note of the general direction in which the numerous blazes seemed to
run. And when presently Red confessed that he was "stumped" if he could
see where the next mark ought to be, Elmer had them hold up while he
walked forward in the quarter where, on general principles, he imagined
the blaze should be. And in another minute his soft "cooee" told his
comrades that he had, sure enough, found the missing mark.
Many times did Red have to fall back on Elmer to help him out. His
blazes had apparently been further apart than he had realized at the
time he made them. But the boy who had lived in Canada, and experienced
all sorts of frontier life, knew just how to go about making the needed
discovery; and in every instance success rewarded his efforts.
"We're getting close to the place now," Red finally announced, as he
limped along, refusing to allow Ted the privilege of rubbing his
strained leg again, because he did not want to waste the time.
"Then you recognize some of the landmarks?" suggested Mr. Garrabrant.
"Yes, sir, I do that," came the confident reply. "In another five
minutes I think we'll be able to see something of that queer cabin that
is half hidden in the dense undergrowth."
"Perhaps less than five minutes," remarked Elmer, quietly. "Look yonder,
sir, and you'll just catch a glimpse of what seems to be a tiny speck of
light. I think that must spring from the window of the hut Red speaks
of."
"You are right again, Elmer, as always," replied the scout master,
drawing in a long breath. "Now, forward, slowly, boys. Let no one
stumble, if it can possibly be avoided; for we do not know what we may
be up against. But if there is anyone suffering in that cabin, it is our
duty to investigate, no matter what the danger. Elmer, lead the way with
me, please."
Cautiously they crept forward, foot by foot. Doubtless many a heart beat
faster than ordinary, because there was a certain air of mystery
hovering over the whole affair, and they could imagine a dozen separate
strange sights that might meet their vision once they peeped into the
little window of that isolated cabin.
But no one would ever confess that such a thing as fear tugged at the
strings of his heart. Already the discipline they had been under since
joining the scout movement was bearing fruit; timidity was put aside
with a stern hand, and keeping in a bunch they advanced until presently
those in the lead were able to rise up from hands and knees, glueing
their eager eyes upon the little opening through which came the light
that had guided them to the spot.
And right then and there they heard a groan, so full of suffering and
misery that it went straight to the heart of every boy who had been
drafted by the scout master to accompany him on this strange night
errand.