ON THE BORDER OF THE LAKE
"Did you all see me kick him out?" proudly demanded Lub, who evidently
believed that by this action he had established his reputation for
bravery beyond all dispute.
"Sure, we did," declared Ethan, "and he must have been some surprised
bear when he felt your heft slam up against him. You'd better look out
if ever you meet up with that chap again, Lub; they say bears have got
wonderful memories, and he'll never forgive such an insult."
The door was fastened again, and the boys climbed into their blankets,
for the night air coming in had given them something of a chill.
"No need of trying to go to sleep again," announced Phil; "because
daylight'll be along in seven winks. Fact is, I thought it looked that
way in the east when I shut the door, though the moon shining like it
does fools you some. But it's after four, and dawn comes early these
summer days."
Leaving the lantern burning, they lay there and talked matters over. All
of them had been so worked up, what with that sudden awakening, and the
row that followed, that they would have found it difficult to have
resumed their interrupted sleep even though several more hours must
elapse before morning.
Lub felt that he had been fully vindicated.
"You fellows thought it smart to laugh at me when I hinted we might have
a thief come down the chimney, but see what happened!" he went on to
say, desiring to rub it in a little.
"Well, of course none of us ever thought a yearling bear would drop on
the roof from a limb of a tree, and smelling our grub down the chimney
lean so far over that he'd pitch headlong in," ventured Ethan, who had
apparently figured it all out, and knew just about how the thing
happened.
"If a bear can do it, any sort of animal, or even a bad man might follow
suit," suggested X-Ray Tyson, wickedly.
Lub took up the dare instantly.
"Just what I was thinking," he hastened to say; "and you mark me that
when morning comes I'm going to climb up on the roof and look around.
Leave it to me to fix something across the vent of that old chimney, so
even a 'coon couldn't squeeze through."
"Like as not you'll smother us with the smoke!" grumbled Ethan.
"Not much I will," he was promptly assured; "I know enough for that. If
I had a piece of heavy wire-mesh like's on the windows of our stable at
home, it'd be the ticket; but as it is I'll have to use something else.
I mean to sleep nights without thinking that all sorts of ferocious wild
beasts are aiming to drop in on us without invitations."
When they saw that the dawn had really come the boys began to move
around. Phil led the way to the border of the lake near by and they took
an early morning duck. The water was pretty chilly, but then growing
lads can stand almost anything. No doubt some of them may even on a dare
have braved a skim of new ice on a pond in the early spring.
After a bit, when they had finished their dressing, preparations for
breakfast came next in order. Things began to look decidedly comfortable
about that time. They forgot all unpleasant things, and the rattle of
tongues would have made any one believe in the story of the Tower of
Babel.
Every one had his plans laid out, and numerous pet schemes to work. Phil
of course meant to roam around the neighborhood, and see what
discoveries he could make in connection with the haunts of small
animals, or places where they "used," to speak after the manner of a
hunter or trapper.
If he could find such a favorite spot it was his plan to set his trap on
the succeeding night, with the intention, not of harming the creature,
but getting him to touch off the flashlight, and thus take his own
picture.
Lub's enthusiasm seemed to have petered out, in that he manifested no
immediate intention of climbing to the roof of the cabin. The truth of
the matter was, Lub always showed a disposition to put things off;
procrastination was one of his greatest faults, even as too much haste
had always been X-Ray Tyson's besetting sin. There was the whole day
before him; so what need of undue speed. Taking things easy had become
second nature with Lub. Besides, as a final argument, he had gorged
himself with the fine breakfast, which of course he had helped to cook;
and it would be too bad to risk indigestion while on this outing.
So Lub just lay around, and bothered some of the others by asking
innumerable questions. Still, he was always willing to assist if called
upon, and for that he was forgiven his lazy habits.
It was toward the middle of the morning when Phil came back again, after
roaming around. His manner gave them to understand that he had met with
some success.
"Find any place to make your lay-out to-night, Phil?" asked Lub.
"Yes, one splendid spot where a 'coon seems to travel down to the
water's edge, to fish, or something or other," Phil replied. "You can
see his tracks going and coming as plain as anything. I've marked a
place where I can tie my camera, and fix the bait so he'll have to be in
range when the flash comes. This afternoon I'm meaning to go further
afoot, and see if I can run across bigger game."
"You certainly look as if you enjoyed this sort of thing," ventured Lub,
a little enviously; for he often wished that he had it in him to love
tramping, and all that pertained to woodland sports.
"Why, it seems to grow on you," admitted Phil, with considerable
animation. "In the start I didn't care a great deal about it, and
sometimes called myself silly to want to spend so much time trying to
circumvent little animals, and get a flashlight picture of them. It's
hard work, too, because they're not only shy but cunning as well. What
little I've managed to do along that line has made me keen on the
subject. And right now I believe I'd rather shoot a moose with a camera
than with my Marlin rifle."
Ethan laughed a little, and shook his head.
"I confess that I don't understand it, Phil," he went on to say. "The
real thrill must be lacking. You can only get it when you're bent on
bagging your game. That's the thrill that comes down to us from our
savage ancestors who had to live by hunting."
"I'm able to judge of that, Ethan, because I've tried both ways; and I
give you my word I feel just as much pleasure when I'm trying to outwit
a cunning fox as you do when you trap one. I get his picture, and you
have his pelt, that's all the difference."
"Well," replied Ethan with a grin, "when that same pelt brings you in
more than a cool three hundred, it makes considerable difference in the
end."
Lub began to make faces, and swallow very fast at hearing that, as
though he had come near choking; but in fact it was to keep from
chuckling, and thus arousing suspicion in the mind of the hoodwinked
Ethan.
"I noticed you down on your hands and knees, Ethan, over where we
thought we saw that moving figure of a man last night," Phil went on to
say, changing the subject hastily, partly from the same reason that
influenced Lub to cough and gasp; "did you find out anything?"
At that the other assumed a mysterious air.
"Well, first of all, we weren't mistaken, you want to know, boys," he
remarked.
"Then it was a sure-enough man?" asked Lub, beginning to be deeply
interested.
"That's what it was," Ethan assured him. "I found his trail as easy as
turning over my hand. Even followed it some ways off, but lost the same
among the rocks. When we saw him turn away he didn't come back again,
but kept straight on."
"He must have been watching us through one of the windows?" suggested
Lub.
"If he was, he made up his mind we were too many for him to tackle, and
that he had better clear out for good," Ethan continued, as though he
had been figuring it all out beforehand, and had his mind made up.
"Do you think he could have been the same party who was in our cabin
before we came along, Phil?" asked Lub.
"It looks that way," the other told him. "If this man had just been a
stranger, up here to try the fishing, or something like that, he would
have knocked on the door, and tried to make our acquaintance. As it was,
he watched us, and then cleared out."
"Let's hope he won't think to come back again," Lub pursued.
"Better hurry and get that strainer fixed on the top of our chimney,
Lub," advised Ethan, a little maliciously; "first a bear, and the next
thing to drop down on us might be a real man."
"Oh! leave that to me," the other assured him; "I haven't quite figured
it out in my mind just how I'll fix it, but after lunch I'll get busy.
And believe me, when the Fenwick screen is applied, not even a 'possum
or a squirrel can invade our cabin home. It'll be impervious to man or
beast."
"Better get out a patent right away on the thing then, Lub," he was
advised by the scoffing Ethan, "or some wise duck will be stealing the
idea from you."
"Where's X-Ray?" asked Phil, suddenly noticing that the fourth member of
the camping expedition was missing.
Ethan looked at Lub, inquiringly.
"You see I was so busy reading the signs of that trail I never once
thought a thing about any one else. Lub, you must have seen where he
went, didn't you?"
"Last I saw of him he was down on the lake shore," replied the other.
"He had his fishing rod along, and I understood him to say he meant to
look for some grasshoppers or crickets or something for bait, because he
felt trout hungry."
"X-Ray has a weakness for fish, you know," Ethan declared. "He said he'd
be the boss fisherman of the bunch while we were up here, and even dared
me to take him up, the one to win who could show the greatest number,
biggest variety, and the heaviest fish of all that were taken. I think
I'll go him, if I can find time to bother."
"And I'll encourage you both to the limit," chuckled Lub; "because that
means we're bound to have all the fine trout we can eat while we're
here. May the best man win. I know how to cook 'em to beat the band, by
rolling each trout in cracker crumbs, and then frying in hot grease from
fat salt pork. Makes my mouth fairly water just to mention it."
"We won't forget that, Lub," Ethan told him; "and you can consider that
you're hereby appointed the official fish frying man of the lot. For if
there's anything I hate to cook it's fish. Eating's another story, and I
always try to do my duty there."
"I thought I heard some one call out then," said Lub, looking around
him.
"Must have been a crow cawing, or a gray squirrel barking," suggested
Ethan.
They listened for a dozen seconds, but heard nothing.
"I reckon I was mistaken about it," admitted Lub, finally; "only I
wondered if X-Ray could have tumbled into any sort of trouble. He's spry
enough as a rule, and not built like me."
"No danger of him not letting off a whoop if he ran up against anything
like a rough deal," Ethan ventured.
"Still, no harm done if we stepped down to the edge of the water, and
took a little look around," suggested Phil. "We've none of us paid any
attention to the lake so far, only to take that early morning dip in the
same. It seems to be about a quarter of a mile across to the further
shore, and with lots of bays and nooks, as well as points of land
jutting out like fingers. I'd think it was a splendid piece of water for
trout; and I'm glad I own some land fronting on Lake Surprise."
As they turned in the direction of the edge of the water Lub's eyes were
frequently cast upward toward the rude chimney that surmounted the back
of the cabin wall. Evidently he was endeavoring to figure out just how
he might accomplish the task he had taken upon his shoulders, and
arrange things, so that while the smoke had free access to the open air,
all manner of intruders would be kept out.
When Lub did undertake anything, no matter how simple, he was apt to
throw his whole heart and soul into the accomplishment of the same. To
him it meant that his reputation was at stake; unless he made good his
chums would have the laugh on him for a long time to come.
Ethan happened to be in the lead as they advanced. That may have
accounted for the fact that it was him who brought them to a sudden
standstill by throwing up a warning hand, and exclaiming sharply:
"What's that I hear? Sounds mighty like the drip of a paddle to me!"
"And there's a line moving out from the shore!" added Phil, pointing;
"there's _something_ back of that point, and moving in the water.
Perhaps it may only be an old mother duck with her little brood. No,
there it goes again. Ethan, you're right about it; that's the dip of a
paddle!"
"Whoever's got a canoe up here, they're heading this way, because you
can see from the ripples," Ethan continued, eagerly; for versed in many
of the secrets of woodcraft the boy was quick to notice which way the
successive ripples were moving.
"Watch now, because he's going to push out from behind that tongue of
wooded land!" said Phil, sharply.
All of them stood there as if rooted to the spot. Their eyes were glued
on the point mentioned by Phil, and back of which must be the canoe that
was sending all those ripples forth, away from the land.
"There it comes!" breathed Lub, who was holding his breath, and
consequently getting, frightfully red in the face.
They could see the raised prow of what looked to be a genuine birch bark
canoe poke in sight. In these modern days when even the Indians up in
Maine manufacture up-to-date canvas canoes by the thousand, it is a rare
event to run across one made of birch bark. The trees that are large
enough for the purpose have about all been destroyed, so the Indians
claim, which accounts for the revolution in canoes.
Further and further moved the boat. Now half of its length was seen,
then two-thirds, and finally the stern had passed the end of the point.
The three watchers could now see that it was being softly driven by a
paddler who sat in the stern, and wielded a single blade.
All of them stared, and Lub, strange to say was the first to find
utterance so as to voice his surprise.
"Why, Phil, Ethan, don't you see who it is?" he ejaculated; "who but our
chum, X-Ray Tyson, sitting there as big as life, and heading straight
toward us! Where under the sun d'ye reckon he found that canoe; and
whose can it be?"