And Rufus, hovering near by, heard this. His face flushed painfully, and he bit his lips until the blood came, while his eyes flashed indignantly. With an effort, however, he managed to get a grip on himself. Perhaps it was the look he caught on the face of the scout-master that brought this about. At any rate, when Rufus spoke, his voice was fairly calm; and, moreover, there was a note of entreaty in it.
"Jem Shock," he said, in thrilling tones, while the methodical "chunk"
of Lil Artha"s ax told how its sharp edge was biting deeply into the hard wood of that limb by which the man was pinned down, "please listen to me. I can understand just how you must feel while you believe my father did you a great wrong. I don"t blame you a particle either, for feeling mean toward him. But you must know that sometimes terrible mistakes do happen, and that even the best of men may blunder. I tell you I am dead sure such a thing came about, and that at this day my father is utterly unconscious of the fact that you believe he wronged you."
"Not quite that, youngster," said the man grimly. "He knows before now what my opinion of Hiram Snodgra.s.s is; because, after I learned that he"d come to a town near by to live, I sent him a letter."
Rufus refused to be disconcerted by this startling intelligence.
"All right," he said, "I"m real glad you did, Jem. My father ought to know what a cloud his name is under. I meant to tell him all about it myself just as soon as I got home from this trip. Make your mind up you"ll hear from him before long, Jem. He"ll never rest easy until he"s investigated the thing to the bottom, and found out the whole truth. If some men bamboozled you, and let you believe he was in the bunch, my father"ll fix them, all right. They"ll do the right thing by you when _he_ gets after them with a sharp stick, or I"ll eat my head. I guess I ought to know my dad better than anybody else could, and he"s straight as a die, even if he is a real estate speculator."
Elmer was visibly impressed with the splendid way in which Rufus stood up for his father. He only hoped the elder Snodgra.s.s might prove to be just the kind of man the boy claimed. Jem Shock, too, could not but be somewhat affected by the st.u.r.dy championship of the accused man"s cause; though a sneer found a place on his blood-streaked face, and his eye still showed signs of coldness and unbelief.
At least, he allowed the subject to drop as though he did not wish to say anything further in that line, which was so unpleasant. He confined himself to petting Conrad, and giving Lil Artha further directions as to just how to finish his task; for, as a competent woodsman, Jem Shock knew all about the use of an ax. Elmer could see that, despite his agonizing condition, the man had kept his wits about him.
Finally, the limb separated, and after that the boys, by uniting their strength, were enabled to raise the portion that still held Jem pinned down. He wriggled free, although the pain was so great that he almost fainted.
After that, Elmer took charge again. Water was brought, and a fire made to warm it in the pail Alec had been told to carry along. Once it was heated, Elmer proceeded to cleanse first Jem"s face, so that he might not look so terribly grim; and after that he started to get at the broken leg.
He found that it was indeed pretty serious, for it had swollen dreadfully on account of the neglect; but Elmer was a pretty good amateur surgeon, as his chums all knew, and understood just how to go about setting the fractured bone, after carefully washing the limb.
Alec and Rufus had their hands full just about that time. They did not want to lose a single thing of all that was going on around them, and were often called upon by Elmer to lend a helping hand. It was noticeable that Rufus was always the one to do this. Jem seemed to visibly shrink from the touch of the boy"s fingers, as though they affected him somehow; but even this aversion failed to prevent Rufus from persevering. Evidently, he was determined that Jem should know that the Snodgra.s.s family did not have all the bad traits with which he, Jem, had in his mind endowed them; and, besides, Rufus was bound to keep in close touch with the man who had so long believed ill of his father.
It pleased Elmer more than a little to notice this trait in the tenderfoot. He believed Rufus had the making of a good scout, and that a.s.sociation with the other fellows of the troop would in time serve to cast out the bad traits in his character mainly produced through the mistaken weakness of his adoring mother, who had always given in to his every whim.
But the wonderfully clever way in which Elmer managed to handle that broken leg, and then bind it up carefully, was not the only thing Rufus and Alec had to watch in their ardent desire to acquire practical knowledge of what a scout should know.
There was the industrious Lil Artha, working away like a trooper, and making a rude but amply sufficient stretcher, on which the wounded man could recline, while four st.u.r.dy boys bore him toward his home, since it would be utterly impossible for Jem to even hobble, with that injured limb under him.
Both greenhorns watched the stretcher grow, and marveled at the skill displayed by the accomplished Lil Artha, who felt proud to be the one to show them how easy it was for a fellow who had been taught to bring his knowledge into play when the emergency arose.
Finally everything was done. Elmer had bound the leg up so firmly that Jem was full of praise for his work.
"I want to say that you boys sure know your business," he told Elmer, still refusing to look at the persistent Rufus, who continued to hover near him, despite all these rebuffs, for he was a stubborn fellow, it seemed, and would not abandon his plans easily. "I"ve heard some about scouts, and thought they didn"t amount to much, but I reckon I"ll have to change my mind after this. A regular sawbones couldn"t have done the job neater, Elmer. I"m thanking you for it too; and I calculate that a lot Conrad"s been telling us about you must be true."
"Oh! it is, father, it is!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the pleased boy, with tears in his eyes. "Elmer is just a grand fellow; and besides, he promised me that I"d get a chance to be taught by some one who would know what to do with me. You"ll not set your foot down on that, will you, father?"
The man smiled grimly, though this changed to a tender look as he smoothed the fair hair of his little son.
"We"ll see, Conrad, we"ll see," he told him. "Just now it don"t look like I could set one of my feet down on anything for a month or more.
But they"re going to have a hard job of it getting a heavy man like me all the way home."
"Oh! don"t you worry about that, Jem Shock!" sang out Lil Artha, blithely enough; "we know just how to go about it; and besides, it isn"t going to be such a very tough task divided among four of us. Now, Rufus, you can take the upper left end, and I"ll look after the right. Elmer and Alec will manage the foot of the stretcher easy enough."
Rufus shot him a look of grat.i.tude, showing that he readily understood how the wise Lil Artha had purposely allotted him one of the holds that would be apt to keep him as close to Jem"s face as possible. The elongated scout evidently considered it good policy to force Jem to grow accustomed to the proximity of a Snodgra.s.s; while familiarity is said to often breed contempt, in this case Lil Artha meant that it should be the cause of a growing confidence.
So they gaily started forth. Conrad ran alongside, and at times persisted in keeping hold of his father"s hand. He would now and then utter words calculated to cheer the other up, as though he feared that the strain of the trip, on top of his father"s condition after lying there so long unattended, might cause him to show signs of a relapse.
But they got along famously. The first lake was soon reached and put behind them. Lil Artha cast several longing glances over his shoulder as they left, and it did not need the aid of a prophet to tell that he was making up his mind to be back there the first thing in the morning, to test the voracity of the ba.s.s fighters that dwelt in those waters.
Following the plain trail, they continued to put much ground between themselves and the spot where they had found Jem. The man bore the journey well, all things considered, though many times Elmer could see him compress his jaws as if to better stand the acute pain that shot through his bruised body.
So they finally drew near the clearing where the cabin stood. Elmer, who had been there once before, as will be remembered, saw familiar signs to tell him of this fact, for he had impressed certain landmarks on his memory.
"Oh, listen!" suddenly exclaimed Conrad, "I hear voices, and they are men talking, too, strangers. What can it mean, father?"
The man on the stretcher winced painfully, and then smiled grimly.
"Well, things generally come with a rush, Conrad," he said. "There are some men that have been wanting to interview me for a long time now. I reckon they"ve found the nerve to come away up here, just to see what"s going on. But they"ve got to have proof in order to convict a man of poaching game out of season. Anyhow, I"m in no condition to resist now; and I don"t believe they"ll stir up any evidence around the cabin. Woods mutton is scarce these days."
It was Rufus who now uttered a cry.
"There, I can see several men now in front of a cabin," he went on to say, "and oh! as sure as you live, one of them is my own father! Do you hear that, Jem Shock, the Snodgra.s.s you"ve been believing cheated you in a land deal has come straight up here to see you just as soon as he got that letter of yours. Does that look like guilt, tell me? Oh! something is going to happen, and before long you"ll be changing your mind about the Snodgra.s.s tribe!"
Quickening their pace, the little procession hastened to reach the cabin, where several men stood watching their coming, with both wonder and interest showing on their faces. The good wife ran out to meet them, and was soon crying copiously over the figure on the stretcher, though Jem told her it was all right, and not to worry.
CHAPTER XVI
"ALL"S WELL THAT ENDS WELL!"
IT was a moment of considerable suspense to the boys when Mr. Snodgra.s.s, bustling forward, looked down at the injured man. Jem with clinched teeth glared up at him, but said nothing, waiting for the other to speak.
"I"m sorry to see you hurt in this way, Jem," said the magnate. "Just as soon as I received your letter I went to the city, and had a little heart-to-heart talk with Messrs. Bolten and Hall, my former partners in that real-estate deal of some years ago. I threatened them with immediate prosecution if they did not own up to deceiving both of us; and Jem, here they are ready to eat humble pie, and make good that property they defrauded you out of some years ago. Fool that I was never to have suspected the truth; but thank Heaven, it isn"t too late yet.
We"ll soon fix this thing; and after they"ve made good, Jem Shock, I"m going to offer you my check for fifty thousand dollars for that land of yours; because it"s doubled in value since you let it pa.s.s from your hands."
Rufus fairly beamed with happiness.
"What did I tell you, Jem Shock?" he burst out with. "I knew my father wouldn"t stand for a crooked real estate deal. He"s proud of the record he"s made, and lots of people think he"s the only honest land speculator there is. And now perhaps you will shake hands with him, Jem; yes, and with me, too. The Snodgra.s.ses aren"t so _very_ bad a tribe, once you get to know them."
Jem had some difficulty in grasping the wonderful change that had come about in his financial condition, when later on the two real estate men admitted that they had played a sharp trick upon him, for which they were genuinely sorry--Lil Artha winked several times very hard when he heard them say this, and thought of "alligator"s tears."
Jem even offered his hand to the man he had for years been condemning as an unworthy friend, and a treacherous dealer in land.
Conrad was the happiest little fellow imaginable. He would run from his father to Elmer and pat their hands; then back again to kiss his mother, and possibly shake hands with Lil Artha, Alec and Rufus.
"It"s all happened because of the scouts coming up here to camp," he said in the midst of his great joy. "Oh! what don"t we owe to you, Elmer?"
"He fixed my broken leg as fine as any army surgeon could have done, for one thing," admitted Jem Shock, now looking as though a great load had been taken off his shoulders; "and for that alone I could always remember the boy. Yes, it"s been a great day for all of us. I"m glad now that tree caught me, and all the time I lie around waiting for the bone to knit, I"ll be saying that I got just what I deserved for thinking evil of any man."
"None of that, Jem," said Mr. Snodgra.s.s, with more or less asperity.
"You were justified in holding hard feelings toward me, and thinking me a scoundrel. For once in my life I allowed a pair of precious knaves to dupe me, and never suspected how matters stood until I had your letter.
But I forced them to make rest.i.tution. I stood ready to land them both behind the bars if they refused."
Messrs. Bolten and Hall had departed before this was said, pleading an important engagement, and promising to do anything else Mr. Snodgra.s.s demanded, so long as he kept his word not to make the affair public, as it would ruin their legitimate business to have it known that they had been concerned in one big shady deal. Doubtless their ears must have burned as they retraced their way in the direction of the car that had brought them from the distant station; but then, since all was now well, even Jem Shock could forgive them.