"Well, don"t crow till you"re out of the woods," remarked b.u.mpus, from the bow end of the canoe. "I"m willing to be convinced; and it"ll be worth all it costs me just to see you work that puzzle out."
"But you just know I c"n do it, don"t you?" persisted Giraffe.
"Won"t say," answered the fat boy, obstinately.
"Well, you might as well be counting up your spare cash, because I"m bound to show you at the first chance. It just _can"t_ slip away from me much longer; and I reckon I"ve got it clinched this time," and after that Giraffe would not talk, but seemed to be muttering to himself from time to time, as though he might be repeating a certain formula that he believed to be the winning combination.
They were not trying to make fast time now, because there was really no necessity for doing so. Having arrived on the chain of lakes that, with the St. Johns river, almost makes a great island of the northern portion of Maine, they were bent on enjoying themselves. That meant going into camp at some point where the guides were agreed they might have the best hunting; and from that time on taking toll of the woods" folks as their larder required, wasting nothing, and refraining from hunting when food was not needed.
They were true scouts, and believed in following the uplifting principles that govern the actions of the better cla.s.s of sportsmen. As Step Hen so often declared, they did not want to be called "game hogs,"
a term often used to describe the man who flings his catch of ba.s.s or trout up on the sh.o.r.e to die, no matter if he is taking ten times what he can use; or who shoots his deer in or out of season, and allows it to lie there, wasted, on the ground, food for the foxes or wolves.
"This country seems to be rather spa.r.s.ely settled up here?" remarked Thad, after they had been moving along the sh.o.r.e of Lake Winthrop for some time, looking up a desirable camp site.
"In the summer you kin see a tent now an" then, it bein" sum party as wants ter enjy the fishin", which is prime," Eli replied; "but they ain"t many folks as keer "bout stickin" out ther winters hyar. Ye"ll admit they must be sum cold, this far up, nigh the Canady border."
"But there must be plenty of game hereabouts, I should guess," Thad went on. "Because, in the first place it has a gamey look to me; and then again, you wouldn"t have agreed to come along with Jim here, unless you"d heard good accounts of the region around the Eagle Lakes."
"Jest what I has, though I hain"t never be"n all over "em myself,"
returned Eli. "But Jim hyar, he was bawn an" fetched up in this kentry; so what he doan"t know "baout hit hain"t wuth knowin", I guess, sir."
It was about the middle of the afternoon that Jim declared they had reached the point where their tents should be pitched. Thad noticed that the guide made not the least attempt at trying to hide the camp; indeed, the tents could surely be seen in any direction out on the lake.
This gave him to understand that Jim was not "taking water;" he had come here to this danger ground with the main idea of meeting his irate father-in-law face to face, be the consequences what they might, because his wife had begged him to; and there was as yet no sign of Jim turning out to be what Giraffe called a "quitter."
Everybody soon found plenty to do. The rest had enough pity for Giraffe not to enter any complaint because he seemed to shirk his share of the ordinary labor attending the starting of the camp. They knew he had his hands full in solving what promised to be one of the greatest puzzles he had ever tackled.
And so he was allowed to go off himself, and work his little saw monotonously right along. Now it was the cord that failed to hold; again something else went back on poor Giraffe. But he kept patiently at it, grimly determined; and even the most interested of the lot, b.u.mpus, with whom the fire builder had laid his little wager, could not but feel a touch of admiration and sympathy when he saw how the tall scout kept at his task as the afternoon slipped away.
When supper was announced Giraffe came in smiling.
"Got it?" demanded b.u.mpus, eagerly.
"Well, just as good as done," was the cautious reply. "I"ve mastered a heap of little irritating troubles; and just now the coast seems to be clear. Next time, now, and you"ll see something doing."
"One more ribber to cross!" cooed Step Hen. "It"s always "next time,"
with Giraffe, you notice, fellows."
But Giraffe was either too tired to argue, or else so confident of a speedy success that he felt he could afford to bide his time. Revenge would be very sweet, after all the chaff the fellows had poured upon his head. He would wait.
The supper tasted unusually fine that night, they all declared. Several of the scouts a.s.sisted in its preparation, wishing to show the guides just what knowledge of camp cookery they had picked up in their numerous outings. Even b.u.mpus superintended the heating of the "canoeist"s delight," which turned out to be a hodge-podge, consisting of some left-over corned beef taken from a tin, some corn, and beans with several cold potatoes sliced in the same. And the hungry boys declared the only fault they could find with it was that it disappeared too soon.
But they had an abundance for all hands, even Giraffe admitting that he was satisfied when the meal was over. Then came the several delightful hours of lying around, as close to the cheery blaze as they dared, and having a "good old fashioned powwow," as Step Hen called it.
Jim was quiet; but then he had never been a noisy fellow; and knowing what was on his mind right then, Thad felt that he had plenty of excuse for deep thought.
During a lull in the conversation later on, b.u.mpus sat upright, and exclaimed:
"There, did any of you hear it again; sure as you live it was the same long-drawn howl we caught on our other trip up the Pen.o.bscot region; and Sebattis, as well as all the rest, told us it was a wolf come down across the border from Canada. How about it Eli; was that one just then giving tongue?"
The old guide had not moved an inch; indeed, he seemed to be very little concerned over the strange sound; but he nodded his s.h.a.ggy head, and made reply:
"Yep, thet war a Canady wolf all right; an" as they hunt in packs thar must be more on "em raound these diggin"s I spect."
CHAPTER VIII.
THE UPLIFT OF A BOY SCOUT.
They all listened, and heard the far-away howl several more times. Eli even declared that it was not the same beast that gave tongue, but a different one; and this seemed to bear out his statement that the animals usually hunted in packs. If a bunch of them had crossed the St.
Johns river, and taken to chasing deer in the forbidden territory of Maine, the tidings would soon spread, and every guide be on the lookout.
"If so be ye run acrost ary wolves, knock "em over like vermin," Eli remarked, during the discussion of the subject that followed.
"I guess everybody"s got his hand raised against the poor old wolf, ain"t they?" asked b.u.mpus; who often felt sorry for the underdog in a fight, no matter if it happened to be a strange cur he had never set eyes on before.
"Why not?" asked Thad, immediately; "when the wolf is no respecter of persons, and will pull down anything that can be used for food? The world over, they are hunted, because they do so much harm. It has always been so from the time the shepherds of Bible times tended their flocks on the hills of Galilee. And as long as living things stay on this old globe, man and wolf will never agree."
"And in every State where they used to run, there has always been declared a fat bounty on wolves," Allan observed. "Why, right now, Maine is paying large sums of money to get rid of her vermin, such as wolves, wildcats, panthers and snakes. I"ve read that as much as four hundred thousand dollars has been paid out in bounties since nineteen-three."
"Yes," laughed Thad, "and that"s where the joke comes in. I read that same article, which was mighty interesting too. It went on to state that some smarties are not content with getting the regular bounty. They grow a gray cat that looks on the order of the wild article--shorten the tail, draw out the claws, and then send in the skin, claiming the six dollars that is paid for each bobcat actually slain within the borders of the State."
It was the turn of old Eli to laugh now.
"I heard tell o" a sharper as cut off the rattles from a lot o" tame snakes he kept shut up, and send "em in for the bounties each rattle brings; and then he expects his pets ter grow new rattles, which howsumever, I don"t guess they kin; but thet air story goes ter show what some men will try an" do ter beat the pore old government people."
"Whew! and I just can"t stand for snakes at all," remarked Step Hen. "If ever I felt one touch me, I believe I"d nearly take a fit."
"Ha! let Davy do that!" cried Giraffe, quickly; at which there was a shout that must have made the two guides stare, until the joke was explained to them.
It seemed that once upon a time Davy had been subject to sudden severe cramps in his stomach, that used to double him up like a hinge, and render him incapable of action. His teachers at school had been duly warned, and many an afternoon had Davy been granted leave to go home because of a sudden attack; though it must have departed as suddenly as it came; since he was generally seen flying his kite on that same afternoon. And the cramps never attacked him on a dull, rainy day.
When he joined the scouts Davy, wishing to shirk hard work, had commenced to have these queer cramps; but wise Thad, believing that the other must long ago have outgrown the disorder, and was only shamming, laid down a course of treatment so severe that, singular to relate, Davy had ever since been utterly free from the infliction; which the rest of the boys considered simply wonderful.
And that was why there was a shout, with all eyes turned toward Davy Jones, when by mere accident Step Hen mentioned the word "fit."
But Davy only colored up a bit, and grinned amiably.
"That"s a dead issue, fellers, so you needn"t stare at me that way," he remarked, composedly. "Never again. Thad cured me right off the reel.
"Nothing like heroic treatment, when all else fails," he said; and it did the job, clean as a whistle. I never can have a fit again, if I tried."
"You"d better not," remarked b.u.mpus, solemnly winking his left eye at Step Hen, and significantly touching a good-sized club he had at his side.
But that howling of the wolves, hunting their supper far away, did not keep the boys from enjoying a good night"s sleep. Of course there was some sort of watch kept; but those who were not entrusted with the vigil had no reason to bother their heads over it. All night long they slept in absolute safety. If Eli, Jim, Allan and the scoutmaster took turns being on deck, to make sure the camp was not raided, that fact did not keep the other four from slumbering as peacefully as though tucked in their beds at home, and under the parental roof.
Another dawn found them awake, and only too anxious to get a good warm fire started; for the frost was surely around them, and at that early hour it bit severely, too. But they could always depend on Giraffe to coax the wood to do its best in dispelling the cold atmosphere; and soon they were no longer shivering, but fully dressed, and a.s.sisted in getting breakfast.