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<h1>THE BOY SCOUTS
<br /><span class="smaller">ON THE</span>
<br />ROLL OF HONOR</h1>
<p class="tbcenter"><span class="small">BY</span>
<br />SCOUT MASTER ROBERT SHALER</p>
<p class="center smaller">AUTHOR OF &ldquo;BOY SCOUTS OF THE SIGNAL CORPS,&rdquo; &ldquo;BOY SCOUTS OF
PIONEER CAMP,&rdquo; &ldquo;BOY SCOUTS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,&rdquo; &ldquo;BOY
SCOUTS OF THE LIFE SAVING CREW,&rdquo; &ldquo;BOY SCOUTS ON PICKET
DUTY,&rdquo; &ldquo;BOY SCOUTS OF THE FLYING SQUADRON,&rdquo; &ldquo;BOY SCOUTS
AND THE PRIZE PENNANT,&rdquo; &ldquo;BOY SCOUTS OF THE NAVAL
RESERVE,&rdquo; &ldquo;BOY SCOUTS IN THE SADDLE,&rdquo; &ldquo;BOY SCOUTS
FOR CITY IMPROVEMENT,&rdquo; &ldquo;BOY SCOUTS IN THE
GREAT FLOOD,&rdquo; &ldquo;BOY SCOUTS OF THE FIELD HOSPITAL,&rdquo;
&ldquo;BOY SCOUTS WITH THE RED CROSS,&rdquo;
&ldquo;BOY SCOUTS AS COUNTY FAIR GUIDES,&rdquo;
&ldquo;BOY SCOUTS AS FOREST FIRE FIGHTERS,&rdquo;
&ldquo;BOY SCOUTS WITH THE MOTION
PICTURE PLAYERS,&rdquo; ETC.</p>
<p class="center"><span class="smaller">NEW YORK</span>
<br />HURST &amp; COMPANY
<br /><span class="smaller">PUBLISHERS</span></p>
</div>
<h2>Sterling Boy Scout Books</h2>
<p class="center"><span class="large"><b>By Scout Master Robert Shaler</b></span></p>
<p class="center"><b><i>Bound in cloth</i></b> <span class="hst"><b><i>Ten titles</i></b></span></p>
<dl class="int"><dt>1 Boy Scouts of the Signal Corps.</dt>
<dt>2 Boy Scouts of Pioneer Camp.</dt>
<dt>3 Boy Scouts of the Geological Survey.</dt>
<dt>4 Boy Scouts of the Life Saving Crew.</dt>
<dt>5 Boy Scouts on Picket Duty.</dt>
<dt>6 Boy Scouts of the Flying Squadron.</dt>
<dt>7 Boy Scouts and the Prize Pennant.</dt>
<dt>8 Boy Scouts of the Naval Reserve.</dt>
<dt>9 Boy Scouts in the Saddle.</dt>
<dt>10 Boy Scouts for City Improvement.</dt></dl>
<p><i>You can purchase any of the above books at
the price you paid for this one, or the publishers
will send any book, postpaid, upon receipt of 25c.</i></p>
<p class="center"><b><span class="large">HURST &amp; CO., Publishers</span>
<br /><span class="small">432 Fourth Avenue, New York</span></b></p>
<p class="center"><span class="small">Copyright, 1916, by <span class="sc">Hurst &amp; Company</span>.</span></p>
<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
<dl class="toc">
<dt class="jr"><span class="jl"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span></span> <span class="small">PAGE</span></dt>
<dt><span class="cn">I. </span><a href="#c1">The Nut Gatherers</a> 5</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">II. </span><a href="#c2">At the Deserted Logging Camp</a> 16</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">III. </span><a href="#c3">Backed by Scout Comrades</a> 27</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">IV. </span><a href="#c4">The Coming of the Storm</a> 39</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">V. </span><a href="#c5">A Helping Hand</a> 51</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">VI. </span><a href="#c6">The Duty of a Scout</a> 63</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">VII. </span><a href="#c7">The Peril of the Falling Timber</a> 75</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">VIII. </span><a href="#c8">The Rescue</a> 84</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">IX. </span><a href="#c9">Gus in the Lime-light</a> 93</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">X. </span><a href="#c10">Things Change for the Better</a> 104</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">XI. </span><a href="#c11">Good News</a> 118</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">XII. </span><a href="#c12">Thanksgiving in Camp</a> 128</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">XIII. </span><a href="#c13">Sam Redeems Himself Gloriously</a> 136</dt>
<dt><span class="cn">XIV. </span><a href="#c14">The Honor Medals</a> 152</dt>
</dl>
<div class="pb" id="Page_5">5</div>
<h1 title="">The Boy Scouts on the Roll of Honor.</h1>
<h2 id="c1">CHAPTER I.
<br /><span class="small">THE NUT GATHERERS.</span></h2>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s turned out to be a nutting trip worth
while, fellows!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Three sacks full of black walnuts and shellbark
hickories, with a peck of big chestnuts!
Well, for one I&rsquo;m glad Hugh asked me to go
along.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;And say, think of those poor little kids over
at the orphan asylum&mdash;what a high old time
they&rsquo;re going to have this winter cracking all
these nuts, when the snow that&rsquo;s kept off so
long comes to Oakvale!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Hugh, it seems to me you&rsquo;re always doing
something to make those orphans think a heap
of Hugh Hardin, our assistant scout master,
eh, Billy?&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_6">6</div>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s right, Arthur,&rdquo; responded the boy
addressed by the name of Billy. &ldquo;Why, only
a short time ago didn&rsquo;t I see him put through
a neat job that I reckon saved the lives of several
of those kids?&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You must mean, Billy, when Hugh threw
that runaway stone-car from the track, after it
was headed for a stalled wagon full of children
at the foot of the steep incline. I&rsquo;ve always
felt sorry I didn&rsquo;t see that splendid feat
myself.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_1" href="#fn_1">[1]</a></p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh, come, change the subject, please! It
is getting to be a regular chestnut with me,&rdquo;
laughingly remarked the manly-looking boy in
a suit of faded khaki, that had apparently seen
considerable wear, and who answered to the
name of Hugh.</p>
<p>There were three of them perched upon the
broad seat of a wagon drawn by a single stout
horse. All were apparently members of the
Oakvale Troop of Boy Scouts, if their khaki
suits that had seen more or less rough service,
campaign hats, and various medals and badges
told the story truly.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_7">7</div>
<p>The driver was a fat, chunky lad named
Billy Worth. Billy was noted for his unfailing
good-nature, his immense appetite, a certain
amount of skill in picture writing after the
old Indian style, and last but not least his hero
worship of Hugh Hardin as a chum, as well
as a scout leader.</p>
<p>Besides these two there was Arthur Cameron,
a rather slender boy, but capable of displaying
considerable agility and strength on
occasion. Arthur was interested in a good
many things, such as wireless, and photography.
His greatest claim to efficiency, however,
lay in his undoubted ability as an amateur
surgeon. Indeed, on more than a few occasions
the boy had amazed experienced doctors
by his astonishing skill at caring for serious
wounds and handling cases in a wonderful
manner.</p>
<p>Arthur would certainly miss his calling if
he later on decided to follow any other profession
as a life career.</p>
<p>As for Hugh himself, he was an all-round
scout, good at almost everything that goes to
make a proficient member of a patrol. In
woodcraft he had few equals, and certainly no
superior, as many of the boys were ready to
attest from having been in his company when
tests came.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_8">8</div>
<p>Oakvale Troop was thriving these autumn
days. Time was when many people were wont
to look sneeringly down at the struggling organization.
Some wise parents, mistaking the
true objects of the scout movement, absolutely
refused to allow their sons to join, despite
much pleading and bitter feelings.</p>
<p>Those days, though, were now pretty much
in the past. It must be a bold man who would
dare to argue along such lines, after all the
manly things Hugh and his comrades of the
khaki had successfully carried out.</p>
<p>These scout activities consisted of so many
varieties of deeds that time and space would
not allow me to repeat them here. If the
reader has not already enjoyed the earlier numbers
of this series and feels a desire to know
what the Oakvale scouts had succeeded in
accomplishing since the time of their organization
as a troop, he could not do better than to
secure some of the preceding volumes and
peruse them in their regular sequence.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_9">9</div>
<p>At a meeting of the troop in a cozy room
under one of the Oakvale churches, allotted
to their use by the men who firmly believed in
scout work, Billy had only the preceding evening
been elected secretary. He was consequently
inclined to be full of the subject, and
from time to time would burst out in some
speech regarding the books he had been poring
over.</p>
<p>So now, as he softly touched the lazy horse
with his whip, to coax him to increase his pace,
as they were drawing near the outskirts of the
town, Billy once again allowed his rather slow
mind to recur to the subject of his perusal of
the organization books.</p>
<p>&ldquo;D&rsquo;ye know, Hugh,&rdquo; he remarked, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been
making out a list of present members, as well
as the patrols to which they belong. It shows
that we&rsquo;ve struck the thirty-three number, with
two patrols chock full, and three lacking seven
to be complete.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;How&rsquo;s that come, Billy?&rdquo; demanded Arthur,
who was seated on his left. &ldquo;Seems to
me we ought to have four full patrols out of
that number.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_10">10</div>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! well, you forget that we lost several
fellows when their folks moved away from
town,&rdquo; replied the important secretary, &ldquo;and
that some new members joined the latest patrol
by choice, which was the Owl, you know.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to know just how the troop stands
right now, Billy,&rdquo; ventured Hugh, who possibly
could read the fat boy as he might a
printed page, and hence knew that the secretary
was fairly itching to give the details of
the scout membership and divisions.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Huh! that&rsquo;s as easily done as falling off a
log,&rdquo; said Billy instantly, taking the bait like
a hungry wolf. &ldquo;Here, Arthur, help me out,
won&rsquo;t you? Hold the lines, and be sure not to
let old Peter run away while I fish in my coat
pockets and find a certain paper I made out
from the books.&rdquo;</p>
<p>After considerable hunting, for Billy was a
bit inclined to be careless when he put a thing
away, so that he really forgot where its hiding
place might be, in the end he produced the
document, smiling humorously as though he
had achieved a wonderful victory.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_11">11</div>
<p>&ldquo;Here she is, right-side up with care,&rdquo; he
announced grandly, flourishing the paper. &ldquo;I
just knew I had it somewhere on my person,
but a fellow has so many pockets that it isn&rsquo;t
any wonder he once in a long time gets things
mixed a little. Now, listen you fellows, while
I read the roster of Oakvale Troop.&rdquo;</p>
<p>In a sonorous voice, as though standing on
the rostrum and addressing an audience that
filled every corner of the town hall, Billy
started in. As there may be some readers who
have not yet made the acquaintance of other
members of the enterprising Oakvale Scouts,
perhaps it would be just as well to let Billy
introduce his comrades now.</p>
<p>&ldquo;First there&rsquo;s the original Wolf Patrol,&rdquo; he
started in to say, &ldquo;consisting of charter members
for the most part. These are eight in
number, and constitute a full patrol&mdash;Hugh
Hardin, leader; Billy Worth, &lsquo;Bud&rsquo; Morgan,
Arthur Cameron, Ned Twyford, Jack Durham,
Harold Tremaine, and Ralph Kenyon.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Then comes the Hawk Patrol, with one
vacancy, owing to a fellow leaving town. It
now consists of Walter Osborne, leader; Blake
Merton, &lsquo;Gus&rsquo; Merrivale, Anthony Huggins,
Mark Trowbridge, Frank Green, and &lsquo;Chatz&rsquo;
Marsters.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_12">12</div>
<p>&ldquo;Next we have the Otter Patrol, full to the
brim. There&rsquo;s Alec Sands, leader; &lsquo;Buck&rsquo; Winter,
Chester Brownell, Dick Bellamy, Tom
Sherwood, Dale Evans, Sam Winter, and Albert
Barnes.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Then there&rsquo;s the Fox Patrol, with two
vacancies, owing to the same cause, families
moving away from Oakvale. No scout thus
far on our membership list has died. Don
Miller is the leader, with &lsquo;Shorty&rsquo; McNeil,
Cooper Fennimore, &lsquo;Spike&rsquo; Welling, &lsquo;Monkey&rsquo;
Stallings and Addison Prentice making up the
rest.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Last of all is the Owl Patrol, with only four
on the roll. Lige Corbley is acting as leader
the best he knows how, and the other fellows
are &lsquo;Whistling&rsquo; Smith, Andy Wallis and Pete
Craig. So you see how matters stand. Strikes
me, Hugh, we ought to fill up the vacancies in
the Hawk and Fox Patrols before trying to
complete the new chapter, though maybe the
suggestion oughtn&rsquo;t to come from so humble an
individual as the greenhorn secretary, William
Worth, at your service!&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_13">13</div>
<p>He put away the paper and once more took
the reins, whereat the intelligent horse, as
though knowing who handled the lines now,
once more fell back into his indolent gait, as
though time did not matter&mdash;like master, like
horse, Arthur told himself, noting this immediate
change of pace.</p>
<p>&ldquo;On the contrary,&rdquo; said Hugh, immediately,
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad you mentioned it, and in fact I consider
it a very good suggestion. We&rsquo;ll thresh
it out at the next meeting, when we hope to
have several applications for membership.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Gad-up, Peter, what ails you?&rdquo; exclaimed
Billy, flushing with pleasure, for he would
rather receive a compliment from Hugh than
any one he knew of. &ldquo;Here we are on the border
of town, with your oats waiting for you in
the stable, and yet you loaf like that. You
must be pretty much of a lazybones, I reckon.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t forget that Peter has traveled quite
some few miles, uphill and down,&rdquo; remarked
Hugh chidingly. &ldquo;The load he&rsquo;s pulling now,
what with the bags of nuts and three boys, isn&rsquo;t
to be sneezed at. We&rsquo;re going to get home in
plenty of time for supper, for the sun&rsquo;s just
beginning to set now behind the bare ridges of
old Stormberg Mountain over there in the
west.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_14">14</div>
<p>&ldquo;And to-night you promised to drop over to
my house, remember, fellows,&rdquo; remarked
Billy. &ldquo;With the Thanksgiving holidays
nearly on us, we&rsquo;ve got to think up some sort
of outing to give us a breathing spell between
studies.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll be on hand, never fear, Billy,&rdquo;
chuckled Arthur. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a few ideas on
that subject myself, that I&rsquo;d like to have talked
over, though they may not strike either of you
as just the thing.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The fact of the matter is,&rdquo; said Billy seriously,
&ldquo;our bunch has already gone through
so many experiences that it&rsquo;s next to impossible
to hatch up anything new or novel these days.
I&rsquo;ve almost cracked my poor brain trying to
concoct a scheme that would take you all by
storm, but I tell you it can&rsquo;t be done. And
Arthur, I&rsquo;ll be tickled half to death if you can
invent some fine plan or other.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well, here we strike town,&rdquo; said Hugh.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll try to offer some idea to-night, but I own
up I&rsquo;m in something of the same fix as Billy
here, and afraid we&rsquo;ll, after all, have to duplicate
some of our past trips.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s some fellow waving to us!&rdquo; exclaimed
Arthur just then.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_15">15</div>
<p>&ldquo;I ought to know him all right,&rdquo; muttered
Billy. &ldquo;Yes, it&rsquo;s Gus Merrivale, and he wants
us to pull up. Guess he heard we went after a
last load of nuts up at the Hatch grove, and
wants to see what luck we had.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Hugh, however, believed differently, for
with the observing eye that had helped to make
him the smart scout he was he noticed that Gus
looked greatly excited. Therefore Hugh was
not so much surprised as his comrades when
the member of the Hawk Patrol burst out explosively
as soon as he reached the side of the
wagon:</p>
<p>&ldquo;Hugh, I&rsquo;ve been looking all over town for
you, yes, and Billy and Arthur as well. I&rsquo;ve
just got to go up to dad&rsquo;s old logging camp, not
being used this season you know, and it struck
me the three of you might like to go along and
spend the Thanksgiving holidays up there. We
could have a <i>glorious</i> time of it, believe me!&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_16">16</div>
<h2 id="c2">CHAPTER II.
<br /><span class="small">AT THE DESERTED LOGGING CAMP.</span></h2>
<p>&ldquo;Would you mind saying that again, Gus?&rdquo;
asked Billy eagerly.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; added Arthur, &ldquo;we were just trying
to figure out what we might do over the holidays,
because most of the boys can&rsquo;t leave home
on Thanksgiving of all times in the year. Tell
us some more about your scheme, Gus. I must
say it strikes me as something worth jumping
at, all right.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gus flushed with evident pleasure. Hugh instantly
began to think there might be something
more connected with this suddenly conceived
trip than had as yet appeared on the surface;
still, he, too, felt pleased to have their difficulties
so quickly removed.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_17">17</div>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just this way,&rdquo; said Gus, speaking
quickly, and secretly watching the face of the
scout master, because he knew that Hugh
would be the one to settle the matter, &ldquo;my
mother wants me to go up there for a certain
reason, and, of course, I could hardly think of
undertaking it alone. She told me to hire some
one to go along to act as guide and companion,
but I felt I had too many fine chums among the
Oakvale scouts to think of doing that, and as I
happened to hear you fellows talking about
spending the holidays off somewhere I decided
to ask you to go along with me.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s see,&rdquo; remarked Arthur shrewdly, &ldquo;unless
I&rsquo;m a whole lot mistaken that lumber camp
your folks own is a good many miles away
from Oakvale.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;All of thirty-five,&rdquo; replied Gus, without any
hesitation, &ldquo;but what does a little thing like
that matter, when you&rsquo;ve got a bully seven-passenger
car to carry the grub, and everything
needed? Mother told me I could take our old
car, which was lately overhauled, and ought to
run fairly decent. Hugh, please say you&rsquo;ll go
with me! I&rsquo;ll be ever so thankful, because&mdash; Well,
I&rsquo;ve just <i>got</i> to spend a little time up
there, you see, and I&rsquo;d appreciate your company
better than I c&rsquo;n tell you.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_18">18</div>
<p>&ldquo;So far as I&rsquo;m concerned,&rdquo; spoke up Billy,
impulsively for once, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m with you on that
proposition, Gus. It strikes me as a splendid
chance to pass away a few days in having a
dandy good time among ourselves. Don&rsquo;t forget
that this year school closes sharp on Tuesday
afternoon, not to open again for a week.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Thanks to the heating apparatus breaking
down in that first cold spell, and the delay in
getting new parts from the foundry,&rdquo; added
Arthur, gratefully. &ldquo;And let me add that you
can count on my going along with you, Gus.
I&rsquo;m in for the outing every time.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Hugh, you haven&rsquo;t said a word yet,&rdquo; observed
Gus, anxiously.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Because I&rsquo;ve been thinking it over,&rdquo; replied
the other.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Say you&rsquo;ll go along with us, Hugh,&rdquo; urged
Billy. &ldquo;Why, half of the fun&rsquo;d be gone if you
didn&rsquo;t come.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Gus, we&rsquo;ll call it settled then,&rdquo; said Hugh,
vastly to the delight of the stout chum, who
looked as though ready to give a regular scout
yell.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_19">19</div>
<p>&ldquo;Then let&rsquo;s meet to-night at my house,&rdquo; Billy
hastened to add, &ldquo;when we can settle the preliminaries,
as they say when a match is being
arranged. Just now you see my untamed steed
is getting restless; wants his oats, I reckon.
Call it seven, Gus, and don&rsquo;t you dare fail us
after getting a fellow so excited.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Possibly it was Peter&rsquo;s hungry master who
was growing anxious to satisfy a voracious
appetite, for Billy&rsquo;s weakness was well known
among his chums, and caused no end of merriment,
though he took all the fun poked at him
in good part.</p>
<p>At seven that same evening when Hugh,
walking along in the light of the almost full
moon, reached Billy Worth&rsquo;s home, he found
that both Arthur and Gus had already arrived.</p>
<p>Billy, like most boys, had been allowed a
&ldquo;den&rdquo; of his own, which was quite tastefully
fitted up with books and pictures of an exciting
though wholesome character. Athletic and
other outdoor sports were represented by various
things like football guards for nose and
shins; a baseball catcher&rsquo;s mask, gloves and
breast pad; snowshoes that had evidently seen
considerable service, a fly-rod, a stuffed black
bass weighing some five pounds, which must
have given the fisherman a lordly struggle before
consenting to capture, and other articles
too numerous to mention.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_20">20</div>
<p>Billy&rsquo;s den was a favorite lounging place for
many of his mates. Here the three guests were
told to make themselves at home, and each
hastened to ensconce himself in a favorite chair
or nook, the comforts of which seemed to be
quite familiar to the occupant from previous
visits there.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s understood, then,&rdquo; said Gus, after they
had been chatting for some time, and, of course,
were discussing what they ought to take along
with them, &ldquo;that we start about eight o&rsquo;clock
Wednesday morning next, come rain, come
shine.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Huh! the weather doesn&rsquo;t stop a scout when
he&rsquo;s got his mind made up,&rdquo; ventured Billy,
with an expanded chest that bespoke pride.
&ldquo;What would a little snowstorm or even a baby
blizzard mean to such veterans as our crowd?
If the heavens don&rsquo;t drop, Gus, or one of us
falls sick meanwhile, you can count on our
being with you on the date set.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;One thing I&rsquo;m going to ask of you, boys, as
a great favor,&rdquo; remarked Gus, with a queer
look on his face that interested the observing
Hugh considerably.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_21">21</div>
<p>&ldquo;As what?&rdquo; demanded Billy. &ldquo;Though for
that matter, Gus, count it as settled before you
speak, that we&rsquo;ll agree to anything you ask.
We&rsquo;re going to be your guests up there at the
old logging camp, you know, and we understand
what that means.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! it&rsquo;s only this,&rdquo; continued the other,
hesitatingly. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to ask you not to tell
any of the fellows just where we expect to
camp. I&rsquo;ve got a reason for that request, and
later on you&rsquo;re going to know all about it, too.
Just now I don&rsquo;t want my father to know where
we&rsquo;re headed, though mother is sending me up
there, you understand.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Billy&rsquo;s eyes opened very wide at hearing this.
Arthur, too, stared, and seemed to be puzzled,
but quickly went on to say:</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! that&rsquo;s all right, Gus, we promise to
keep as mum as an oyster about it all. No
matter what the reason may be, don&rsquo;t think we
want to pry into your private affairs. Hugh
here has said he&rsquo;s willing to go along, and we&rsquo;ll
make up the party without a question.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_22">22</div>
<p>&ldquo;Yes, that&rsquo;s so,&rdquo; added Billy, &ldquo;and while
we&rsquo;re about it let&rsquo;s settle on what kind of grub
we want to carry along. If we&rsquo;re likely to be
gone as long as six days, why, we&rsquo;ll have to
figure on enough to last us out. I can&rsquo;t afford
to lose any of my weight, in starving myself,
you understand, boys.&rdquo;</p>
<p>This was always a pleasing subject with
Billy. He invariably found himself at home
when it came to making up a list of eatables to
carry along. There was little danger of starvation
visiting any camp where Billy Worth was
occupying a place at the mess table, and had a
hand in ordering the supplies.</p>
<p>So by the time Hugh and the other fellows
got up to go home the arrangements for the
Thanksgiving outing had been pretty well completed.
What little more they might need could
be added in the few days that must elapse before
making the start. On the way home
Arthur and Hugh might have incidentally mentioned
the fact of Gus acting so strangely in
connection with the trip, only that his being
in their company prevented any such exchange
of opinions.</p>
<p>Monday came again after a Sunday that did
not differ from any ordinary day of rest from
school duties and labor. Then Tuesday
dragged its weary length along, and finally
school was dismissed for the Thanksgiving
holidays.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_23">23</div>
<p>That night the boys again met at Billy&rsquo;s
house, where the supplies for the little campaign
had been slowly gathered. Hugh was
amused at the immense heap that filled one end
of the &ldquo;den.&rdquo; Gus, too, wondered whether
there would be any room for a quartette of
healthy fellows after that load had been placed
aboard the car.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Never fear about that,&rdquo; Billy cheerfully assured
them. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t know how you can
stow things away, once you try.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; laughed Arthur, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ve seen you doing
the same stunt lots of times, Billy, and only
wondered if your legs were hollow, because
none of us could guess where you put it all.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Leave that to me,&rdquo; Billy remarked complacently,
&ldquo;and I&rsquo;ll guarantee that every bit of
this stuff will fit in the car, and then some. I&rsquo;m
an adept at packing; you see I like comfort so
much I&rsquo;m always carrying along heaps more
than the law allows; and so I&rsquo;ve had to study
the subject of getting much in little.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_24">24</div>
<p>Indeed, when the next morning came, and
Gus drew up in his big seven-passenger car,
Billy proved the truth of his bold assertion.
He did succeed in getting every bit of the
luggage aboard, and there was still room for
the boys to stow themselves away, though Arthur
and Hugh had to let their legs dangle outside
more or less.</p>
<p>The start was made under promising conditions.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Looks like we might be favored with a spell
of real mild weather,&rdquo; Billy observed, after
they had left Oakvale some miles behind, and
were speeding along the road at a fairly lively
pace.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Indian summer hasn&rsquo;t come and gone yet,
they say,&rdquo; remarked Gus. &ldquo;Like as not this is
a spell of the same. But no matter what sort
of weather we strike I&rsquo;m glad as can be we&rsquo;ve
made the start, and hope things will turn out
for the best.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Again did Hugh pay attention to some hidden
meaning back of what Gus Merrivale was
saying, though neither Billy nor Arthur seemed
to notice anything strange.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_25">25</div>
<p>&ldquo;I honestly believe Gus has some sort of reason
for wanting to visit that deserted old lumber
camp just at this particular season of the
year,&rdquo; mused Hugh, as he sat there and paid
strict attention to the scenery along the route.
&ldquo;Besides, when he says his mother is setting
him up to making the trip, and that he didn&rsquo;t
want his father to hear about it, it looks pretty
queer. But then he promised to tell us all about
it later on, so what&rsquo;s the use bothering any
more?&rdquo;</p>
<p>They were fortunate not to have any &ldquo;blowout&rdquo;
or other accident on the way&mdash;which
Hugh considered lucky, for the car was an old
one, only lately repaired. Miles upon miles
were passed over. Gus did not try to make
undue haste; for he entertained a certain
amount of suspicion regarding the propensity
of the Atlas to break down.</p>
<p>By degrees they found themselves entering
upon a wilder stretch of country than the region
bordering Oakvale. Farms became less
frequent, and stretches of heavily wooded land
took their place. Some great gashes had been
made in this valuable timber belt, mainly
through the logging operations carried on by
Mr. Merrivale&rsquo;s gangs of hardy lumbermen.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_26">26</div>
<p>This year, however, there was nothing going
on. Gus explained something about a strike
that had taken place late on the preceding
spring, which had so angered the rich owner
of the land that he declared he would not cut
another stick until he could get the right sort of
men to contract with him.</p>
<p>It was not much after ten in the morning
when Gus told his chums they were drawing
near the camp. Indeed, the other scouts had
already seen numerous evidences of this fact
around them. They were accustomed to draw
their own conclusions.</p>
<p>Gus began to show signs of nervous excitement,
Hugh discovered. In fact, the other was
trembling like a leaf as they finally drew up in
front of a long log building evidently serving
as the &ldquo;bunk-house&rdquo; of the logging camp.</p>
<p>Without saying a word Gus scrambled out
of the car the first thing, and hurried toward
the heavy door of the low structure. Billy
was so stiff he could hardly move without
groaning; but both Hugh and the nimble Arthur
were close upon the heels of Gus when
he swung open the door, looked within, and
then with a deep sigh exclaimed, evidently
greatly disappointed:</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! the shack is empty! And poor
mother&rsquo;ll break her heart when she finds out
that story was only a mean fraud after all.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_27">27</div>
<h2 id="c3">CHAPTER III.
<br /><span class="small">BACKED BY SCOUT COMRADES.</span></h2>
<p>Gus staggered over to a rude chair made
from hickory branches, and threw himself
down, covering his agitated face with both
hands. Arthur looked ruefully at Hugh as
though hardly knowing what to make of these
strange actions on the part of the boy whose
rich father owned this deserted lumber
camp.</p>
<p>The coming of Billy, loaded down with
traps, broke in upon the dead silence that
seemed to grip them.</p>
<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Everybody works but father!&rsquo;&rdquo; sang out
the stout boy, cheerfully, as he cast his burden
on the puncheon floor, it consisting for the
most part of camping blankets of gray material,
and which had seen considerable service
in times gone by.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well, we don&rsquo;t expect you to do it all, Billy,&rdquo;
remarked Arthur, as he hurried outside once
more.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_28">28</div>
<p>Hugh, too, busied himself, knowing that in
all probability Gus would explain what his
queer words meant, in his own good time. The
boy was beginning to master his feelings when
the others came in again, each loaded with
packages of food, clothes-bags, and such things
as a camera, a shotgun, an ax, and the cooking
utensils they knew so well.</p>
<p>Gus offered to assist them, but Hugh declared
they were more than half done, and that
another trip would finish the job.</p>
<p>&ldquo;When you come back again,&rdquo; said Gus, evidently
determined to explain things at the
start, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got something I want to tell you
all.&rdquo;</p>
<p>A short time later, everything having been
carried under shelter, Hugh and the other pair
gathered close around Gus, who was now smiling
bravely, though still laboring under considerable
excitement bordering on keen disappointment.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t bother telling us a thing unless you
really want to, Gus,&rdquo; said Hugh in his kindly
fashion, but the other nodded his head as he
went on to say:</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_29">29</div>
<p>&ldquo;Oh, I meant all along that you should
know,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Fact is, I couldn&rsquo;t have gotten
along even a little bit without explaining
why I was urged to come up here by my
mother, and without father knowing a thing
about it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He sighed again, and then went on bravely.
Hugh saw by the way he compressed his lips
that it hurt Gus keenly to say what he meant to,
but that even this would not keep him silent.
After a moment he started to say, grimly:</p>
<p>&ldquo;Perhaps you&rsquo;ll remember that once upon a
time I had an older brother by the name of
Sam. Most people believe Sam went out West
to live with an uncle who had a ranch there;
but the truth of the matter is he had a terrible
quarrel with father, and was turned out
of the house! That&rsquo;s been the skeleton in the
Merrivale closet ever since, and Sam&rsquo;s name
has never been mentioned to my father by
any of the rest of us.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gus swallowed hard to master his emotion,
and then proceeded with his story.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_30">30</div>
<p>&ldquo;Sam was a lovable fellow, only weak, and
he fell in with a bad lot who dragged him down.
From the day he disappeared, now some four
years back, none of us have ever set eyes on
him. I&rsquo;ve got a suspicion that my mother tried
to keep in touch with him, for once I saw her
get a letter that had a Chicago post-mark on
it; but that was three years ago. Since then I
don&rsquo;t believe even she has known whether poor
Sam was alive or dead.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Then a short time ago she learned something
that has caused her plenty of sleepless
nights, let me tell you. I don&rsquo;t know just how
the news traveled, but it was to the effect that
Sam had come back to his old haunts, accompanied
by another tramp; he had fallen as low
as that, and was believed to be lying sick up
here at the old lumber camp.</p>
<p>&ldquo;My father is an awfully stern man, you
must remember, and mother is afraid of his
terrible temper, so she didn&rsquo;t dare speak to him
about it. Finally, she took me into her confidence,
and begged me to fix it so I could go off
on a camping trip, running up here to see if
there was any truth in the rumor she had
heard, and if so to do what I could for my
brother Sam. But you can see he isn&rsquo;t here,
and I&rsquo;m afraid it was a false alarm. Oh, I&rsquo;m
sorry for my poor mother, that&rsquo;s all!&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_31">31</div>
<p>Gus looked as though about to break down
again, seeing which Hugh hastened to say
something.</p>
<p>&ldquo;But hold on there, Gus,&rdquo; was what he remarked,
hastily and cheerfully; &ldquo;remember
that a scout doesn&rsquo;t give in so easily as all that.
It&rsquo;s true your wandering Brother Sam doesn&rsquo;t
seem to be here now, but that&rsquo;s no reason he
hasn&rsquo;t occupied this bunk-house of late.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Hello, that sounds like you have seen signs,
Hugh!&rdquo; exclaimed Arthur.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well, I have,&rdquo; came the answer. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s
look around a bit before we decide that there
was nothing back of the story. Here you can
see there&rsquo;s been a fire lately on this broad
hearth where the cooking is done. Like as not
the last time the loggers were here was many
months ago, and the rain coming down the
broad chimney would have leveled the ashes,
which you see isn&rsquo;t the case right now.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The scout master bent down and placed his
hand on the heap of ashes. He quickly drew
it back again, and turned a smiling face toward
the other boys.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Try the test and see for yourselves,&rdquo; he
urged, which every one of the others hastened
to do, also receiving a surprise in turn.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_32">32</div>
<p>&ldquo;Why, what d&rsquo;ye think of that, it&rsquo;s actually
<i>warm</i>!&rdquo; exclaimed Billy, as he started to wring
his fingers as though he had burned them.</p>
<p>Gus stared hard at Hugh. The pallor was
leaving his face, while a sparkle as of revived
expectation and hope could be seen in his tear-dimmed
eyes.</p>
<p>&ldquo;What does that mean, Hugh? Oh, please
tell me, because it seems as if I couldn&rsquo;t collect
my wits enough to reason it out!&rdquo; he begged,
laying a quivering hand on the khaki sleeve of
his chum.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well, there&rsquo;s certainly been some person or
persons holding forth here not so long ago,&rdquo;
said the other, with the positiveness of conviction.
&ldquo;You can see signs where they&rsquo;ve done
some primitive sort of cooking. Here&rsquo;s the
head of a rabbit which no doubt they snared
or shot; and over there are scales showing that
they found some way of getting fish out of the
stream.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s so, every word of it!&rdquo; said Billy
Worth, who would, however, have unhesitatingly
believed Hugh, no matter what sort of
theory the other advanced.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_33">33</div>
<p>&ldquo;Now, let&rsquo;s look around a little further, and
perhaps we can find out something else,&rdquo; continued
the energetic scout master. &ldquo;For instance,
this bunk has been occupied lately, I
should say from the looks of it&mdash;and the next
one ditto.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Then that would mean just two men had
been in here, wouldn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; asked Gus, feverishly.
&ldquo;The report mother received stated that
Sam had one pal along with him.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;And over by the fireplace,&rdquo; remarked Arthur,
&ldquo;I saw a couple of old tomato cans that
had been used for cooking coffee in, some time
or other; which I happen to know is a favorite
trick among hobo&mdash;er&mdash;traveling men of the
railway ties.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gus smiled faintly at hearing Arthur so
hastily change his words.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! don&rsquo;t worry about hurting my feelings
when you call my brother a tramp,&rdquo; he went on
to say. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s done enough to nearly break his
poor mother&rsquo;s heart, but you know a mother
will keep right along loving a fellow no matter
how wicked he&rsquo;s been. So she sent me up here
on this wild-goose chase, hoping I might talk
with Sam, and find out if he didn&rsquo;t want to
make one last try to be decent again.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_34">34</div>
<p>&ldquo;Well, we&rsquo;ve got a whole week to find him
in,&rdquo; remarked Hugh, encouragingly.</p>
<p>&ldquo;But why do you suppose they cleared out of
here in such a big hurry?&rdquo; asked Billy, seeking
enlightenment from the source that seldom
failed him.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a question that might have a good
many answers,&rdquo; Hugh told him. &ldquo;It may be
that, well, the hobo who is with Sam has reason
to be afraid of the officers of the law on
account of something or other he&rsquo;s done. I
kind of think he must have sighted our car
coming along the logging trail several miles
off, for you know it took us quite some time to
get here from the main road. So he hurried
Sam away with him, taking along what little
they had.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gus bent his head to hide the tears that came
unbidden into his eyes. He knew Hugh was
saying that partly to shield Sam, for there was
nothing to tell them it was not the latter who
had good reason to shun the officers of the
law.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_35">35</div>
<p>&ldquo;Well, we&rsquo;ll try and unravel all this conundrum
a little later,&rdquo; Billy remarked just then.
&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s get settled first, and after that look
around some. If Sam is sick I shouldn&rsquo;t think
he&rsquo;d be able to get very far away from here.
We&rsquo;ll find him yet, see if we don&rsquo;t, Gus! In
fact, I feel sure we will!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s mighty good of you all to stand by me
the way you do,&rdquo; whimpered Gus, as he shook
hands first with Billy, and then the others in
turn.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Shucks!&rdquo; snorted Billy, himself winking
pretty hard it must be confessed, for the stout
boy had a very tender and sympathetic heart.
&ldquo;What&rsquo;re scouts good for if they can&rsquo;t back
each other up when trouble swoops down, tell
me? I wouldn&rsquo;t give five cents for a fellow
who wore the khaki and turned a cold shoulder
to a chum in time of need.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll all come out right, Gus, you can depend
on that,&rdquo; said Arthur, stoutly.</p>
<p>How could any boy give way to despondency
when surrounded by such loyal comrades? Gus
soon mastered his feelings, and even assisted
the others get the various bundles unfastened.
There is always something fascinating about
this game of preparation, especially to boys
who know the delights of camping out; and in
good time Gus had apparently decided in his
mind that the sky did not look quite so gloomy
and forbidding.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_36">36</div>
<p>Soon they were all working enthusiastically.
A lot of things had to be attended to, such as
chopping firewood, making up the bunks, undoing
the food supplies, a task no one but Billy
dared undertake, and all sorts of other duties
too numerous to mention.</p>
<p>Then they decided to have a warm lunch before
looking around outside. Gus had so fixed
the car that it could not be stolen; at the same
time the top was left raised in order to protect
the interior in case of a heavy storm.</p>
<p>The time passed away as the afternoon advanced.
Hugh had a dozen things he wanted
to do, but for the time being he allowed them
to take a back seat. There would very likely
be an abundance of time to accomplish them
all later on; first in order was this heart service
of Gus Merrivale&rsquo;s.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_37">37</div>
<p>Hugh&mdash;yes, and both Billy and Arthur as
well&mdash;could easily picture the intense anxiety
of that poor mother waiting at home to learn
about the fate of the wanderer for whom she
still yearned. Yes, and what must make it
doubly hard was the fact that she stood in such
awe of her husband, and dared not even hint
at the fact that the long-absent one was again
near his old home from which he had been so
summarily thrust.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got in touch with the trail they left
when they went away,&rdquo; Hugh announced late
that afternoon, coming back to the bunk-house
after an absence of half an hour. &ldquo;I followed
it some little distance by means of the holes
made by a cane one of the two men was using
to help him walk. Then I struck some stony
ground where I lost the tracks. But the first
thing in the morning I&rsquo;ll lead you to the spot,
and we&rsquo;ll see whether scout-craft is worth its
salt or not.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gus beamed on the speaker. It could easily
be seen that the boy&rsquo;s heart was in the task
that had been committed to his hands by the
one he loved so dearly. Hugh only hoped circumstances
would be such that Gus could go
back home bearing some good news for the suffering
mother of Sam Merrivale.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_38">38</div>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good thing we&rsquo;ve got this comfortable
camp, let me tell you, boys,&rdquo; Billy was saying
later on, as he listened to the rising wind sighing
around the corners of the log bunk-house.
&ldquo;Unless all signs fail, there&rsquo;s going to be something
of a storm coming this way before another
sunset.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid you&rsquo;re right, Billy,&rdquo; agreed Arthur,
&ldquo;because it&rsquo;s warm for the time of year.
I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised if we got a regular
whooper out of that quarter, with the trees
going down all around us like they did two
years ago.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_39">39</div>
<h2 id="c4">CHAPTER IV.
<br /><span class="small">THE COMING OF THE STORM.</span></h2>
<p>Perhaps it was rather thoughtless of Billy
to make such a remark as that. Gus immediately
commenced feeling blue again.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh, I hope that isn&rsquo;t going to happen!&rdquo; he
remarked, while helping the stout boy get supper
ready.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Why, bless your innocent heart, Gus,&rdquo; said
Billy, patronizingly, &ldquo;no storm that ever blew
could hurt us here in these snug quarters, don&rsquo;t
you know?&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;But I wasn&rsquo;t thinking so much of our getting
injured as something else,&rdquo; remonstrated
the other, quickly.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You mean about that trail, don&rsquo;t you, Gus?&rdquo;
asked Hugh, who happened to overhear this
little talk between the <i>chefs</i>.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_40">40</div>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just it, Hugh!&rdquo; cried Gus. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m
afraid that if it starts to raining real hard, or
snowing, either, for that matter, we can never
follow it any further. That would be too bad,
you know.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Yes, that&rsquo;s liable to happen,&rdquo; Hugh admitted.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry myself that twilight came
along in the woods before I could get track
of the trail again, so I had to give it up. But
we&rsquo;ll just have to lay on our oars, Gus, and
hope for the best.&rdquo;</p>
<p>By the time they had started eating, the wind
had increased alarmingly. The moaning of
the pines was now broken by frequent roars
as the rising gale began to lash the trees furiously.</p>
<p>Although the scouts had weathered full
many a storm during their previous experiences
in camp, there seemed to be something
altogether unusual about this one. It came so
late in the season that it was, as Billy called it,
&ldquo;uncanny.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Why, to listen to that wind rushing through
the woods,&rdquo; he remarked, with his mouth filled
with food, &ldquo;you&rsquo;d think it might be along about
the equinox time instead of close on the end
of November.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_41">41</div>
<p>&ldquo;As for me,&rdquo; declared Arthur, &ldquo;I absolutely
refuse to believe it. We must all be dreaming,
or else the times are out of joint. I guess
sounds are queer to us, for we&rsquo;ve never been
cooped up in the bunk-house of a deserted lumber
camp before.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;But that howl is made by the wind, you
know,&rdquo; urged Gus.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We imagine it is,&rdquo; grinned Arthur. &ldquo;I tell
you such a thing as a storm like this was never
before known in the tail end of November. It
just can&rsquo;t be, that&rsquo;s all!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Now it chanced that all along Arthur Cameron
had been looked up to by the rest of the
troop as a clever weather prophet. He made
it his business to study the various phases of
the moon, and read up the reports sent out by
the Government Weather Bureau.</p>
<p>Frequently he had been able to predict a
change in conditions when no other fellow
dreamed it was coming. He knew all about
&ldquo;signs&rdquo; such as wise old countrymen go by
when anticipating a severe winter, or a mild
one. As a rule, these were based upon pretty
sure foundations connected with the remarkable
powers of instinct on the part of squirrels
and other little wild animals while laying up
their winter&rsquo;s store of food.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_42">42</div>
<p>Usually Hugh entertained considerable respect
for what Arthur had to say concerning
weather conditions. On this occasion, however,
he laughed out loud.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Excuse me, Arthur,&rdquo; he said, seeing that
the other was looking at him in a surprised
way, &ldquo;but when you said that it made me think
of a story I once read.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Go on and tell it to us then, Hugh,&rdquo; urged
Billy, always eager to hear the assistant scout
master relate anything, for, as a rule, it was
to the point, and well worth listening to. The
others also urged him to tell his story.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There was a fellow who had been arrested
and thrown into jail,&rdquo; began Hugh. &ldquo;He sent
for his lawyer, who listened to his story, and
seemed a whole lot impressed, as well as indignant.
&lsquo;I tell you, sir, they can&rsquo;t put you in
jail on such a silly charge as that; it&rsquo;s utterly
impossible!&rsquo; The man grinned and remarked:
&lsquo;But all the same, <i>here I am</i>, Mr. Jones; they&rsquo;ve
got me locked up all right.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
<p>Billy roared, while even Arthur smiled.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_43">43</div>
<p>&ldquo;Well, the story applies to what you were
saying about the weather, Arthur,&rdquo; continued
Hugh. &ldquo;Of course it&rsquo;s out of all reason for
such a wild summer storm to come down on
us away at the end of November; and for one
I would never believe such a thing could happen;
but, nevertheless, listen a minute to all
that racket outside, and you&rsquo;re bound to agree
with me that rule or no we&rsquo;re up against it
good and hard.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a phenomenon, that&rsquo;s what, and altogether
unprecedented!&rdquo; muttered the amateur
weather sharp, at which Billy laughed some
more, saying derisively:</p>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s right, Arthur; folks would know
you had lawyers in your family. When you
can&rsquo;t argue against the opposing lawyer begin
to abuse him, and make him mad. You want
to strike at the weather now because it&rsquo;s got
the better of you. But listen to the wind shrieking,
will you? Little it cares what you say
about it, Arthur.&rdquo;</p>
<p>After they were through supper Hugh made
another suggestion.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no telling how long we may be
cooped up here by this storm, fellows. On that
account let&rsquo;s get busy and fetch in all the wood
you&rsquo;ve cut.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_44">44</div>
<p>&ldquo;A good idea, Hugh,&rdquo; said Arthur. &ldquo;If it
rains hard we&rsquo;ll want a fire to keep ourselves
dry and warm.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Huh! guess you forget we&rsquo;ve got to <i>eat</i> in
order to live,&rdquo; said Billy, sarcastically. &ldquo;I admire
a nice camp fire as much as anybody; but
the practical side of my nature always crops
up, and to my mind the best result of a fire is
what comes from it on to the table.&rdquo;</p>
<p>It did not take them long to carry out Hugh&rsquo;s
suggestion. Indeed, the supply of fuel was not
nearly as large as Billy would liked to have
seen.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Might do for a couple of meals,&rdquo; he remarked
reflectively, eying the heap, &ldquo;and then
there&rsquo;s got to be some tall hustling, no matter
what the weather says. I never could eat cold
stuff, and enjoy it. But say, that wind is sure
some corker. Like as not it&rsquo;ll knock over a few
of these tall pine trees.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;As the lumbermen have picked off the best
of them,&rdquo; added Hugh, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s left gaps in the
timber, so that the wind can get a full sweep.
On that account I wouldn&rsquo;t be a bit surprised if
a lot of them did blow down, providing the
storm becomes more furious.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_45">45</div>
<p>&ldquo;Well, it&rsquo;s sprung up mighty sudden, I tell
you,&rdquo; urged Billy, &ldquo;and from that I reckon we
haven&rsquo;t seen the worst yet, by a jugful.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gus, with an expression of gloom on his
face, was saying next to nothing. He sat,
looking into the glowing fire. Undoubtedly
the boy was severely disappointed. He had
hoped to find his erring brother Sam in the
bunk-house of the deserted camp, possibly sick
or injured, but in a condition to be repentant,
so that he would listen to reason. Now this
wretched storm had chosen to come down on
them, threatening to destroy the only clue they
had concerning the new whereabouts of the
two tramps.</p>
<p>Every time a wilder gust than ordinary
would make the windows of the long cabin
rattle and the trees outside writhe, poor Gus
would start and look anxiously toward the
door, which had been closed and barred. Arthur
had seen to this latter precaution because
there was more or less danger that the storm
might blow the door open, and give them a
rude shock at some time during the night.</p>
<p>Suddenly there came a new sound that
caused every one to jump.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_46">46</div>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! what was that?&rdquo; exclaimed Gus, turning
pale with apprehension, for his nerves were
far from steady.</p>
<p>&ldquo;A tree went down, I guess,&rdquo; ventured Arthur,
grimly, and Hugh nodded as if he agreed
with what the other had said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Not very far away from us, either, I&rsquo;d
wager,&rdquo; remarked Billy, uneasily. &ldquo;I only hope
the next one doesn&rsquo;t smash our roof in.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Small danger of that,&rdquo; Hugh reassured
him. &ldquo;Those lumberjacks were too smart to
take chances. The first thing they did was to
fell every big tree close to their bunk-house,
and for just that reason, though some people
might think it was on account of laziness.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The fact that Hugh was so self-possessed
acted soothingly on the excited nerves of Gus
and Billy. The scout master, realizing just
how depressed Gus must be, skillfully turned
the conversation once more in the direction of
the two hiding tramps.</p>
<p>&ldquo;According to my way of thinking,&rdquo; he remarked,
earnestly, &ldquo;the fellow who is not sick
must have discovered our car coming slowly
along the lumber road, and when it was a good
ways off. He would understand that we could
only be meaning to strike for the old camp
here, and that started him to thinking we might
be coming to arrest himself and his pal.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_47">47</div>
<p>&ldquo;Why, yes, Hugh,&rdquo; Arthur took up the idea
swiftly, &ldquo;and it wouldn&rsquo;t be the first time these
khaki suits of ours had scared a fellow who
had reason to fear arrest. It might be he actually
believed we were a bunch of State&rsquo;s troops
sent out to round up all of his stripe.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Whee!&rdquo; gasped Billy, falling in readily with
the train of thought thus advanced, &ldquo;I c&rsquo;n just
imagine how it affected him. He must have
made hot tracks for the bunk-house here, and
hustled the other tr&mdash;I mean hustled Sam away
in a hurry. All I c&rsquo;n say is that fortune played
us a mean trick when that hobo saw us coming
along.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It looks that way,&rdquo; said Hugh, &ldquo;but you
never can tell. Lots of times in this world
what seems like a misfortune is only a stepping
stone to better things. I&rsquo;ve heard Lieutenant
Denmead, our esteemed scout master, tell of a
number of things that happened to friends of
his along those same lines.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_48">48</div>
<p>Of course the patrol leader was saying this
partly to lighten the load poor Gus was staggering
under. At the same time Hugh really
did believe what he told them. It was the duty
of a true scout, he argued, to always look on
the bright side; no matter how things seemed
to be going against him, they might be much
worse.</p>
<p>Apparently the strange storm had not yet
reached its apex, for as time wore on the racket
outside increased instead of diminished.</p>
<p>&ldquo;If this sort of thing keeps on all night,&rdquo;
grumbled Billy, &ldquo;I c&rsquo;n see a bunch of sleepy
scouts along about daylight. Why, it&rsquo;ll take
us all of Thanksgiving to recuperate after our
loss of rest. And how about that wild turkey
somebody expected to bag so as to celebrate
with? Huh! guess I was smart to make sure
we&rsquo;d have a half home-cured ham to boil. If
it weren&rsquo;t for me you&rsquo;d starve!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t worry, Billy,&rdquo; Hugh told him.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re bound to get along fairly well. Besides,
this is going to be an experience unlike
anything we&rsquo;ve ever struck in all our trips.
Think of the lumberjacks who used to sleep
in this place, and hear the roar of the wintry
blizzard, being shut up for a week at a time
by the drifts around them.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_49">49</div>
<p>&ldquo;Huh! it may come to that with us yet,&rdquo;
grunted Billy, disconsolately. &ldquo;When a storm
like this strikes up it&rsquo;s liable to turn into anything.
Wish now I&rsquo;d gone &rsquo;nd fetched my bully
snow-shoes along with me.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Then he took out pencil and paper and
started figuring. Hugh guessed Billy must be
portioning the supply of food out so as to discover
just how long a party of their size could
continue to hold body and soul together if reduced
to extremes. As his employment afforded
Billy more or less entertainment and
did no harm Hugh made no effort to stop him.</p>
<p>Indeed, just then Hugh had other thoughts
to employ his attention. He did not like the
way things were going. They had planned for
such a splendid time up in the timber belt, with
headquarters in the abandoned lumber camp!</p>
<p>Louder grew the roar of the storm, causing
Gus to almost jump with each terrible rush of
the wind, or distant crash of a falling pine
tree, unsupported since its taller and stouter
mates had been cut down.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_50">50</div>
<p>Suddenly without warning Gus gave a shriek
that startled the others. They turned their
eyes upon him, wondering if the poor fellow
could be going out of his mind. But Gus was
pointing with a trembling hand straight at one
of the windows, and there pressed against the
small pane of glass they could see a human
face!</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_51">51</div>
<h2 id="c5">CHAPTER V.
<br /><span class="small">A HELPING HAND.</span></h2>
<p>&ldquo;Look, oh, look there!&rdquo; Gus was saying, in
a thick voice, as he continued to keep his finger
pointed at the apparition beyond the window
pane.</p>
<p>Hugh, though almost as startled as the rest,
managed to keep a firm grip on himself.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Is that your brother Sam, do you think,
Gus?&rdquo; he demanded, sensibly, the first thing;
for the man still continued to stare in at them,
as though trying to make out whether they
were only boys after all, and not the dreaded
State militia come to arrest him.</p>
<p>&ldquo;No, n-no, it can&rsquo;t be him!&rdquo; gasped the other.
&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you see he&rsquo;s a whole lot older than my
brother? Why, his beard&rsquo;s streaked with gray,
seems like. Hugh, that must be the other
tramp. Then he&rsquo;s deserted poor Sam in the
storm somewhere!&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_52">52</div>
<p>Hugh did not think the idea at all unlikely.
He knew that among such men the old rule of
&ldquo;self-preservation first&rdquo; usually applied. At
the same time he did not mean to let Gus read
his thoughts.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He acts as if he wanted to get in here,&rdquo;
suggested Arthur, whose quick eye had noted
that the man looked both frightened and weak.
&ldquo;It may be he&rsquo;s been hurt by some falling tree
and needs medical aid. Hugh, what shall we
do?&rdquo;</p>
<p>Hugh had already made up his mind on that
score. No matter who the man was, or what
he may have done to cut him off from the society
of others, even a wretched dog could not
be refused shelter when such a storm was
raging without.</p>
<p>So Hugh immediately made signs with his
hands such as might be recognized even among
savages as tokens of peace and amity. Then
he started toward the door, for all of them had
jumped to their feet at the time Gus gave the
alarm, after making his discovery.</p>
<p>Cautious Billy held back. As a rule, he was
the last fellow to suspect any one, but Billy
had a regular antipathy for tramps of high and
low degree, and would not trust a single one
of the species.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_53">53</div>
<p>He suddenly remembered that they had
brought a double-barreled shotgun along with
them; not that they expected to do much hunting,
but visions of a fat wild turkey had
haunted their minds, especially in connection
with the Thanksgiving dinner.</p>
<p>Billy now stepped hastily back and took possession
of this firearm. He himself had thrust
a couple of loaded shells in the chambers late
that afternoon, warning the others at the same
time not to handle the weapon carelessly. Billy
had an idea some wandering wildcat might
come prowling around their door in the night,
and while not anxious to figure in the r&ocirc;le of
a mighty Nimrod, at the same time he believed
it was the duty of a scout to &ldquo;be always prepared.&rdquo;</p>
<p>When he once clutched this weapon, Billy
breathed easier. Now let that desperate yeggman,
if such the fellow turned out to be, look
out for himself. Should he try to run things
to suit himself he would find that Billy Worth
could stand like old Plymouth Rock, or Gibraltar.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_54">54</div>
<p>Meanwhile Hugh swiftly advanced to the
door. As stated previously, a bar had been
placed in the twin sockets securing that means
of ingress against the rush of the howling
gale.</p>
<p>Without hesitating an instant, Hugh started
to remove this bar, so that he could throw open
the door, and invite the wanderer in. He had
noticed that when he started in the direction
of the entrance, the face at the window vanished;
but Hugh did not believe the man had
decamped.</p>
<p>He held on to the door as he cautiously
opened it, though all of his strength was needed
to successfully combat the fierce swoop of the
next squall.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Come in!&rdquo; he shouted, upon discovering a
bowed figure just without, and his voice could
not have been heard ten feet away at that, such
was the clamor of the elements.</p>
<p>The fire flared up furiously under the
draught that forced itself through the opening.
Arthur was compelled to trample upon
numerous embers that flew out from the hearth,
and threatened to set fire to things, even alighting
on their packs.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_55">55</div>
<p>Perhaps the man must have heard what
Hugh called out. At any rate, he had evidently
made up his mind that while he might
be facing arrest by entering the cabin, the fate
that awaited him if he remained outside was
surely far worse.</p>
<p>He limped painfully as he pushed past the
guardian of the door, showing that as they had
already suspected, he must have received some
sort of injury.</p>
<p>Hugh immediately threw himself against the
door again, and by main strength managed to
get it closed. Then he once more applied the
friendly bar. After that his part of the work
was done, so that he could turn and survey
the stranger who had come to their camp for
shelter against the wild gale.</p>
<p>The man was apparently &ldquo;all in,&rdquo; as Arthur
would have said. He staggered like many a
drunken fellow the boys had seen upon the
streets of their home town in times gone by before
the W. T. A. had started their crusade
and cleaned things up considerably.</p>
<p>Indeed, before he had taken half a dozen
steps the man fell upon his hands and knees,
tried to get up, and then rolled over helplessly.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_56">56</div>
<p>Billy, without a single word, managed to slip
away the gun he was holding so tenaciously
and belligerently. He acted as though fairly
ashamed of his action in anticipating trouble
from such a wretched source.</p>
<p>No sooner had Arthur Cameron witnessed
the collapse of the victim of the storm than
his professional instincts were immediately
aroused.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been badly injured, Hugh, I&rsquo;m
afraid!&rdquo; he cried, excitedly. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just <i>got</i>
to look after him, that&rsquo;s all there is about it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Another second and Arthur was bending beside
the tramp, whom he rolled over on his
back. At the same time he called to Gus.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Fetch one of those pillows we filled with
hemlock browse, Gus, and put it under his head.
That&rsquo;s right, only handle him carefully, for
I&rsquo;m afraid he&rsquo;s badly hurt.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_57">57</div>
<p>Hugh joined the others, ready to lend a helping
hand. In like cases Hugh almost invariably
deferred to the judgment of Arthur, because
he recognized a superior along the line
of &ldquo;first aid to the injured.&rdquo; Arthur, as has
been said before, had always shown wonderful
ability as an amateur surgeon, and his services
were in frequent demand whenever the scouts
went on a hike. Indeed, it was no unusual
thing for the boys to address him by the title
of &ldquo;Doc,&rdquo; which Arthur must have considered
as high a compliment as any one could give
him.</p>
<p>To watch him making an examination of the
man&rsquo;s limbs first of all one could easily imagine
the boy had been in close touch with some practical
surgeon. Had his patient been a king instead
of a wretched tramp, possibly a fugitive
from justice as well, Arthur could not have
been more painstaking and gentle in his work.</p>
<p>&ldquo;No limbs broken at any rate!&rdquo; he announced,
which gave Hugh more or less satisfaction,
because he had feared that the examination
might disclose some serious injury along
those lines.</p>
<p>The man had not fainted, after all, it appeared,
for he now gave signs of having heard
Arthur&rsquo;s announcement.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Hurt all over&mdash;got caught under tree&mdash;just
bruised, I reckon, but played out. It&rsquo;s a terrible
night, gents, that&rsquo;s what!&rdquo;</p>
<p>He used much more vigorous language than
given above when expressing his opinion.
Hugh would not stand for such a thing a minute.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_58">58</div>
<p>&ldquo;Here, no more of that kind of talk while
you&rsquo;re under this roof, Mister Tramp,&rdquo; he told
the man, sternly. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re willing to treat you
white, and look after you in the way scouts are
taught to do, but we&rsquo;ll have no swearing around
our cabin.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Arthur continued his examination. He
opened the man&rsquo;s coat, and presently announced
he believed he had summed up all his injuries.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got dozens of bruises and scratches
that are going to make him sore enough for a
week or more!&rdquo; he declared. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid one
of his ribs has been fractured, but it&rsquo;s a whole
lot less serious than I thought at first. If he
keeps quiet, and behaves himself, we&rsquo;ll have
him fit to go back to town with us&mdash;that is, if
he cares to keep us company.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He added that last when he saw the man
squirm uneasily, and look alarmed. It was evident
that he did not anticipate being taken to
town with any degree of pleasure, and they
could easily guess why.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_59">59</div>
<p>Gus had all this time said never a word. He
did whatever any one asked of him, and kept
staring at the bearded tramp strangely. Hugh
could give a guess what must be in the other&rsquo;s
mind. Gus naturally felt a deep interest in
the injured hobo, for the man must know about
poor Sam, since the other had lately been in
his company.</p>
<p>Where was Sam now? This was the dreadful
question that undoubtedly obtruded itself
upon the mind of Gus constantly as he continued
to stare at the tramp they had rescued
from the storm.</p>
<p>Hugh knew what was meant by that mute
appeal he could see in the eyes of Gus when
their gaze met. The poor fellow was hungry
to know the worst, though he did not have the
courage to put his desire into words. As usually
seemed to be the case when any scout found
himself in trouble, Gus turned to Hugh to
help him out; nor did he look for aid from this
source in vain.</p>
<p>Bending over the man who now lay there on
the floor, though they expected to fix up one of
numerous bunks for him near the fire, the scout
master caught his eye and then went on to
say:</p>
<p>&ldquo;I suppose you&rsquo;ve got a name, and as you
may be with us for some little time we&rsquo;d like
to know it.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_60">60</div>
<p>&ldquo;Call me Casey, then,&rdquo; came the muttered
reply, though for that matter Hugh took it
that any other name would have answered just
as well, because he did not believe Casey was
what the man had been known by in days gone
by, before he took to the road.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well, Casey, you were not up here <i>alone</i>,&rdquo;
said Hugh, steadily. &ldquo;We know from the
signs you had a pal along with you, and that
he&rsquo;s been a pretty sick man lately, though he
must be on the mend if he could go away from
here in a hurry, and with only a cane to help
him along.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The man looked surprised to hear Hugh say
all this. Like many other people, possibly,
Casey may have entertained a contempt for the
ability of boys, who dressed in khaki and called
themselves scouts, to read signs, and figure out
things accurately without once seeing those
whom they were following.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Sure, that&rsquo;s so!&rdquo; he exclaimed, in wonderment;
&ldquo;though I don&rsquo;t know how ye guessed
it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Your companion&rsquo;s name was Sam, wasn&rsquo;t
it?&rdquo; asked Hugh immediately.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_61">61</div>
<p>&ldquo;Just what it was,&rdquo; came the reply, while the
increased look of astonishment on the man&rsquo;s
face caused several wrinkles to cross his forehead.</p>
<p>Possibly his guilty conscience was giving him
cause for alarm. If this boy could tell so many
things that were supposed to be secret, how
was a fellow to know about keeping his own
private affairs hidden?</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; continued Hugh, &ldquo;we have come up
here on purpose to find Sam, I don&rsquo;t mind telling
you. He used to live not forty miles away
from here before he took to the life of a hobo.
Perhaps you knew this, and then again it may
be he never whispered a word of it to you. But
this boy here is his younger brother, Gus, and
your pal&rsquo;s real name is Sam Merrivale.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Casey seemed to be impressed with the sincerity
in Hugh&rsquo;s tone. He looked again at the
eager Gus, now hanging over him with an expression
that could not be mistaken on his
drawn face.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_62">62</div>
<p>&ldquo;Is that so?&rdquo; he finally asked, as though
convinced that Hugh spoke the truth. &ldquo;Then
I&rsquo;m sorry we didn&rsquo;t get on to it before we flew
the coop here. If we&rsquo;d just made up our minds
to face the music and stick it out, I&rsquo;d be feelin&rsquo;
a heap easier in my body right now, and pore
Sam wouldn&rsquo;t &rsquo;a&rsquo; been a goner!&rdquo;</p>
<p>At hearing the tramp say these dismal words
Gus gave a low groan, and put his hand up
across his eyes as though he feared the worst.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_63">63</div>
<h2 id="c6">CHAPTER VI.
<br /><span class="small">THE DUTY OF A SCOUT.</span></h2>
<p>Hugh&rsquo;s first act was to throw a reassuring
arm across the shoulders of Gus Merrivale.
The action was intended to quiet his fears and
revive hope. Somehow it seemed as though
mere personal contact with so magnetic a fellow
as Hugh Hardin was usually enough to
generate a new feeling of ambition in a despairing
scout, for undoubtedly Gus immediately
began to show signs of fresh anticipation.</p>
<p>&ldquo;What do you mean by saying your pal is
a goner?&rdquo; demanded Hugh, looking down at
the tramp as he spoke.</p>
<p>The man lifted one of his arms, though the
effort caused him to groan with pain.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_64">64</div>
<p>&ldquo;Hark to that howling blast, will ye?&rdquo; he
called out. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s by far the worst storm I
ever stacked up against, and I&rsquo;ve seen some
in my time. The trees, they&rsquo;re just goin&rsquo; over
like ten-pins in a bowling alley. It&rsquo;s awful,
that&rsquo;s what it is, and there&rsquo;s a mighty slim
chance poor Sam could pull through such a
fiendish gale if it near did for a strong man
like me, and him that weak.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You deserted him then, did you?&rdquo; demanded
Billy, filled with indignation.</p>
<p>If such a thing as shame could ever make
its presence felt in so hard a face as that of the
so-called Casey, it did at that moment.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Listen, gents!&rdquo; he called out so as to be
heard above the noise with which the storm
was beating against the end of the bunk-house.
&ldquo;I stuck by Sam till I knowed it was no more
use. I couldn&rsquo;t lift a hand to help him along
any further. So I made up my mind I&rsquo;d try
to find me way back here and get help for me
pal. That&rsquo;s gospel truth, every word of it.
Even then I believed I was sticking my own
silly neck in danger comin&rsquo; back&mdash;well, never
mind why I thought that way.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_65">65</div>
<p>Hugh was looking straight into the man&rsquo;s
face as he said this. Somehow the scout master
felt that Casey might actually be telling the
truth. Men like him have been known to do
wonderfully fine deeds once in a while, though
no one would ever expect to find such a diamond
in the rough.</p>
<p>He remembered the famous poem of Jim
Bludsoe, which only the other day he had been
reading&mdash;Jim, it may be remembered, was only
a rough Mississippi steamboat pilot who might
be set down as a fair sample of his kind, and
looked upon as a swearing type of river man;
yet when the <i>Belle</i> took fire he manfully stuck
to his wheel and held the nose of the boat
against the bank until every &ldquo;galoot&rdquo; had
jumped to safety on the bank. Jim lost his own
life, it is true, but the memory of his glorious
deed has thrilled tens of thousands ever since
it was recorded in verse.</p>
<p>Yes, somehow Hugh began to believe that
Casey might be built something along those
lines. Such a man, to save a comrade, would
even risk arrest and imprisonment. He could
have found shelter from the storm so far as
he himself was concerned. The sick pal, however,
needed a safer refuge from the howling
gale that might yet turn into one of those
dreaded blizzards through means of which so
many of his wandering kind have met their
fate.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_66">66</div>
<p>&ldquo;Tell us all about it,&rdquo; was what Hugh said.
&ldquo;You hurried away from here after you discovered
the car coming along the logging road,
headed for the old camp, didn&rsquo;t you, Casey?&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Yes, because ye see I thought youse might
be some people I wasn&rsquo;t carin&rsquo; much about
meetin&rsquo; just now,&rdquo; came the ready reply.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Go on, then, from that point,&rdquo; urged the
scout master, persistently.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well, we went as far as Sam could stand it,
and then pulled up, meanin&rsquo; to put in the night
there. I reckoned that when mornin&rsquo; kim along
I could sneak back an&rsquo; find out the lay of the
land, and whether you uns had vamoosed or
not. If ye had we meant to climb back here,
an&rsquo; stay a while longer.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He stopped to rub his injured side softly and
grit his teeth, evidently to suppress the groan
that Hugh could see welling to his lips; for the
man was undoubtedly in great pain, despite the
ointment Arthur had rubbed upon his bruises.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_67">67</div>
<p>&ldquo;Then the wind began to rise, and I knowed
we was goin&rsquo; to have some sort of a storm,
which I tell ye I was sorry to see, &rsquo;cause bein&rsquo;
out in one with winter hangin&rsquo; fire close by
wasn&rsquo;t appealin&rsquo; none to me. We snugged up
closer when it got worse and worser. Sam he
begged me to go back to the cabin and try to
get some help for him. I held out as long as I
could, and then I sensed that it&rsquo;d be the only
thing like as not that&rsquo;d save him, he was that
weak, you see. So I says I&rsquo;d go, an&rsquo; I left Sam
there among the fallin&rsquo; timber.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You must have been a pretty good woodsman
to find your way back here in the dark,
and with such a storm blowing,&rdquo; remarked
Hugh, for the purpose of drawing the other
out still more.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! I used to be a lumberjack a long time
ago,&rdquo; explained Casey. &ldquo;Once ye larn the
tricks o&rsquo; the woods they ain&rsquo;t so easy forgot. I
made a bee-line back here, but all the same I
came mighty near never arrivin&rsquo;, with that tree
ketchin&rsquo; me when it came down with a smash.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He gritted his teeth again at the recollection
of his recent almost miraculous escape. As a
lumberman Casey must have been well acquainted
with the perils of falling timber. He
could figure what small chances a man would
have should one of those tall pines topple over
on him when driven by a ninety-mile-an-hour
gale.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_68">68</div>
<p>Hugh was thinking seriously. What was
their duty under such circumstances? Should
some of them risk going out into the stormy
night, and try to find the abandoned Sam Merrivale,
so as to save his life? He figured that
if the erring brother of Gus, weakened by illness
as he was, should be left to the full and
protracted rigor of the storm there was small
chance of his ever surviving the night.</p>
<p>Hugh never had a question to decide that
worried him more than this one did. He
wanted to do his duty, yet wondered whether
it would be right to imperil the lives of himself
and one or more of his chums in trying to
save so miserable a wretch as Sam Merrivale.</p>
<p>The mental combat was short-lived. Hugh
could not evade the issue which was presented
so squarely to him. He believed that it would
be possible to rescue the miserable Sam, providing
the other tramp would direct them to
the scant refuge where the prodigal son of Mr.
Merrivale was doubtless cowering beneath a
scanty shelter that served to protect him from
the chilling blasts.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_69">69</div>
<p>Of course they would have to accept a certain
amount of risk in carrying out this plan.
Hugh felt that for them to remain there in
their comfortable quarters, all through the long
night, knowing that a fellow human being, and
poor Gus&rsquo; brother at that, was perishing close
by, would be something that would haunt them
with shame and regrets as long as they lived.</p>
<p>So he turned again to the tramp, who may
possibly have guessed what had been passing
through the boy&rsquo;s mind, for he immediately
called out:</p>
<p>&ldquo;I kin direct ye to the place, all right, mister,
and it ain&rsquo;t so very fur away from here, either;
but better think twict afore ye starts to try it.
Chances are three to one ye&rsquo;ll be sorry when ye
git a hundred yards away, with them pines a
fallin&rsquo; like hail all around ye.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gus held his breath, and kept those eloquent
eyes of his glued fast upon the features of
Hugh. It seemed to Gus just then as though
the life of his erring brother were hanging by
a slender thread. In fact, it depended upon
the decision of the scout master. If Hugh decided
they would try to find him perhaps Sam
might yet be saved; but if the decision were
adverse there was scarcely any hope for the
lost one.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_70">70</div>
<p>Hugh did not fail his comrade. He quickly
made up his mind where the path of duty led
as seen by a scout&rsquo;s eyes. Doubtless, Gus was
thrilled to the bone when he caught the reassuring
glance Hugh shot in his direction, for it
told what was coming even before a single
word had been uttered.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Suppose you tell us, then, Casey,&rdquo; said
Hugh, soberly, &ldquo;just how to reach the place
where you say you left your pal?&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gus did not utter a word&mdash;he was really too
full for that; but he allowed a hand to steal
out and clasp that of the scout leader, which he
squeezed again and again in a way that told
of his gratitude more than mere words could
ever have done.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Ye have got to foller the crick down,&rdquo; began
the injured tramp, &ldquo;till ye come to where
it makes a second bend, turnin&rsquo; to the right. It
might be all o&rsquo; a quarter o&rsquo; a mile from here.
Then strike out as the rocks run. When ye
come to a dip in the same &rsquo;tis there ye&rsquo;ll find
Sam alyin&rsquo;, dead or alive, I can&rsquo;t say which.
But no matter, ye&rsquo;ll have to fetch him back between
ye, &rsquo;case he&rsquo;s too weak to walk.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_71">71</div>
<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll let me go along, of course, Hugh?&rdquo;
pleaded Gus, still clinging to the other&rsquo;s hand.</p>
<p>Hugh hardly knew what to do about that.
Some one must stay with Casey, and under ordinary
conditions he would have detailed Billy
and Gus to perform that duty. But he knew
how the poor fellow was fairly hungering to
be able to do something personally for the
brother whom his mother had sent him out to
find.</p>
<p>His decision was quickly made. It was very
hard to say no when Gus was looking so appealingly
into his eyes. After all, three might
be better than just a pair of them. And surely
Billy ought to be able to take care of the camp
while they were away.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Yes, you can keep company with us, Gus,&rdquo;
he told the other.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Then I suppose you mean for me to stay behind,
and not Arthur?&rdquo; ventured Billy.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Arthur will be of more help to me in case
we find Sam than you could, Billy,&rdquo; Hugh told
him frankly, &ldquo;because I depend so much on his
first-aid knowledge. And Gus ought to go because
you must remember it is his brother
who&rsquo;s out in all that storm.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_72">72</div>
<p>So it was settled, considerably to the chagrin
of Billy, who was to stay behind; but then he
knew the scout master too well to dream of
argument when once the other had laid down
the law. Obedience to authority and discipline
is one of the fundamental rules which
every member of a patrol learns early in his
career as a scout; it is one of the finest things
taught by the organization, and calculated to
be of great assistance to boys in later life.</p>
<p>Accordingly, Hugh, Gus and Arthur immediately
commenced making preparations looking
to sallying forth. They went about this in
a matter-of-fact way, just as though they did
not know they would literally be taking their
lives in their hands by braving that fearful
storm.</p>
<p>Hugh did not neglect a single thing, for he
was always thorough. He even made sure they
carried plenty of matches along, and some food
as well.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Goodness gracious! I hope now you don&rsquo;t
expect to get lost in the woods, and wander
around ever so long,&rdquo; ventured Billy, when he
saw this, although secretly he must have also
commended the wisdom of the move.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_73">73</div>
<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no telling what may happen in a
case like this,&rdquo; Hugh replied. &ldquo;Besides, we
might find Sam pretty well exhausted, and
chilled to the marrow. Then if only we can
build a bit of a fire, and warm up this can of
soup, it will give him a whole lot of new
strength.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Wait a minute, Hugh!&rdquo; cried Billy, excitedly;
&ldquo;here&rsquo;s a can of soup of new-fangled
make. It&rsquo;s meant to be used when a fellow isn&rsquo;t
able to have <i>any</i> fire, if only he can get a little
water. You cut a hole in the outer can, for
there are two, one inside the other. The space
between is filled with unslacked lime, I guess.
Anyhow, as soon as the water gets to it a heat
is generated, and in a few minutes you take out
the inside can, open it, and you&rsquo;ll find the contents
steaming hot!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve read about those modern sportsmen&rsquo;s
supplies,&rdquo; said Arthur, &ldquo;but never tried anything
along those lines. I&rsquo;d say it might be
a splendid thing for an occasion of this kind.
I&rsquo;ll report to you how it goes, Billy, in case we
have to make use of it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Wish you would,&rdquo; said Billy, eagerly.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_74">74</div>
<p>Presently the three who were to brave the
storm announced themselves ready. There was
a hearty hand-shake all around. Then Billy
carefully opened the door part way, holding his
breath in very awe as the others pushed
through the stingy gap.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_75">75</div>
<h2 id="c7">CHAPTER VII.
<br /><span class="small">THE PERIL OF THE FALLING TIMBER.</span></h2>
<p>No sooner had the trio of venturesome
scouts found themselves outside the friendly
shelter of the bunk-house than they faced the
full rigor of the storm. As yet the air had not
turned cold, which was a remarkable phenomenon
in the eyes of Arthur Cameron, whose
study of weather conditions had made him
something of an authority along the lines of
predictions, among his chums at least.</p>
<p>The wind was howling madly through the
trees, making all sorts of weird and actually
terrifying noises, Gus Merrivale thought, as
he cowered a little closer to Hugh, who was on
his right.</p>
<p>Gus was not a coward by any means, but he
might have shuddered at finding himself
abroad in such a gale, only that his heart was
now bound up in the idea of finding his lost
brother, who was somewhere out yonder, exposed
to the full fury of the storm.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_76">76</div>
<p>He had long in secret envied those of his
chums who were entitled to wear upon the
breasts of their khaki coats one of the three
emblems given to show that the bearer had been
found worthy of having his name inscribed on
the roll of honor kept at scout headquarters.
Fortune, however, had, up to this time, never
knocked at the door of Gus Merrivale, perhaps
partly because of his lack of &ldquo;push&rdquo; and zeal,
such as had taken the others to the front. Then
the want of a suitable opportunity may have
had something to do with it.</p>
<p>They found the going pretty hard. Hugh
wondered how Casey had ever managed to
make his way back to the lumber camp, after
once leaving it, because of his weak condition
and the fearful nature of the storm. Then he
remembered several facts that helped explain
this puzzling thing.</p>
<p>In the first place the tramp was injured
while on his way back to the bunk-house, and
may even have been almost at his destination
when caught by that falling tree and knocked
down as its branches struck him. Then again
his back was toward the worst of the gale, so
that it even assisted him along.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_77">77</div>
<p>The scouts had another story to tell of their
progress, for they almost faced the wind, and
at times had to bend low in order to simply
hold their own against its mad fury.</p>
<p>Every yard covered counted in the race to
find and rescue Sam Merrivale, Hugh realized,
as he plodded steadily along, yielding nothing
to the elements that sought to hold them in
check, but surely gaining ground.</p>
<p>Several times they were compelled to stop
behind some shelter in order to regain their
breath. All the while Gus was trembling like
a leaf, in constant expectation of having a
tree topple over upon them, just as had happened
to Casey. If the tramp, who confessed
that he had once been a lumberjack himself,
could be caught in such a trap, it was evident
that greenhorns like the three boys were taking
desperate chances indeed.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_78">78</div>
<p>Still, where Hugh led his comrades were always
willing to follow; and Gus told himself
over and over again that perhaps this would
all turn out for the best. If only they could
find poor Sam, and manage in some way to get
him under shelter, who could prophesy what
wonderful results the experience might not
bring about in the heart and mind of the erring
young man?</p>
<p>Gus himself had laid out a campaign in
which he intended to appeal to whatever element
of good remained in the breast of his
brother. The devoted mother would largely
figure in this, and he hoped through some such
means to reclaim Sam. Indeed, although Gus
had as yet said nothing about it to his chums,
a little scheme had been arranged between his
mother and himself, whereby Sam, if he could
be coaxed to agree to the conditions, was to be
hovering near his old home at a certain time
when the wife and mother meant to make a
last great effort to placate the stubborn father,
and secure his consent to give the boy one
more trial.</p>
<p>All these things, then, must have been gripping
the mind of Gus as he labored with set
teeth and tense muscles to keep alongside his
mates. The thought of that little woman at
home, and how her prayers were following
him in his venture, gave Gus additional courage
to face the difficulties that beset him. He
was resolved to keep on to the end though he
died for it. If Sam were to be saved, there
must be no sign of weakness on the part of
any scout.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_79">79</div>
<p>Several times a tree did go down close by,
and gave them all a severe shock, such was
the terrific crash accompanying its sudden fall.
Even Hugh was bound to confess that his heart
seemed to stand still when, directly across their
very path, one of these lofty pines came whirling
down in the grip of the wind, now raging
at hurricane force.</p>
<p>All this while it required considerable ability
to keep going straight. Hugh did not forget
a single word of the scanty directions given
by Casey. The night was not absolutely dark,
even though heavy clouds obscured the moon,
near her fourth quarter, so that they could
manage to avoid collisions with such trees as
came in their way.</p>
<p>Hugh was following the downward course of
the creek, and if at times the nature of the
obstacles they met forced them to turn aside,
he always took his bearings, and managed to
get back again to the little zigzag stream.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_80">80</div>
<p>A quarter of a mile may not seem much of a
jaunt under favorable conditions. To Gus,
who was a pretty good stepper, it had indeed
many a time looked very small; but as long as
the boy lived he would never forget what he
experienced on this occasion when pitting his
puny strength against the herculean force of a
veritable cyclone of wind.</p>
<p>If he had felt any reason to hope that Hugh
could hear a word of what he said, Gus, no
doubt, on more than one occasion would have
endeavored to ask eager questions concerning
the possibility of accomplishing the task they
had set out to perform.</p>
<p>Still, though he could not get such comforting
assurance in words, Gus at least felt that
all must surely be well, else Hugh would not
be pushing so steadily onward as though he
had every confidence in his ability to attain
his end.</p>
<p>It might be noticed that the scout master
was commencing to be more vigilant than heretofore.
When next he stopped it was not to
regain his breath in a sheltered spot, as had
happened several times before. On the contrary,
Gus noticed, though his eyes were dim
with tears on account of the sting in the wind,
that Hugh was intently examining the ground.
Gus could not help but admire Hugh.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_81">81</div>
<p>When the other arose from his feet he drew
first one of his chums toward him and then
the other. A temporary lull in the roar about
them gave him a chance to shout a few words,
though Hugh was chary about wasting his
breath, feeling that he needed it all.</p>
<p>&ldquo;This must be the second bend Casey told
us about,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;Here are the rocks
on the right. We must go this way!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Neither of the others attempted to make any
answer. In fact, they had submitted so many
times to Hugh&rsquo;s guidance that they were ready
to do anything he said without a word or question
as to its advisability.</p>
<p>At least one thing favored them&mdash;a change
in their course was bound to work more or
less to their advantage, since it would no longer
be necessary to plunge directly into the teeth
of the biting wind.</p>
<p>Gus was almost ready to drop. He staggered
like a drunken man at times. Part of
this came from exhaustion, but no doubt the
despair that was commencing to tug at his
heart had much to do with the state of his near
collapse. Could he have been assured of success
just then, probably he would have felt
quite invigorated, and capable of enduring
much more than had already come his way.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_82">82</div>
<p>Hugh must have guessed this much, for
somehow he managed to take hold of the
other&rsquo;s arm while pushing steadily on along
the rocks, as called for in the scanty directions
given by Casey the tramp. And no one
but a fellow who has been in somewhat similar
conditions bordering on collapse could understand
just how much this friendly act did for
poor Gus. He would never forget it, he told
himself again and again, as he plucked up a
little more courage just through sheer contact
with the boy with the valiant heart.</p>
<p>Hugh knew they must by now be close to the
spot where they hoped to come upon the castaway.
He was hoping for the best, even while
gritting his teeth, and preparing to face the
worst. His one thought was Gus. He expected
that if they were doomed to meet with bitter
disappointment the other might give way utterly,
and even faint, such would be the shock
of his discovery.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_83">83</div>
<p>Well, it was a comfort to Hugh to remember
that he had Arthur along, Arthur who would
be quick to meet just such an emergency as
that, and who it seems had before this made
out to grip the other arm of Gus in order to
add to his stability.</p>
<p>Arthur may have been worrying greatly to
account for this remarkable phenomenon of
Nature, when an actual thunder-storm could
come along on the eve of Thanksgiving, a thing
never before known in all his reading of
weather freaks. At the same time he was not
giving up any time just then to bothering about
such things. It was a condition that confronted
them, not a theory, and they must devote all
their attention to weathering the gale and finding
Sam Merrivale.</p>
<p>Suddenly Hugh stopped short, and seemed to
be trying to look around him.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! is this the place, Hugh?&rdquo; almost
shrieked poor Gus, overwhelmed with renewed
anxiety.</p>
<p>&ldquo;So far as I can tell it must be,&rdquo; replied the
other, loud enough to be heard.</p>
<p>Upon hearing this Gus shivered with a new
dread, for there was certainly no sign of his
brother.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_84">84</div>
<h2 id="c8">CHAPTER VIII.
<br /><span class="small">THE RESCUE.</span></h2>
<p>&ldquo;Hugh, he&rsquo;s gone, don&rsquo;t you see?&rdquo; cried Gus,
staring around helplessly in the dim light given
by the moon that was hidden somewhere behind
those heavy clouds overhead.</p>
<p>It chanced that the wind slackened its force
for a brief spell just then, allowing, them an
opportunity to exchange a few sentences, just
as if the elements felt sorry for the misery of
the poor fellow whose heart was full to overflowing.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Yes, it looks like it,&rdquo; Hugh admitted, &ldquo;but
if what Casey told us is true he must have been
too weak to go far. We&rsquo;ll find him, Gus, I
hope.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The other did not seem to be overconfident,
even when he heard Hugh, whom he trusted as
he did no other comrade, try to cheer him up
in that way. A reaction was already setting
in. Gus had been buoyed up much of the
time by the hope that kept his heart warm, and
now that this seemed gone a dreadful chill
settled down upon him.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_85">85</div>
<p>Hugh did not mean that this should be the
end. He planned to bolster up the courage of
his chum by prompt measures.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Come,&rdquo; he told the others, shouting aloud
because the wind was rising again, with all
those noises breaking forth around them once
more, &ldquo;what do we call ourselves scouts for if
we can&rsquo;t handle a little thing like this?&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;But what can we do, Hugh,&rdquo; asked Gus.
&ldquo;Which way would we figure we&rsquo;d better try
and follow, when a dozen directions are open
to him?&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Stop and think,&rdquo; said the other, quickly;
&ldquo;would a fellow who was weak, and ready to
shrink from the storm, start out by <i>facing</i> it,
or going the other way?&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gus gave vent to a cry. New hope immediately
started to tug at his heartstrings.
Surely, as a scout, he should likewise have reasoned
out things. But then Gus found himself
the prey to contending emotions, and in no
condition to figure what the answer to a conundrum
might be, as under more comfortable conditions
he would possibly have done.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_86">86</div>
<p>Yes, it was certainly plausible to believe that
the weak and tottering steps of Sam would
carry him with the wind, and not against it.
His one desire, when he moved away from the
spot where Casey had left him, must have simply
been to better his condition; and so he
would drift along, the sport of the elements.</p>
<p>Gus watched Hugh as a cat might a mouse
upon which it meant to presently pounce. The
scout master was moving slowly up the little
gully in which the tramps had hidden themselves,
meaning to go back to the cabin should
the intruders leave the vicinity, sooner or later.</p>
<p>While the place had offered a certain amount
of shelter before the coming of the storm, it
was a mere apology of a camp, once that driving
wind started in to whipping the last remaining
dead leaves from the hard wood trees,
and levelling many of the pines. Sam must
have stood it as long as he could, and then
yielded to the impulse to let the gale urge him
along, in hopes of finding a better shelter.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_87">87</div>
<p>Hugh was alert and watchful, because he
knew that it was an easy thing to go wrong in
a case like this. A false deduction in the beginning
would send them on a wild-goose chase,
and with it would go their last feeble hope of
finding the lost tramp.</p>
<p>Hugh even got down on his hands and knees
and started to crawl laboriously up the slight
ascent of rocks. At first Gus was bothered
to account for this action on the part of his
chum, and even feared that Hugh may have
been more fatigued than he cared to admit. On
second thought Gus arrived at the true explanation
of the mystery.</p>
<p>Hugh was acting on the old principle of putting
himself in the other fellow&rsquo;s place. He
meant to try and do just what he imagined the
weak and distressed Sam must have attempted
when making this desperate move.</p>
<p>The gully was really nothing more nor less
than a slight depression of the rocks. Its edges
were not high enough in any place to effectually
shut out the sweep of the wind. On this
account it was likely to prove a poor sort of
shelter, though, for one thing, the danger of
falling trees was not so great here as in many
other places, and Sam may have understood
this.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_88">88</div>
<p>Gus was using his eyes on his own account
as they crept along up the rise in this slow and
laborious fashion. In spite of their weak condition,
owing to the wind and the gathering
tears, he could manage to make out some object
lying huddled just ahead of them, and toward
which Hugh was moving steadily at the
time.</p>
<p>As yet they could not tell exactly whether
this might prove to be the object of their search,
or simply an outcropping mass of rock. Another
half minute would tell the tale, and therefore
Gus shut his jaws firmly together, determined
to prove himself a credit to his organization.</p>
<p>All doubt was quickly removed when Hugh,
turning his head, called back:</p>
<p>&ldquo;Here he is; we&rsquo;ve found him!&rdquo;</p>
<p>It was only natural that the first wild sense
of exhilaration that swept through the breast
of the eager brother should be instantly succeeded
by another spasm of acute doubt. Was
Sam still alive, or had he made his very last
bid for existence when creeping away from
the storm, as he believed?</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_89">89</div>
<p>Hugh was already bending over the recumbent
figure that was huddled in a knot, as
though in the endeavor to better resist the
plucking fingers of the wind. Arthur, too, had
pushed forward, his professional instinct
aroused, since it seemed likely that poor Sam
would be in need of more or less help.</p>
<p>Only Gus, who had much more at stake than
either of his mates, hung back, consumed with
mingled hopes and fears. He waited to hear
whether good news or bad was coming, after
Hugh had learned how matters stood. And
so Gus Merrivale with clenched hands and set
jaws held his breath, and felt his heart beating
like mad in his bosom. What agonies the boy
suffered, and how the few seconds must have
seemed to him like long hours&mdash;afterwards,
under far different conditions, when he allowed
his thoughts to draw him back again to that
dreadful moment he always shuddered at the
recollection of what he passed through in so
brief a period of time.</p>
<p>Then a spasm of supreme joy flitted through
the heart of Gus. He saw the recumbent figure
on the cold rocks move. Hugh, yes, and
Arthur, too, bending over the tramp had managed
to let him know assistance had arrived,
though it must have been hard for him to
understand it.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_90">90</div>
<p>&ldquo;We have come to try and help you get
back to the cabin again,&rdquo; was what Hugh was
shouting in his ear. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t stay here
through the night, because the chances are this
storm will turn into a blizzard before morning,
and you&rsquo;d freeze to death.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The castaway upon the rocks seemed to try
and stare at them. He doubtless had hard work
convincing himself that he was not dreaming.</p>
<p>&ldquo;How&rsquo;d you know I was out here?&rdquo; Hugh
managed to hear him say, as though that
strange fact impressed him most of all in his
weakened condition.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Casey told us,&rdquo; said Hugh, thinking to
humor him a little. &ldquo;Casey is back there by
the fire in the bunk-house, where we&rsquo;ll have
you in a jiffy. Do your best to help us, Sam
Merrivale.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Who are you?&rdquo; demanded the other, apparently
staggered at hearing his name spoken
by one of those boys whose faces he could just
dimly see.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_91">91</div>
<p>&ldquo;Never mind about that now,&rdquo; Hugh told
him, with that old touch of authority in his
voice that usually carried his point. &ldquo;In good
time you&rsquo;ll know all about it. Let us help you
get on your feet. You&rsquo;re to lean on two of
us, while we start back to the creek bed. After
that it won&rsquo;t be quite so hard going, for we
can have the wind at our backs. Now, Arthur,
give me a hand!&rdquo;</p>
<p>It was really strange how Hugh managed
to make himself heard in all that racket; but
then he had one of those voices that carry in
spite of all obstacles. Arthur needed no urging,
for he was ever ready to perform the highest
functions of a scout, and put himself to
any amount of trouble in order to relieve distress,
or succor a fainting heart.</p>
<p>Sam seemed stiff and weak. At first he
could hardly do a thing for himself, and Hugh
seriously considered whether they might not
after all be compelled to carry him on some sort
of a rude litter, fashioned on the spur of the
moment.</p>
<p>After he had been enabled to work his limbs
a little, however, it seemed as if some sense
of initiative must have come back to the
wanderer, for he even put out one foot and
took his first step, without being urged by his
attendants.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_92">92</div>
<p>Slowly they moved along, down the slight
grade, and facing the worst of the still bitter
wind. Gus hovered close behind the others,
feeling ever so much better, now that his
worst fears had not been realized. If Sam
could only be taken to the cozy cabin in the
old lumber camp owned by his father, all might
yet be well. Gus had great faith in the ability
of Arthur to pull a fellow through when he
seemed to be on his last legs. Yes, he certainly
had cause for great rejoicing, and no
doubt there was a song of thanksgiving welling
up in his heart that could not wait for expression
until the dawn of the National Day
devoted to gratitude wherever true Americans
are found, the world over.</p>
<p>Now they had managed to reach the creek
at the second bend, and from this time on it
might be expected they would find the going
much easier, although bad enough at the best.
The storm was at their back, and the haven of
the bunk-house just a quarter of a mile away,
as they made the turn, and pushed on resolutely,
the two scouts who flanked Sam and
gripped his arms, steadying his feeble steps.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_93">93</div>
<h2 id="c9">CHAPTER IX.
<br /><span class="small">GUS IN THE LIME-LIGHT.</span></h2>
<p>This lasted only a short while. Then a
change came about that put quite another face
on the matter, and one that looked much less
rosy.</p>
<p>Gus, hovering close behind the others, trying
to figure out how his brother was going
to take it when he eventually learned of his
identity, and heard the message he was bringing
from their devoted mother&mdash;Gus felt his
heart apparently jump up into his mouth, when
he saw that Sam had drooped, and was hanging
helplessly on his guardians.</p>
<p>Undoubtedly Nature had played out, and
the exhausted young fellow could not go another
step of his own volition. He had been
sick of late, and besides that must have suffered
considerable privations while leading
that roving, reckless life into which he had
latterly drifted.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_94">94</div>
<p>Had Billy been present his first remark
would probably have been, &ldquo;here&rsquo;s a pretty
kettle of fish.&rdquo; On the part of Gus it was a
feeling of intense dismay that gripped his
anxious heart. Still that confidence in Hugh
Hardin remained, and so long as the scout
master stood by there was really no reason
to give way to utter despair.</p>
<p>He waited only long enough to make sure
that they were lowering their charge to the
ground. Gus had no fear that two such
staunch fellows as his chums would dream of
giving up the game and deserting Sam then and
there; they were not made of such base stuff
as that.</p>
<p>He could see that they had their heads together,
and eager to learn what was in the
wind, he pushed up very close, so that he could
catch their words. It was, of course, necessary
to almost shout so as to be heard, and
sometimes a sentence was utterly drowned by
the crash of falling timber close by. Nevertheless
this is about what the strained ears of
Gus caught.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s all in and done for, that&rsquo;s sure, Hugh,&rdquo;
Arthur was saying.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_95">95</div>
<p>&ldquo;No question about that,&rdquo; the other went on
to say. &ldquo;I began to guess it was coming from
the way he hung on us. He couldn&rsquo;t walk
ten steps further if his life depended on it.
Poor chap, he&rsquo;s game, though!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Then I reckon we&rsquo;ll have to carry him,&rdquo;
cried Arthur. &ldquo;The only trouble about that
is it&rsquo;s always mighty hard to get a proper
grip on a limp body, and walk for any distance.
And I&rsquo;m afraid it&rsquo;s going to tax us
to the limit to do that same thing, with this
wind blowing forty ways for Sunday.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;No use talking, we ought to have some sort
of stretcher,&rdquo; Hugh admitted. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what
makes me feel silly, because of all the things
I thought to fetch along the camp hatchet
wasn&rsquo;t among the lot.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Too bad,&rdquo; said Arthur. &ldquo;What under the
sun will we do about it, Hugh? To make a
stretcher without anything to cut poles with
is going to be a tough job.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! Hugh, Arthur, I&rsquo;ve got it, I&rsquo;ve got
it!&rdquo; shouted Gus just then, so excited that he
could hardly frame his words coherently.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_96">96</div>
<p>From his actions any one might think Gus
had suddenly been bitten by a rattlesnake, for
he was jumping wildly up and down, and
seemed to be pawing at his leg in a most idiotic
manner.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Got what?&rdquo; burst from the astonished
Arthur.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The hatchet, don&rsquo;t you know!&rdquo; came the answering
whoop. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand why I
ever thought to snatch it up, and tote it along,
but say, I&rsquo;m mighty glad now I did. See, here
it is, Hugh, and oh! I&rsquo;m ever so pleased to
handle it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>When the scout master heard that he gave
a shout of joy.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve saved the day, I tell you, boy!&rdquo; he
exclaimed, slapping the delighted Gus heartily
on the back. &ldquo;It was an inspiration that made
you think of the hatchet. The credit of the
whole undertaking rests on your shoulders,
Gus! Here, give me the blade, and see me
get busy.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;By great good luck,&rdquo; added Arthur, also
decidedly pleased by the new twist fortune had
taken in their behalf, &ldquo;here are all the poles
we need close by, though without that hatchet
they might as well have been in Africa.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Hugh had not wasted a second of time.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_97">97</div>
<p>&ldquo;You look after Sam, both of you, and rub
his limbs,&rdquo; he told his chums. &ldquo;Leave the
cutting of the poles to me, though I&rsquo;ll need
help when it comes to binding them together.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He said no more than the law allowed, because
it was a most arduous task to do any
sort of decent talking in the midst of all that
clamor. Already Hugh had turned in the
quarter where Arthur&rsquo;s extended finger had
pointed at the time he spoke of the &ldquo;poles&rdquo;
being conveniently near by.</p>
<p>Long practice had made the scout master a
clever hand at using a hatchet. When a fellow
has cut cords and cords of wood for campfires
from time to time, he gets considerable
experience in swinging both ax and hatchet.
Besides, Hugh always took especial pains to
have every tool he handled well sharpened, under
the plea that a good working edge saved
&ldquo;heaps&rdquo; of muscle.</p>
<p>The &ldquo;poles&rdquo; mentioned by Arthur were really
second-growth ash springing up all around
the butts of several trees that had been
cut down a year or so ago by the lumbermen.
They grew straight up, and would possibly
have been used sooner or later by any
nomad hoop-pole man wandering that way in
search of material to eke out his scanty winter&rsquo;s
wages.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_98">98</div>
<p>One after another those slender but stout
saplings fell before the keen edge of the camp
hatchet wielded so skillfully by the scout
leader.</p>
<p>When Hugh considered that he had felled
enough of the stuff, he paused and began to
fumble in his pockets. There was no doubt
about his action this time, because he knew full
well he had hurriedly thrust a bundle of stout
cord somewhere about his person before starting
forth, under the conviction that it was going
to come in handy.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Arthur, assisted by Gus, had
been rubbing the limbs of poor Sam, who could
not raise his weak voice loud enough to make
himself heard, but by certain gestures gave
them to understand that he appreciated their
efforts in his behalf.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You go and help Hugh, while I stay by
Sam, and keep the circulation of his blood
up!&rdquo; Arthur shouted in the ear of Gus.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_99">99</div>
<p>The latter, while a little loth to turn aside,
knew that he could do more to help his brother
that way than by lingering over him. Accordingly
he hastened to join Hugh, who was
already busily engaged in trying to fasten
some of the poles, so as to make the framework
upon which the real stretcher would immediately
afterwards be constructed.</p>
<p>Every scout is taught how to do this, for
it is a very useful accomplishment to know,
since there is no telling when one of their number
may meet with some accident while in
the woods, necessitating his being carried, perhaps
a distance of several miles, and on such
an occasion a stretcher is invaluable.</p>
<p>Possibly, if left to himself, even Gus, although
not claiming to be adept at this sort
of work, with the aid of a greenhorn, might
have made some sort of clumsy contrivance
that would have answered the end in view.
Fortunately there was now no need of his depending
on himself when in the company of
such a clever artisan as Hugh Hardin.</p>
<p>The latter had made stretchers on numerous
occasions, but if asked later about it he would
certainly have admitted that never in all his
experience had he worked under such a serious
handicap as when that storm howled about
his ears, taking his very breath away.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_100">100</div>
<p>Gus managed to make himself useful in holding
the pieces that were thrust into his hands,
as well as in other ways. His heart was in
the work, and for a good reason. It was his
own brother whose life lay in the balance. He,
Hugh and Arthur might survive the night,
even if compelled to remain out in the gale,
with the mercury constantly sinking, but such
exposure would undoubtedly be the finish of
sick Sam.</p>
<p>The job was really completed in a wonderfully
short time, considering all the difficulties
Hugh faced. He often mentally congratulated
himself afterwards on that task, and Hugh
ought to be a pretty fair judge of such things.</p>
<p>Gus, however, was laboring under such a
strain that it seemed an interminable time before
he knew from the actions of his comrade
that Hugh considered the rude stretcher fit for
service.</p>
<p>The next thing was to get Sam on the same.
Of course, the stretcher had no legs, so that
it had to be laid directly on the ground. That
mattered little or nothing, however, for in all
probability it would only be required for this
one occasion.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_101">101</div>
<p>&ldquo;Got it ready, have you, Hugh?&rdquo; was the
boisterous way Arthur greeted the others when
they came hurrying up with the clumsy but
serviceable stretcher held between them.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Just as I promised, and done with a rush,
too, but it&rsquo;s going to hold all right. How is
Sam getting along?&rdquo; Hugh asked, his lips close
to the other&rsquo;s ear.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s recovering some from his weak spell,&rdquo;
came the reply, as Arthur drew the scout master&rsquo;s
head down near his lips. &ldquo;But he never
could walk it, never, Hugh. The sooner we
get him under cover the better I&rsquo;ll be pleased,
for I&rsquo;m afraid he&rsquo;s in a bad way.&rdquo;</p>
<p>It was lucky for the peace of mind of Gus
Merrivale that he did not overhear those last
words spoken by Arthur. The sense of exultation
and triumph that was filling his brotherly
heart would have received a rude jolt had he
suspected that Arthur, so experienced a physician,
considered the case of Sam as bordering
on the desperate.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_102">102</div>
<p>They quickly placed the almost helpless
young fellow on the litter. He tried the best
he could to assist himself, but if the success
of the undertaking had depended on Sam&rsquo;s
ability to do things it would have been an utter
failure.</p>
<p>Gus pushed forward, and somehow Hugh
seemed to be able to sense what was in his
mind, for he immediately jerked at Arthur&rsquo;s
sleeve and called in his ear:</p>
<p>&ldquo;Let Gus have the rear end of the stretcher,
Arthur. He wants to feel that he&rsquo;s having a
big share in saving a life, and it&rsquo;s an old story
with us, so you won&rsquo;t miss anything.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Arthur was only too willing. He was one
of those fellows who like to go about doing
their work without the least bluster or boasting.
Indeed, times without number Arthur
Cameron had been known to do his best to
hide his light under a bushel; for he took much
more satisfaction from the inward consciousness
that he had done his part manfully than
in the thought of any reward.</p>
<p>When Gus realized that he was to be allowed
to handle one end of the litter on which
his erring brother was stretched he showed by
his eagerness that his heart must be filled with
gratitude toward these fine chums who were
always doing things to please others.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_103">103</div>
<p>Hugh himself took the forward end, with
Arthur going ahead in order to pick out the
easiest path, though truth to tell there was very
little choice, so long as they were compelled
to keep the creek on their right.</p>
<p>Manfully did Gus struggle along. If he staggered
at times under the many difficulties that
beset his wavering feet it was only to shut his
teeth together harder than ever, and mentally
take a fresh grip on himself. All that was
best in the lad&rsquo;s nature came to the surface
in that trying hour, and he rose to meet the
occasion in a manner that was bound to give
him great satisfaction later on, when memory
again brought the thrilling episodes of that
stormy night vividly before his mind.</p>
<p>Thus stumbling, yet always pushing onward,
they gradually drew nearer the vicinity of the
old lumber camp, though poor Gus feared he
would never be able to hold out to the end.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_104">104</div>
<h2 id="c10">CHAPTER X.
<br /><span class="small">THINGS CHANGE FOR THE BETTER.</span></h2>
<p>&ldquo;Whoopee!&rdquo;</p>
<p>That was Arthur shouting at the top of his
voice, and the sound thrilled Gus in a wonderful
manner. He realized that Arthur would
not give vent to such a cry if he did not mean
to infuse them with new hope.</p>
<p>Staring ahead, Gus discovered a light. Yes,
it must be coming from one of the small windows
of the bunk-house, where possibly Billy,
good old Billy, had set a candle to burn with
the idea of shedding hope abroad as well as
he could manage it.</p>
<p>Perhaps Gus realized as never before what
that old song really meant when it went on
to tell about the &ldquo;light in the window placed
as a guide to wandering feet.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_105">105</div>
<p>At any rate, the sight gave Gus new
strength and inspiration. He stumbled again
and again, but would not allow himself to
fall, neither could Arthur coax him to relinquish
his end of the litter. Gus could be very
stubborn when he wanted, and as this quality
is closely allied with determination he was
likely to amount to something, once he found
his proper mission in the world.</p>
<p>Finally they arrived before the door of the
bunk-house. Here their loud shouts must
have been heard by Billy, for the door was
suddenly thrown open and a bulky figure came
rushing out, eager to assist in any way possible.</p>
<p>Two minutes later and the entire party had
found shelter under the friendly roof of Mr.
Merrivale&rsquo;s big cabin, where Billy had kept
the fire going merrily all the time.</p>
<p>Sam was immediately placed upon several
blankets close to the fire, where the genial
warmth would do much to restore his fast
ebbing strength.</p>
<p>With the closing of the stout door much of
the clamor of the storm that had been beating
in their ears so long was deadened, so that
talking became possible again without straining
their voices unduly.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_106">106</div>
<p>Sam Merrivale lay there, white of face, and
with his eyes closed. Gus stared hard at his
brother, and then looked pitifully toward
Arthur. The latter did not need to be asked
any question in order to understand what fear
was gripping the heart of Gus.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be feeling better shortly, when the
warmth of the fire begins to get in its work,&rdquo;
he told the other.</p>
<p>After that Gus kept somewhat in the background,
where he could see what went on and
at the same time not be noticed by Sam, should
the latter open his eyes and look at his rescuers.</p>
<p>This was the time for Billy to make his bid
for recognition.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Hugh,&rdquo; he went on to say, confidingly buttonholing
the scout master, &ldquo;I went and heated
up a can of mutton broth, thinking it might
come in handy when you got the poor chap
back here.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Bully for you, Billy!&rdquo; exclaimed the other,
slapping the broad back of the speaker with
unction. &ldquo;Just the thing to revive his energies.
They always give mutton broth to invalids, because
it gets in its work quicker than almost
anything else going. Hurry it along in a tin
cup, and don&rsquo;t have it steaming hot, so it&rsquo;ll
scald his lips.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_107">107</div>
<p>Arthur meanwhile had succeeded in getting
Sam into a half reclining position. He was
talking to the late tramp, and in this way trying
to arouse him.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re all right now, Sam,&rdquo; was the burden
of Arthur&rsquo;s communication. &ldquo;No danger
of your being left to the storm. See what a
fine fire we&rsquo;ve got here. Billy is coming right
along with some jolly stuff that will warm your
insides, and do you heaps of good. Everything
is lovely and the goose hangs high, Sam.
There&rsquo;s your partner Casey, watching you, and
see how glad he looks to be with us. Chances
are Billy&rsquo;s been and fed him to the limit while
we were getting you here. This way, Billy,
with that broth!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Sam smiled wanly. How could he help but
feel interested when treated so like an honored
guest rather than a homeless tramp?</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_108">108</div>
<p>Just then Billy came up bearing the big tin
cup full of steaming broth that gave out a
most appetizing smell. Sam must have been
pretty near half starved, for what did he do
but reach out a trembling hand, help to guide
the cup to his lips, and then proceed to gulp
down the contents with the avidity of a hungry
dog.</p>
<p>Presently the cup was empty. Billy looked
at Arthur as much as to say there was more
where that came from, if the &ldquo;doctor&rdquo; considered
it wise that Sam be given a second
helping.</p>
<p>&ldquo;A little later on you can feed him the rest,
Billy,&rdquo; he was told. &ldquo;Better not go too heavy all
at once, or his stomach may reject it, and
he&rsquo;d lose the benefit.&rdquo;</p>
<p>One thing sure, no person seemed to be taking
any notice of the storm now. It could
howl its worst, and turn bitter cold for that
matter; so long as they had a stout roof over
their heads, plenty of food to eat, and the
ability to dash out, ax in hand, to cut a fresh
supply of fuel, what did it matter?</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_109">109</div>
<p>The warm and strengthening mutton broth
had already affected Sam wonderfully, as could
be seen in the way he began to look around,
and take notice of things. He even smiled at
Casey, which fact appeared to give that individual
more or less satisfaction, for he grinned
broadly and nodded back, muttering something
to the effect that the two of them had good
cause to be grateful for the favors that had
come to them when things looked blackest.</p>
<p>It was evident that Sam was puzzled. Hugh
could see his eyes, no longer dim with weakness
and lack of energy, roving around. First
he would stare at bulky Billy, who beamed
down upon him good-naturedly; then he would
turn his gaze on Hugh himself, and finally
Arthur came in for a share of his attention.
He gazed at them all long and steadily.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I seem to be dreaming,&rdquo; he told Hugh, when
that worthy bent down closer to him. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s
something about you all I seem to know, but
when I try to place you my mind gets in a
whirl again, and I think I&rsquo;m seeing things
like I did the time I was down with fever, and
father&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
<p>He stopped as he inadvertently said that
word, which possibly had not passed his lips
for a long time. Hugh saw a flash of color
mount into his white cheeks as some bitter
memory gripped his soul.</p>
<p>Wishing to change the subject as quickly
as he could, Hugh hastened to say:</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_110">110</div>
<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re not dreaming after all, Sam; you
ought to remember all of us here, for you used
to know us some years back. I&rsquo;m Hugh Hardin,
this is Arthur Cameron, and the kind
chap who looked after your appetite is Billy
Worth!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Sam uttered a cry. He seemed startled,
and even tried to raise himself on one arm as
though to stare around him.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! the boys from Oakvale, where I used
to once live!&rdquo; he exclaimed, weakly. &ldquo;How
strange for you to be up here, just when I
needed help as I never did before in all my
life. What brought you up in this region? Is
that a fair question, Hugh?&rdquo;</p>
<p>He had hold of the scout master&rsquo;s hand, and
was patting it as though the mere contact gave
him fresh courage; for like many another fellow
Sam had recognized in Hugh a source of
new strength.</p>
<p>Hugh knew that Gus was hovering close behind
him, fairly quivering with eagerness. He
also felt that it was high time Sam understood
to whom he had been so heavily indebted for
the saving of his life.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_111">111</div>
<p>&ldquo;We came up here on the invitation of one
of our chums who wanted us to help him find
something that was lost,&rdquo; was the way Hugh
put it.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Yes, there <i>was</i> a fourth scout with you,
I remember now,&rdquo; said Sam, trying to discover
the object of his solicitude, but as Gus
kept behind Hugh he failed in doing this.
&ldquo;Where has he gone to, Hugh? I&rsquo;d like to
thank him, too, for all that&rsquo;s been done for
such a worthless fellow as I.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll get the chance soon, Sam, never
fear,&rdquo; assured Hugh. &ldquo;It was this chum who
really saved your life, for if he hadn&rsquo;t thought
to fetch the hatchet along with him we couldn&rsquo;t
have made that litter, and carrying you here
would have been a risky job. I&rsquo;m afraid you
would never have stood the trip. Then again
he held one end of the stretcher every foot
of the way, and wouldn&rsquo;t let Arthur here take
hold. You owe that chum the heaviest debt
of gratitude going, Sam. There&rsquo;s nothing
you could do that would cancel your load to
him.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;But tell me, why should he do all this for
a poor dog like me that&rsquo;s down in the gutter,
and almost out?&rdquo; cried Sam, excitedly.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_112">112</div>
<p>With that Hugh swung Gus around so that
he faced the one upon the blankets, and at the
same instant exclaimed:</p>
<p>&ldquo;Because he&rsquo;s your own brother, Sam, the
little Gus you left at home when you went away
after quarreling with your father! He&rsquo;s been
sent up here through the love your mother still
bears you, to try for the last time to bring
you to your senses, and fetch you to your knees
asking pardon. Now you know why we&rsquo;re in
the old logging camp, Sam. Your mother
learned that <i>you</i> were here; she would have
come herself if she had been able; but in her
place she sent a messenger in Gus.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The young fellow on the blankets stared at
Gus as though he could hardly believe his ears
and eyes. The bitter thoughts that had held
possession of his mind all these years struggled
desperately to keep possession of his soul,
but the hour had come when their knell was
to strike.</p>
<p>He thrust out and seized the eager hand of
his younger brother, which he pressed to his
lips. Nor was Hugh at all surprised to see
him burst into tears, as though the long-pent-up
emotions had suddenly swept everything
before them.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_113">113</div>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! what wouldn&rsquo;t I give to be able to see
her again!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;No fellow ever had a
better mother than she always was to me; and
how basely I treated her. I&rsquo;ve been sorry so
many times, but in shame I didn&rsquo;t dare write
to her. And so it&rsquo;s to my own brother Gus
I owe my life, do I? Well, it was worth coming
all the way from the West to learn that
they do still think of me at home&mdash;some of
them.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He would not let go of the hand he had
taken. Hugh and the others were intensely
interested in everything that was said, though
the scout master had a little suspicion that it
might not be the best thing they could do to
let Sam excite himself so much in his present
weakened condition.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_114">114</div>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! no danger of his feeling it,&rdquo; Arthur
told him when he mentioned something of his
fears in this respect. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s buoyed up now
by a new hope that&rsquo;s going to do more toward
bringing him around than all the cordials or
broths he could take. See how the color&rsquo;s
come to his face, will you? And his eyes
fairly sparkle. Joy seldom kills, you must
know, Hugh. Sam is already beginning to
get glimpses of a new life. It&rsquo;s all right, and
don&rsquo;t stop Gus from talking all he wants to
about home and mother. He knows what he
was sent up here to do. It&rsquo;s all for a purpose.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;d about given up hope of hearing from
you again, Sam,&rdquo; Gus was saying. &ldquo;It must
have been all of three years since you wrote
that last letter in which you said you meant
to try your luck up in Alaska. Day after day,
and month after month, mother would watch
for the mails until even her dear heart grew
sick with the suspense. Why didn&rsquo;t you let
her hear from you once in months, Sam?&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_115">115</div>
<p>&ldquo;I was a wretch not to do it,&rdquo; admitted the
other, contritely; &ldquo;but I had vowed I wouldn&rsquo;t
let any of the home folks hear from me again
until I had won out, conquered my evil nature,
and actually done something to show father
I wasn&rsquo;t the good-for-nothing he called me.
So I made my way to the mines up in Alaska,
and began work at the bottom. In a year I
bought a piece of ground of my own, a mine
that was supposed to be played out. Then
later on I struck it rich, and began to hug myself
in thinking how I would appear before
you all a wealthy man. Then there came a
claimant for my property. The court decided
against me, and I lost all I had believed I
owned. I fell sick after that, and it was an
uphill fight; finally I gave it all up and came
back to the States as poorly off as I started.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Sam looked very dejected when he reached
this point in his brief story. Gus, however,
seemed to see the circumstance in a different
light.</p>
<p>&ldquo;But you did stick at it as long as any fellow
could, you see, Sam,&rdquo; he hurriedly observed,
with a touch of pride in his voice.
&ldquo;That shows you&rsquo;ve got it in you to do the
right thing when you get another chance.
Mother wants to see you. She has something
to give you, Sam, money that will start you
going in some business, away from Oakvale.
She has saved it dollar by dollar, doing without
things she had expected to buy for herself.
Oh! you ought to buckle down and make
a man of yourself for her sake, Sam&mdash;our
mother!&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_116">116</div>
<p>&ldquo;I can, and I will, Gus,&rdquo; said the other, firmly.
&ldquo;I told you I&rsquo;d managed to throw off my
bad habits, and there&rsquo;s no danger of them ever
getting the better of me again. If I have
just one more chance to make good you&rsquo;ll see
how I can lie awake nights trying to get there.
I&rsquo;d give ten years of my life just to prove to
father that I had it in me to do things worth
while.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gus looked around toward the others. His
eyes were moist, and it was evident that the
boy was laboring under a tremendous strain.
Still, through it all he could give Hugh a happy
smile.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Tell him what he needs to do to get there,
Hugh,&rdquo; he pleaded. &ldquo;You can do it better than
any one else I know. Things seem to be working
out right, don&rsquo;t they, Hugh, when just a
little while ago it looked so terribly gloomy?&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_117">117</div>
<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to get just where you and
your mother have been hoping would be the
case, Gus,&rdquo; said Hugh. &ldquo;And I must say that
it would spur almost any sort of a fellow on
to doing his level best if he had such a loyal
mother as you&rsquo;ve got, Sam. As for telling you
what&rsquo;s best to do, what&rsquo;s the use, when you
know deep down in your heart there&rsquo;s only
one way you can repay her for all her love
and prayers. I firmly believe you will make
good, Sam Merrivale, and if I can do anything
to help out, you can count on my services.
Gus is a particular chum of ours, and
scouts always stand up for each other, you
know.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Sam was nearly overcome at such hearty
offers of assistance.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to get well in a hurry, don&rsquo;t you
see?&rdquo; he told them. &ldquo;Why, even now I feel
a thousand per cent better than I did before
I skipped out of this place when Casey told
me we&rsquo;d have to leave as there was danger
staying here. By the time you&rsquo;re ready to
go back home I&rsquo;ll be fit to meet my mother
and tackle anything she wants me to do so as
to wipe out the shame I&rsquo;ve brought on her.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_118">118</div>
<h2 id="c11">CHAPTER XI.
<br /><span class="small">GOOD NEWS.</span></h2>
<p>Billy now came up bearing the big tin cup
again.</p>
<p>&ldquo;About time he had the second dose, I
reckon, Doc?&rdquo; he asked Arthur, and upon that
worthy nodding his head in the affirmative the
good-natured cook guided the drinking vessel
to the lips of the repentant boy lying there.</p>
<p>He drank every drop of the contents, and
seemed to relish it amazingly.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re all so good to me, fellows!&rdquo; he said,
after draining the cup to the very dregs. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s
almost like getting back home again to meet
Oakvale boys up here, and my own brother
Gus among the lot. I guess it must have been
my good angel that guided me to this place,
where I knew we&rsquo;d find shelter; for I thought
father&rsquo;s loggers would be working here, and
I might get a job on the sly, till I could communicate
with my mother. Oh! I&rsquo;ll never stop
being thankful it&rsquo;s all come out as it has.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_119">119</div>
<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s something I ought to tell you,
Sam,&rdquo; remarked Gus, a little later, after some
of the excitement had worn away, and they
could manage to sit or lie around enjoying the
cheery fire, and thanking their lucky stars, as
Billy said, that the fates allowed them to be
so comfortable when it was getting bitter cold
outside with a shift of wind into the northwest.</p>
<p>The prodigal looked anxious upon hearing
his brother say that.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Nothing bad, I hope, Gus?&rdquo; he observed.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You must settle that with yourself,&rdquo; the
other replied, &ldquo;after you&rsquo;ve heard what I say.
But, Sam, I&rsquo;ve got some reason to believe
father is beginning to feel sorry for what he
did years ago. You know he&rsquo;s got an iron
will, and even mother is afraid to stir him
up. But just the other day something happened
that made me think he&rsquo;s breaking down.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Tell me, Gus, please tell me!&rdquo; urged Sam,
eagerly.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_120">120</div>
<p>&ldquo;Why, it happened this way, you see,&rdquo; resumed
the other, quickly. &ldquo;I was passing the
door of the library and chanced to look in just
in time to see father put something down in
the corner of the big secretary that stands
there, you remember, Sam. He started to
blow his nose, too, and turned his back on
me; but I give you my word, Sam, when I saw
him a few minutes later his eyes were red!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; exclaimed Sam, with his face as tense
as it could well be.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That made me mighty curious, I tell you,&rdquo;
Gus went on to say, &ldquo;and when I had a half-decent
chance I just slipped into the library
and looked to see what it was father had been
staring at when I startled him. Sam, would
you believe it, I found that little picture of <i>you</i>
there, that mother had in a gilt frame, and kept
on the parlor mantel up to the time you went
away!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Sam gave a low bubbling cry. He was evidently
greatly shaken by this intelligence, the
very first news he had received to show that,
after all, the suffering had not fallen to himself
and his mother alone.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_121">121</div>
<p>&ldquo;So that&rsquo;s one reason why mother, when
she heard that you had been seen here, and
were sick, sent me up to find you, because we
both believe father is weakening. He isn&rsquo;t the
same man he used to be, Sam. His shoulders
are bowed these days, and he hasn&rsquo;t much to
say to anybody. He was always a proud man,
you remember, and I guess he hates to admit
that he was harsh and unforgiving when he
sent you away from home; but I do honestly
believe, Sam, he&rsquo;s near the turning point now.
A little thing would make him break down.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Hugh could not help feeling pleased. Indeed,
looking backward to many things that
had happened in his past he could not think of
any that gave him greater reason for thankfulness
than the fact of his agreeing to accompany
Gus on what to some might have seemed
like a wild-goose errand into these woods.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We expect to stay up here a few days, you
see, Sam,&rdquo; he explained, as they sat there and
talked of many things that interested them
all. &ldquo;By the time we&rsquo;re ready to fold up our
blankets and start in the big seven-passenger
car back home, you&rsquo;ll be fit to travel. By then
you can have made your plans, just what you
expect to do, though the chief thing, I expect,
will be to meet that good mother of yours,
and fill her brave heart with new hope.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_122">122</div>
<p>&ldquo;I tell you, Hugh, and the rest of you good
fellows,&rdquo; said Sam, &ldquo;the minutes are going
to drag like lead to me till the time comes when
I can feel her arms about my neck again. Oh!
none of you can ever understand what it means
to a fellow to know that thousands of miles,
yes, and something worse than that even,
stands between him and his mother. How
many nights I&rsquo;ve dreamed I saw her, only to
wake up and realize the terrible truth! A
stronger hand than my own has guided me
here, I honestly and truly believe.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! I nearly forgot something else I meant
to tell you, Sam!&rdquo; exclaimed Gus just then,
&ldquo;not that it&rsquo;s a matter of any particular importance,
you see, but then, Mr. Jones, the post
master, called me into his office to show it to
me, and ask if I knew whether you expected
to be back home soon. You see, he knows a
little about what happened years ago, though
few people in Oakvale do.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Why, what did he have to show you that
was for me?&rdquo; asked Sam, apparently puzzled
to understand it all.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was a letter that had come by registered
mail,&rdquo; explained Gus, smiling fondly at his
brother.</p>
<p>&ldquo;For me, do you mean?&rdquo; demanded the other.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_123">123</div>
<p>&ldquo;Yes, and from Alaska, too,&rdquo; he was told.
&ldquo;I already knew that you had been seen near
the camp up here, but I didn&rsquo;t want to tell
Mr. Jones that. So I just said it was possible
you might be dropping in to sign for that letter
yourself before a great while, if so, would he
hold it for you, which he said he would, and
gave me to understand he meant to keep it
quiet.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;A letter registered, and from Alaska,&rdquo; Sam
went on to say as though to himself. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s
a queer thing. Few people up there knew that
I came from Oakvale in this far Eastern State.
I wonder who could have sent it?&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! as a scout,&rdquo; Gus proudly told him,
&ldquo;who has been taught the value of observing
things, I made sure to notice that up in the
corner there was a printed slip that read this
way: &lsquo;Jenkins and Pratt, Attorneys, Nome,
Alaska.&rsquo; Now, may be that&rsquo;ll give you a clue
to the senders, Sam.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_124">124</div>
<p>&ldquo;It certainly does, Gus, thanks to your scout
tactics,&rdquo; the other quickly responded. &ldquo;That
was the name of the law firm I employed while
fighting for my title to that mine that swamped
me. I wonder what they are writing to me
about. The chances are, though, they find they
didn&rsquo;t charge me enough for their services,
and this is an extra bill they want me to
pay.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! perhaps they&rsquo;re sending you some good
news, Sam!&rdquo; suggested Gus, as a sudden wild
hope possessed him. &ldquo;It would be just like it
to have things take a turn up there, and that
mine come back to you again.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;No such good luck, I&rsquo;m afraid,&rdquo; remarked
Sam, shaking his head skeptically. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been
up against hard luck all my life, you see.
Everything goes crooked with a fellow who&rsquo;s
gone and made a mess of his prospects like
I did.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;But you&rsquo;ve reached the turn of the lane,
Sam, you see,&rdquo; ventured the other. &ldquo;From now
on things are going to right-about face, and
be just the opposite from what they used to
strike you. Once the tide of good luck sets
in there&rsquo;s no telling what will happen. Say
what you will, I&rsquo;m going to hope it&rsquo;s that
way.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_125">125</div>
<p>They sat there and talked for a long time
afterwards. Indeed all of them were so excited
that it was with considerable difficulty
that Hugh could coax them to consider going
to bed.</p>
<p>Before they retired he had some of the wood
that had been taken into the cabin placed conveniently
so that when any one chanced to
awaken during the night it would be a simple
matter to step over and cast a log on the fire.
There would apparently be more or less need
of extra warmth in the bunk-house before
dawn came, what with the storm changing its
course and bringing the bitter breath of winter
out of the great Northwest.</p>
<p>They were short in blankets, but then Hugh
expected to make himself comfortable with
some of the bags they had found in the place,
left behind by the loggers, as well as some extra
clothes he had along with him. Sam had been
given Hugh&rsquo;s covering, and Gus would have
forced the scout master to accept his blanket
only he found himself up against a wall of
adamant when he tried that sort of thing. In
some matters Hugh could be very stubborn.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_126">126</div>
<p>&ldquo;This is an old story for me, Gus,&rdquo; the scout
master had told him convincingly, as he shook
his head and pushed the proffered blanket
back into the other&rsquo;s hands. &ldquo;In fact, to tell
you the truth, I rather enjoy being put to the
test this way, and having to hustle for bed
clothes. I&rsquo;ll keep warm enough, never fear;
and besides, we mean to have a fire all night,
so there you are. Thanks just the same, but
it&rsquo;s impossible, Gus. So stow yourself away
in one of the bunks closest to the fire, and go
to sleep happier than you&rsquo;ve been this many
a day.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I guess I will, Hugh,&rdquo; admitted Gus, smiling
at the other with eyes that sparkled as
though they contained dewdrops, &ldquo;because I&rsquo;ll
be dreaming of <i>her</i>, and how glad she&rsquo;ll be
when she knows I&rsquo;ve succeeded in the mission
she entrusted to my hands, thanks to the help
of my chums.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_127">127</div>
<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the scout master, with a hand
on the shoulder of Gus, &ldquo;and depend on it, old
fellow, before many moons pass by I&rsquo;m going
to see to it that your name is written on the
Roll of Honor they keep at scout headquarters
for all those who save human life at the risk
of their own. You&rsquo;re entitled to wear a medal
on your coat for what you&rsquo;ve done this night,
if any of us won the honor.&rdquo; And doubtless
Gus Merrivale would sleep all the sounder that
night on account of knowing that the ambition
he had so long cherished above all other scout
aims was in a fair way of being realized at
last.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_128">128</div>
<h2 id="c12">CHAPTER XII.
<br /><span class="small">THANKSGIVING IN CAMP.</span></h2>
<p>The last thing before crawling under his
blanket, Arthur, the &ldquo;seasoned weather-sharp&rdquo;
of the troop, had called the attention of his
mates to the fact that, just as he had predicted,
the wind was commencing to come out of the
Northwest, so that the rain that had been
blown so wildly before the gale had already, no
doubt, commenced to turn into sleet.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to have the queerest Thanksgiving
ever heard of in this section of the
country,&rdquo; Arthur had said. &ldquo;Mark my words
if it doesn&rsquo;t change into a regular baby blizzard.
Oakvale fellows won&rsquo;t want to bother
much with any football this year, if I know
what&rsquo;s what.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_129">129</div>
<p>All night long the wind whistled and moaned,
and even howled at times around the corners
of the bunk-house. Inside, it was fairly cheerful,
for many times did Hugh get up and renew
the fire which ate up the fuel at an alarming
rate, as always happens when the wind
blows at a gale. Finally, when morning came,
and there were heard sounds to indicate that
some of the sleepers had awakened, the place
felt pretty cold. That was remedied, however,
after the fire had been built up so that it fairly
roared.</p>
<p>No sooner was Gus up than he went to where
his brother lay.</p>
<p>&ldquo;How are you feeling, Sam?&rdquo; he asked, upon
discovering that the other was awake.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I hardly know yet,&rdquo; came the reply. &ldquo;I
reckon I&rsquo;ll be weak for a short spell, but that
doctor of yours has done me heaps of good,
and you can wager I&rsquo;m bound to pull through
all right. I&rsquo;ve got a new lease of life, Gus,
since you told me what you did about father.
I&rsquo;m crazy to see mother, and little baby sister
Amy, too.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gus laughed. He was feeling ever so much
more light-hearted himself, now that things
had turned out so well.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_130">130</div>
<p>&ldquo;You forget that nearly five years have gone
past since you were home, Sam,&rdquo; he went on
to say. &ldquo;Amy isn&rsquo;t a baby any longer, but the
prettiest little girl the sun ever shone on. Wait
till you see her, that&rsquo;s all. She&rsquo;s as sweet as
she is pretty, which is the best part of it all.
We worship her as if she might be a fairy
queen in our house.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Sam thereupon gave a half groan.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I guess it goes without saying,&rdquo; he remarked,
sadly, &ldquo;that all the badness in the
Merrivale family was concentrated in me. Oh!
how bitterly I&rsquo;ve repented some of the mean
things I did in those wild days; and nearly
broke my mother&rsquo;s heart. I&rsquo;ve tried again and
again to lay all the blame on father for being
so strict; but, Gus, I know just as well as anything
that I was at fault, too. But I&rsquo;m going
to make it all up, if I live long enough.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Breakfast was eaten amidst considerable
merriment. Everybody seemed to be quite
cheerful, considering the fact that they were
snowbound on the one great day of the fall
which all true Americans celebrate at home or
abroad, the Thanksgiving handed down from
the Pilgrim Fathers.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s something that&rsquo;s bothering me,&rdquo; remarked
Billy, &ldquo;and that&rsquo;s <i>grub</i>!&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_131">131</div>
<p>&ldquo;What about it?&rdquo; demanded Arthur. &ldquo;So
far as I can see it&rsquo;s just prime, and as good
as anything we ever packed into camp. Please
put a couple of pieces of that bacon on my
pannikin, will you, Hugh? It certainly goes
to the spot. I never smell bacon or ham cooking
at home but what my mind goes out to camp
life. They seem, as Billy here would say, intimately
connected.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! the quality is gilt-edged,&rdquo; the fat scout
hastened to admit. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the quantity that&rsquo;s
bothering me. Look what a hole we&rsquo;ve made
already in our stack, will you? Where will
we be three days from now, tell me?&rdquo;</p>
<p>Hugh laughed at hearing this complaint, because
it was not the first time by any means
that he had listened to Billy holding forth
along similar lines.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! no use borrowing trouble, Billy,&rdquo; he
said, consolingly. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t cross a bridge before
you come to it, as lots of people do. There
are several remedies to your disease. If necessary
we can cut our outing short and speed
back home in the big auto. Then again, if we
conclude to stay, a couple of us can scour the
country around this section, and visit several
farm houses, where money will talk, and buy
all the eggs and chickens we want. It&rsquo;s all
right, Billy, make your mind up to that.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_132">132</div>
<p>As the morning advanced none of them cared
to stay outdoors more than was absolutely necessary,
so keen was the wind. One by one they
took turns wielding the camp ax, and bringing
in stacks of wood.</p>
<p>Billy, remembering the day, laid out quite an
extensive menu for Thanksgiving dinner, nor
did he have any trouble about finding plenty
of recruits ready to assist in peeling potatoes
and doing the other chores.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I did hope,&rdquo; he announced, when asking
their opinion of his intended bill of fare, &ldquo;that
somebody&rsquo;d be smart enough to bag a plump
gobbler. It would have been a splendid thing
to grace the head of the table. But let&rsquo;s be
thankful we&rsquo;ve got what might be called the
poor man&rsquo;s turkey&mdash;pork. That half ham is
going to take the place of the National bird
for this once. First time, though, since I was
knee-high to a duck that I haven&rsquo;t eaten real
turkey on Thanksgiving.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;There must always be a first time, Billy,&rdquo;
was Arthur&rsquo;s consoling remark.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_133">133</div>
<p>They put in most of the morning getting
ready for the dinner. Billy fairly outdid all
his previous efforts along the line of preparing
a grand feast. He had looked ahead when
laying in his stock of edibles, as was apparent
when the meal finally was placed on the table.</p>
<p>The bill of fare Billy had written out and
placed beside every tin pannikin was as follows:</p>
<dl class="int"><dt>Tomato soup,</dt>
<dt>Celery,</dt>
<dt>Tuna fish, &agrave; la Camp Merrivale,</dt>
<dt>Boiled Ham (home smoked),</dt>
<dt>Potatoes mashed (&ldquo;Irish&rdquo;),</dt>
<dt>Yams, baked camp-style,</dt>
<dt>Yellow turnips,</dt>
<dt>Bread and butter,</dt>
<dt>Pumpkin pie,</dt>
<dt>Cheese, crackers and coffee.</dt></dl>
<p>Who cared because there was no table cloth,
and that the dishes were of tin or granite or
aluminum? What did it matter if the supply
was so limited that often during the meal some
one had to scurry over and do a little dishwashing
before he could take the next course?</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_134">134</div>
<p>The ham was unbeatable, the fish just prime,
the vegetables as &ldquo;good as mother herself could
have prepared them,&rdquo; so they all admitted, and
even the pumpkin pies that dear old Billy had
smuggled into camp so carefully without any
of the others knowing about it, came through
in pretty good shape. The fact that they were
broken a little mattered nothing to those boys
who ate and ate until they could only look helplessly
at one another, and wonder how under
the sun they could ever dream of wanting anything
more for forty-eight hours.</p>
<p>Perhaps that was one of the biggest events
in Casey&rsquo;s whole life. It must have been many
a year since he had filled himself with such a
choice collection of good things. Possibly it
brought back memories that had almost faded
from the mind of the old tramp, for to be sure
he had once been a boy, and lived upon a farm.
During the remainder of that whole day Casey
was unusually quiet. When Sam asked him
if he felt ill he shook his head and grinned,
and simply said he was resurrecting dead recollections
that he had never thought would rise
again to haunt him.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_135">135</div>
<p>Hugh only hoped they might continue to
pester the old chap until finally he decided to
give up this wandering life, and go back to see
if any of his own kindred were still alive.</p>
<p>Casey did not intend going to town with
them. They could guess why, for he as much
as admitted that in times past he had been
guilty of appropriating certain things to which
he had no legal claim; and there was always a
haunting fear in the mind of the old tramp
that he was going to be jailed for these petty
acts.</p>
<p>Sam was improving rapidly. Indeed, the
fact was, it would have been most singular if
such had not proved to be the case&mdash;with those
merry fellows in his company to keep him
laughing much of the time, so that his troubles
fell from him very much as water does from
a duck&rsquo;s back.</p>
<p>Occasionally during that day he and Gus and
Hugh talked matters over. Something in the
shape of a plan of campaign was arranged,
whereby Sam might in good time meet his devoted
mother, and something be done looking
toward a reconciliation with the stern father.
So Sam declared, when night again drew near,
that he believed he was far along the road to
full recovery.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_136">136</div>
<h2 id="c13">CHAPTER XIII.
<br /><span class="small">SAM REDEEMS HIMSELF GLORIOUSLY.</span></h2>
<p>The rest of their stay in the lumber camp
passed away without any further remarkable
occurrence. It seemed as though after that
big blow the weather had cleared for a long
spell, although remaining quite cold. Hugh
took the gun and did a little hunting just to
please the insistent Billy, who was still clamorous
for a turkey, and would not be happy until
they had at least done their part toward procuring
one.</p>
<p>Sure enough Hugh did succeed in bagging a
gobbler, and as it turned out to be a young and
tender bird they did enjoy a turkey dinner
after all. Better late than never, as Billy told
them, after he had succeeded in roasting the
turkey by means of a rude spit before the fire,
which had to be turned from time to time until
Billy&rsquo;s arms ached and his round face rivalled
the setting sun in color.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_137">137</div>
<p>But it was a feast none of them would ever
forget, and that repaid all those who had had
a share in getting it up, as well as &ldquo;putting it
down.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The morning finally came when they had
planned to return to town. It was Tuesday,
and while another holiday still remained before
school would convene, Hugh thought it
might be as well they got home, as there would
be certain things needing attention, as well as
a meeting of the scouts scheduled for that
night.</p>
<p>Casey was mighty sorry to see the boys making
preparations for departure. That period
would always remain as one of the happy times
in the life of the old tramp. He privately informed
Hugh, to whom he had taken a great
fancy, that he was almost persuaded to look up
his people, and see if he could spend his last
days in a civilized way; and it can be put down
as certain that Hugh applauded his determination
and urged him not to change his mind.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_138">138</div>
<p>They left all their provisions with Casey,
though the supply was not very bountiful.
When the car started off, with the scouts cheering
like mad, Sam with the rest, Casey stood
there in the doorway waving his greasy old
hat after them, and apparently quite moved.</p>
<p>As we will have no further occasion to mention
him again, it may be said here, in passing,
that several months afterwards Hugh did actually
receive a letter from the man, telling him
that he had now reformed, was living with his
married daughter, who had forgiven him
freely, and that he still saw a chance to make
an honest living at his old trade of a cooper;
so that it seemed as though another besides
Sam had profited by the Thanksgiving outing
taken by Hugh and his chums up to the deserted
lumber camp of the Merrivales.</p>
<p>Hugh had arranged to take Sam home with
him. He felt sure that after his mother learned
the whole story she would be only too well
pleased to have a hand in bringing about a
reconciliation between the erring and repentant
boy and his stern father.</p>
<p>Gus had explained that he meant to tell his
mother everything; and in some way an arrangement
would be made whereby Mrs. Merrivale
might call at Hugh&rsquo;s house to see the
boy who had been in her mind and heart these
five long years.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_139">139</div>
<p>All of the boys were feeling in fine spirits.
They believed they had enjoyed the trip immensely,
and felt many times repaid for what
little trouble they had gone to. Indeed, Hugh,
Arthur and Billy told Gus how glad they were
he had thought to ask them to accompany him
on his singular mission.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had a bully good time!&rdquo; Billy had
said, and his eyes glistened as if fond memories
of that groaning Thanksgiving table still
haunted him.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I ought to be satisfied,&rdquo; asserted Arthur,
&ldquo;since my two patients came out with flying
colors. Sam here declares he hasn&rsquo;t felt so
well for a long time.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Which is only the truth,&rdquo; the person referred
to declared vehemently. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just as
hearty as ever, and I will say that Arthur here
is the best doctor I&rsquo;ve run across in all my
wanderings.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_140">140</div>
<p>&ldquo;Perhaps the only one in the bargain,&rdquo;
laughed Arthur, jokingly. &ldquo;Makes me think
of the little fellow who came home from school
one day and boastingly said to his daddy: &lsquo;I&rsquo;m
next to the head of my class now, father!&rsquo; And
after he had been complimented on his smartness,
and I guess received some pennies in the
bargain, the father happened to think to ask
him how many there were in his class, when
he said: &lsquo;Oh! me and a wee lassie.&rsquo; But I&rsquo;m
head, foot and the whole shooting match.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The old car broke down a few times on the
way home, necessitating considerable repairing
on the part of Gus, assisted by those of his
mates who knew something about mending a
tire or pottering with balky machinery.</p>
<p>Instead of arriving at Oakvale by noon they
were many miles away when the sun drew
near the zenith, a fact that began to give poor
Billy, always in fear of starving to death, cause
for uneasiness.</p>
<p>It happened, however, that there was a
friendly haven close by in the shape of a prosperous
farmer&rsquo;s home, and upon their applying
for &ldquo;first aid to the injured&rdquo; they were immediately
asked to come back in an hour and
have dinner with the family, hired man and
all.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_141">141</div>
<p>So as Billy admitted, &ldquo;Heaven tempers the
wind to the shorn lamb,&rdquo; and they did not have
to go hungry the rest of the day. Things
would have to be pretty serious for a party of
lively lads like those scouts, with money in
their pockets, to want for a meal when in a
semi-civilized section of country.</p>
<p>It was at evening that they finally came to
the home town. In fact, the lights had already
commenced to spring up, and Billy could catch
the odor of many suppers cooking as soon as
they began to pass houses on the outskirts, a
fact he hastened to announce to his comrades
after his usual way.</p>
<p>Sam and Hugh were first of all let out at
the latter&rsquo;s cottage home, and the brothers
parted with a hearty shake of the hand. Gus
was as happy a boy as could well be found
when he alighted in his own yard after dropping
the other fellows at their respective homes.
He only feared he might arouse the suspicions
of his father by an unusual flow of spirits.
He also knew that an anxious mother was waiting
up there behind those curtains in her bedroom
to hear the report he was bringing back
with him.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_142">142</div>
<p>Just as Hugh had anticipated, his mother,
while surprised at seeing Sam (for she was
one of the few who knew the real reason for
his absence from home), only too gladly agreed
to do everything possible for the young fellow.
Her heart went out to that other mother
who had so long mourned for her boy, not
knowing whether he might be living or dead.</p>
<p>&ldquo;You shall stay with us until it is all settled,
Sam,&rdquo; she told him, looking straight into
his eyes as though able to read his firm resolution
there. &ldquo;Anything we can do to help bring
about a happy ending, you may be sure will
be freely done. No one need know you are
here, and you have changed so much that you
could walk about the town without a soul recognizing
you.&rdquo;</p>
<p>She did even more than this, for Sam&rsquo;s
clothes were anything but nice after the wandering
life he had led. Gus had given Hugh
some money which his mother placed in his
keeping for the purpose of buying Sam a new
outfit, if, indeed, it turned out that the sick
hobo up at the lumber camp were the missing
one.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_143">143</div>
<p>So Mrs. Hardin took Hugh out after supper,
as he was about the same build as Sam.
Some of the shops kept open up to nine o&rsquo;clock
these evenings, since there was a feeling in
the air that Christmas was coming before a
great while, and night shoppers had begun to
be numerous.</p>
<p>It was an easy matter for them to select
such clothes as they considered Sam should
have, outfitting him completely from hat to
shoes, as well as undergarments calculated to
withstand the winter cold, socks, handkerchiefs,
shirts, collars, gloves and even neckties.</p>
<p>After they came back home they sat up quite
late, for Sam wanted to tell something of his
life during the years he had been gone. Hugh&rsquo;s
gentle mother did not wish to hear about his
temptations, and the many times he fell, but
encouraged him to speak of his resolution to
make a man of himself, when up there in the
mines of Alaska.</p>
<p>So Sam told all about his sudden rise to
fortune, his high hopes of coming back wealthy,
when his folks would be proud of him, and
then the dismal drop when it was apparently
proven that, after all, his title to the valuable
mining property that had promised so much
was founded on a &ldquo;fluke,&rdquo; so that he had to
hand it over to another claimant.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_144">144</div>
<p>&ldquo;And it galls me,&rdquo; he told them bitterly, &ldquo;to
think that after almost reaching the top of
my ambition I&rsquo;m come back home only a forlorn
tramp, just because I couldn&rsquo;t stay away
from mother any longer. It&rsquo;s broken my pride
down, that&rsquo;s one thing, and I&rsquo;m ready to eat
humble pie.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;And, Sam,&rdquo; Mrs. Hardin told him, &ldquo;perhaps
that&rsquo;s why it was ordained by a Higher
Power than your will that things should happen
in this way. You were coming home to
show your father that you had succeeded. You
would have, perhaps, put on airs in your pride
of having accomplished something big. Now
you have had a lesson, and if a reconciliation
does take place, both you and your father will
meet on the common ground of humility. I
am glad it&rsquo;s happened as it has, Sam; and some
day you will see the reason for my saying this.
I am a mother, and I know what is in the heart
of the one who has never ceased to love you
through good and evil report.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_145">145</div>
<p>So Sam Merrivale took a warm bath that
night, and for the first time in years found himself
between clean sheets, in the guest chamber
of the Hardins. It must have been a revelation
to the reformed tramp, and strengthened
his resolution to hereafter lead a life above reproach.
Like a good many other young fellows,
Sam had had to learn his lesson through
bitterness of spirit. He told himself scores of
times that nothing could ever tempt him to go
back to that life of wandering and wretchedness,
even though his father continued to hold
out against him. Gus had confided to his
brother what their mother meant to do if her
first plan failed; and that there was an uncle
in a city who would take him in and give him
a place in his store.</p>
<p>Perhaps after Sam finally got to sleep he had
happy dreams. Certain it was that when Mrs.
Hardin came into the dining-room on the next
morning from her duties of superintending
the preparations for breakfast she could hardly
believe her eyes when she saw the fine looking
young fellow with a touch of red in his hollow
cheeks, and a flash of conscious assurance in
his eyes, who greeted her by kissing her on the
cheek in a most respectful fashion.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_146">146</div>
<p>It had been planned that, circumstances permitting,
Mrs. Merrivale would call that afternoon
to meet Sam. Meanwhile, the young fellow,
feeling more or less curiosity to see what
changes had taken place in the old home town
since his leaving five years back, strolled forth
for a walk.</p>
<p>&ldquo;No danger of anybody guessing who I am,&rdquo;
he had laughingly told Hugh&rsquo;s mother, &ldquo;because
I&rsquo;ve changed a whole lot, and look ten
years older. The life I&rsquo;ve led has been a hard
one. So I&rsquo;ll just walk about, and perhaps take
a look at home from a safe distance.&rdquo;</p>
<p>And Mrs. Hardin did not dissuade him, because
she knew only too well that the boy&rsquo;s
heart was hungering for a view of his mother.
A glimpse of her would do him good.</p>
<p>It chanced that Hugh had gone over to Billy&rsquo;s
house on some errand. Here he found both
Arthur and Billy, who had dropped in to talk
over their recent outing and wipe out certain
indebtedness on their part with regard to expenses
incurred on the trip.</p>
<p>After this had been all settled up Billy made
a proposition.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_147">147</div>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got an errand up the road, fellows,&rdquo;
was what he said. &ldquo;Why not keep me company,
and on the way back we&rsquo;ll see if the ice
is strong enough on Danforth&rsquo;s pond for skating.
I know some of you are fairly wild to
get going on runners again, and I wouldn&rsquo;t
mind it myself, since I&rsquo;ve found my arnica bottle,
and got the same handy.&rdquo;</p>
<p>So it came about that, having finished the
errand Billy had mentioned, the four chums
left the main road, and struck into another
that ran close by the big pond.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I can see some children playing on the ice,&rdquo;
remarked Billy, presently. &ldquo;It strikes me that&rsquo;s
pretty dangerous business when the water was
so warm before the recent cold snap that
the ice can&rsquo;t be very thick as yet. Listen!
you can hear it crack whenever they start to
run.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! new ice always does that, you must
remember, Billy,&rdquo; said Hugh. &ldquo;Like you, I
don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s exactly safe for children to be
playing here, and not an older fellow around
to do anything if one of the kiddies did break
in. We&rsquo;d better hustle along and warn them
to get off the ice until it&rsquo;s been tested.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_148">148</div>
<p>&ldquo;Oh, look!&rdquo; cried Billy. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s one little
girl starting out as if she had been dared by
her companions. It&rsquo;s that sister of Gus Merrivale,
too, the prettiest child in Oakvale, everybody
says. Get a move on, boys! We ought
to be handy in case anything did happen, which
I hope won&rsquo;t&mdash;oh! my stars! she&rsquo;s fallen in,
boys!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Hugh was already starting to run at top
speed, with the others at his heels. Unfortunately,
they were still at some distance from
the pond where the child could be seen struggling
in the water, and despite their good intentions,
possibly the scouts might have arrived
too late to be of any real help.</p>
<p>But Hugh&rsquo;s heart beat high with hope, for
he had seen a figure swiftly rushing over the
thin ice, the very rapidity of his passage preventing
his breaking in before he arrived near
the hole. Hugh had also recognized the suit
of clothes worn by this person as the one he
and his mother had purchased on the night
before!</p>
<p>Yes, it was Sam Merrivale, who, on walking
around to see the well-remembered old pond,
had arrived to be just in time to rush to the
rescue of his own little sister.</p>
<p>They saw him go crashing in as the thin
ice gave way under his weight, but that cry
of joy welling from Hugh&rsquo;s lips told that Sam
had attained his object.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_149">149</div>
<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got her all right, boys!&rdquo; he gasped, as
he still ran like wildfire toward the spot, for
he knew very well there would have to be some
further help for Sam if the young fellow was
to be saved from breaking the ice all the way
to the shore of the pond, holding his burden
above the water.</p>
<p>Hugh knew just how to go about it. He had
already noticed an old boat close by, and with
the help of his chums he pushed this ahead of
him. Billy had been ordered to stay ashore
because his weight would be sure to cause
trouble; besides, three of them ought to be
enough to propel that boat along in order to
reach Sam and Amy.</p>
<p>The thin ice crackled and swayed, but as
the weight was now distributed over a greater
surface it did not give way immediately. When
the crash did come the boys had poles with
which to push, and in this way, after scrambling
into the boat, soon reached the spot where
Sam was treading water valiantly, hugging the
precious form of little Amy, whom perhaps he
had recognized, to his breast.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_150">150</div>
<p>They soon had the child safe, and Sam told
them to push to the shore, as he could hang on
behind. Hugh, though, made sure to keep a
firm grip on the swimmer, because he realized
that the water was very cold, and also remembered
that Sam had only lately been quite sick
and weak.</p>
<p>Making desperate efforts, the boys managed
to gain the shore at last, where the group of
crying children had gathered to meet them, also
Billy. Hugh for the first time noticed that
a big touring car had swung along the road
and stopped. He felt a thrill upon recognizing
the three who were now springing from the
automobile, for one of them was Gus Merrivale,
yes, and the man and woman coming back
of him as fast as they could run were his
parents.</p>
<p>Surely a strange Fate had interposed to
bring about such a situation. No fellow could
ever have dreamed of planning so happy an
ending to all the troubles that had beset the
Merrivale family.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_151">151</div>
<p>The mother had already recognized the child
as her own darling, and she snatched little Amy
from the arms of her dripping rescuer. Hugh
and the others stood there riveted to the spot,
and waiting for what was going to happen next,
for Gus was tugging at his mother&rsquo;s dress, and
saying something, though so excited he could
hardly speak intelligently.</p>
<p>Then they saw Mrs. Merrivale turn and
stare into the face of the young man to whom
she owed her darling&rsquo;s life. She hastily handed
Amy over to her husband, and threw her arms
around the neck of Sam, regardless of his
soaking condition, while they could all hear her
joyous cries:</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s our boy Sam, don&rsquo;t you see, Nelson;
oh! to-day he has wiped out all the bitter past,
please Heaven. My boy! My boy!&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_152">152</div>
<h2 id="c14">CHAPTER XIV.
<br /><span class="small">THE HONOR MEDALS.</span></h2>
<p>Things moved swiftly after that, and presently
Hugh felt ready to fairly hug himself
when he saw that Mr. Merrivale had handed
back the little girl to her mother and was wringing
Sam&rsquo;s hand heartily.</p>
<p>The stern man was very much overcome,
just as might be expected. He had not known
whether his erring boy were dead or yet in
the land of the living, and to have Sam thus
suddenly bob up, and prove to be a hero, staggered
Mr. Merrivale greatly.</p>
<p>Hugh knew it was all right when he heard
the gentleman say earnestly:</p>
<p>&ldquo;Both of us were in the wrong, my boy. I
confess it to you now. But from this time on
we will begin all over again. Your old room
is waiting for you, Sam. Believe me, I shall
be well pleased to see you in your accustomed
place at table once more.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_153">153</div>
<p>Which words told the observing scout master
that while most people believed Mr. Merrivale
to be a stern and proud man, he may
have been suffering even more than his own
wife realized.</p>
<p>So they hurried to the car, where the
drenched ones were bundled up in all the robes
that were handy, after which Gus headed for
home at a fast clip. Hugh felt a little anxious
about Sam, remembering that the young fellow
had been seriously sick lately; but for all
that he and his chums were fairly bubbling
over with joy as they made for town again.</p>
<p>Billy seemed to be tremendously tickled at
the way things had turned out. Every now
and then he would nudge Hugh in the ribs, to
say something like this:</p>
<p>&ldquo;Will you oblige me, partner? Then give
me a good hard pinch please, right here in the
thigh where it&rsquo;s going to do the most good.
Ouch! but that did sting though; and say, I
guess I&rsquo;m awake after all. You see I had begun
to be afraid I was asleep and dreaming all
these fine things. But Sam did jump in and
save the little girl all right, didn&rsquo;t he? And
that was decent of his dad to tell him the old
score had been wiped out as if it had never
been. Hugh, if I wasn&rsquo;t in this car along with
all the rest crowded together I&rsquo;d feel like letting
out a big whoop, I&rsquo;m that chock full of
enthusiasm.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_154">154</div>
<p>Thereupon the scout master begged him to
restrain his bubbling spirits until another and
more propitious time.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to strike the outskirts of the
town right away, Billy,&rdquo; was what he told the
scout chum, &ldquo;and if you started to cheering it
might be some folks might think you had gone
looney. You wouldn&rsquo;t want a certain pretty
girl I could name to hear such a report of you,
I&rsquo;m sure.&rdquo;</p>
<p>That sort of counsel caused Billy Worth to
change his mind. Nevertheless the whole
party looked so excited, and what with the two
boys being so bundled up in fur wraps, all sorts
of wonderful stories soon drifted like magic
around town. In good time, of course, everybody
would learn what a strange thing had
happened; and how Sam Merrivale, the runaway
son, had come back as poor as Job&rsquo;s turkey,
yet able to show himself a hero by risking
his own life to save that of his precious little
sister.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_155">155</div>
<p>Sam did not seem to feel any ill effects from
his cold immersion in the icy waters of the
pond. Perhaps his heart was beating so happily
that it kept away the germs of pneumonia
and like ills; at any rate he dropped in that
afternoon to thank Mrs. Hardin most heartily
for all she and her boy had done.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Everything is working just fine over at our
house,&rdquo; was the report Sam brought with him.
&ldquo;Father has made me tell him everything I&rsquo;ve
done, and I didn&rsquo;t spare myself one whit either.
And would you believe it, he says he&rsquo;s glad I
lost that mine, because if I&rsquo;d come home feeling
that I&rsquo;d done something <i>great</i>, the chances
are we never would have come to understand
each other as we do now. I expect to go into
business a little later, after I&rsquo;ve picked up some
more flesh; and I give you my solemn word,
Mrs. Hardin, I&rsquo;m going to make good, if grim
determination can do it.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_156">156</div>
<p>&ldquo;I believe you will succeed, Sam,&rdquo; she told
him simply, &ldquo;because you&rsquo;ve had a lesson that
is going to last you the rest of your life. I&rsquo;m
pleased also to know Hugh had a hand in helping
to bring about this happy ending of all
your trouble. Just because I have been so
blessed in my own little family is no reason
I cannot sympathize with others who have had
deep troubles. And no one will be prouder of
the success you expect to win than your mother,
Sam.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Thus it appeared that everything had come
out splendidly, &ldquo;just like the ending of a fairy
story,&rdquo; as Billy said.</p>
<p>It was on the following day that Hugh, meeting
Gus and his brother on the street while on
the way home from school early in the afternoon,
happened to think of something.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I wonder now, Gus,&rdquo; he remarked, &ldquo;if in
all this excitement you&rsquo;ve chanced to remember
that registered letter Mr. Jones told you
about?&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well, I&rsquo;m glad you spoke of it, Hugh,&rdquo; Gus
hastened to reply, &ldquo;because to tell you the honest
truth so much has been going on every
minute at our house that for one I forgot all
about that letter. So did Sam here, because
he&rsquo;s never mentioned it. Let&rsquo;s all walk over
to the post office now, and he can get his delayed
mail.&rdquo;</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_157">157</div>
<p>&ldquo;Oh! I&rsquo;m not overcurious about it,&rdquo; remarked
Sam. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s probably only a few lines
from my lawyers up in Nome telling how they
neglected to charge me for some item, and
asking me to remit. Well, they&rsquo;ll have to wait
until I get to earning some money, because
just now I&rsquo;ve only got the five dollars mother
gave me.&rdquo;</p>
<p>When the letter was produced Sam was
rather surprised at its size. His hands, too,
trembled a little as he started to carefully open
the envelope; but then his recent weakness
might explain that.</p>
<p>Hugh and Gus watched him as he started to
read. Suddenly Sam gave vent to a whoop
that must have rather astonished some of those
good people of Oakvale who chanced to be in
the post office just then.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Bully! Well, what do you think of that?&rdquo;
he exclaimed, his old Western cowboy instincts
causing him to snatch off his felt hat and slap
it against his leg with a vim.</p>
<p>&ldquo;What is it, Sam; tell us, please?&rdquo; begged
the now equally excited Gus.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_158">158</div>
<p>&ldquo;Great news, Gus, glorious news, I tell you!&rdquo;
cried the other, his face beaming with joy.
&ldquo;My lawyers write that it has been learned that
the mine belongs to me all right. Seems that
there was foul work done, and the fellow has
confessed his share in the game. They say
the court has opened up the case again, and
reversed its former decision on the strength of
the new evidence, so that my claim holds good.
And there is a big company that intends to
make me a splendid offer for my property, so
that I may not have to go back there.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Such hand-shaking as followed, and then a
rush was made for the Merrivale home to tell
the wonderful news. Hugh could see that both
parents were well pleased with the bright future
that loomed up for Sam. He also understood
just what the tender mother-heart meant
when Mrs. Merrivale, looking at her husband,
nodded her head wisely and said:</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well, it&rsquo;s safe enough for this to come <i>now</i>,
because everything is working together for
good, please Heaven!&rdquo;</p>
<p>And Hugh knew she was thankful that Sam
had for a time believed himself to be wretchedly
poor, and ready to come back home to once
more look upon the faces of those who, in years
gone by, had loved him as a child. Had it been
otherwise, Sam might never have truly repented,
and found the peace of mind that he
now enjoyed.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_159">159</div>
<p>Later on Gus was one day greatly surprised
when Hugh came over and showed him a wonderful
medal with his name inscribed on it.
It was the &ldquo;badge of courage&rdquo; that a wise committee
in the headquarters of the Boy Scouts
of America sees fit to bestow upon each and
every member of the organization who at peril
to his own life succeeds in saving that of some
one else, whether a comrade of the khaki or
even a stranger.</p>
<p>Gus, as has been mentioned before, had long
envied some of his chums who wore one of the
bronze, silver or gold medals that distinguished
them above their mates; and it had been the
height of his ambition to some day have a
chance to win such a proud trophy for his very
own. Now he found his name inscribed on
a gleaming silver medal that placed him on the
same Roll of Honor with Hugh and Arthur.</p>
<p>Billy Worth, too, had been remembered in
a similar manner, and the other two might
have been had they not already possessed the
highest mark of esteem that it was in the province
of the Boy Scout Court of Honor to
bestow.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_160">160</div>
<p>Hugh would often look back with considerable
satisfaction to the little excursion undertaken
by himself and several comrades, at the
suggestion of Gus Merrivale. They had certainly
enjoyed their Thanksgiving outing up
in the timber belt, and memories of that night
of the great storm would never leave them.</p>
<p>Then again, fortune had allowed them to be
of considerable assistance to both Casey the
tramp, and Sam Merrivale, so that they could
always believe they had succeeded in all they
planned when agreeing to accompany Gus on
his then mysterious errand.</p>
<p>But there were other things beginning to occupy
a prominent place in the ever restless
mind of the young assistant scout master.
What some of these new duties and ambitions
were will be told in the pages of the next story,
under the title of &ldquo;The Boy Scouts for Home
Protection,&rdquo; and we certainly hope that all who
have enjoyed reading about the camp in the
lumber wilderness will make sure to secure a
copy of the new volume, where Hugh and some
of his chums figure very prominently in scout
activities.</p>
<p class="tbcenter"><span class="small">THE END.</span></p>
<h2>Footnotes</h2>
<div class="fnblock"><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_1" href="#fr_1">[1]</a>See &ldquo;The Boy Scouts as Forest Fire Fighters.&rdquo;
</div>
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