CHAPTER IX
THE STRANGE MESSAGE JEM LEFT
"WELL, we've had a visitor in camp since you fellows all went away!"George confessed.
Of course every one was interested. Lil Artha seemed to immediately jumpto the conclusion that the guest must have been a four-footed one.
"Bet you now, it was a measly wildcat," he hastened to exclaim. "It'stoo bad a fellow with a gun can't be in two places at the same time. Iwas needed out with the tenderfoot squad; and seems like I could havebeen made useful here at home. Did the varmint get away with any of ourgrub, George?"
The camp defender grinned as though amused.
"Go a bit slow, Lil Artha, can't you?" he complained, petulantly. "Don'trush as if you knew it all. Nobody said the visitor was going on fourfeet, did they? Why, it happened to be a biped, a man!"
"Then it was Jem Shock!" ventured Elmer, quickly, as though he had halfguessed the answer before then.
"Just who it was," agreed George, nodding his head in the affirmative,and looking very important.
"What did he want?" demanded Lil Artha.
"Hold your horses!" continued Elmer; "don't keep jumping at conclusionsso fast. In the first place, remember that we invited Jem to drop in onus any time he was near our camp. The invitation didn't seem to give himmuch joy, but later on he may have concluded to make a call. Now tell uswhat he said, and how he looked, George."
"Oh! he carried that gun of his just as we saw him before," the otherexplained. "And he certainly looked pretty savage, in the bargain."
"Savage?" echoed Rufus, "why should he act that way? Possibly because myfather owns about all this property up here. Perhaps Jem believes he maybe dispossessed of his cabin. I've heard that squatters always do get tothinking they own the land they build on, as if possession gave them aquit claim deed."
"Well," continued George, steadily, and keeping his eye fixed on Rufus,"to tell the honest truth, he seemed most of all interested about _you_,Rufus."
"Oh! is that so?" sneered the other; "well, that's just about in linewith what I was telling you. He knows the name of Snodgrass,apparently."
"I guessed he did from the way he acted after I'd told him about yourfather," George went on to say.
"Now, what could you have to say about my dad?" snapped the touchyRufus.
"Well, Jem asked me first of all if one of the boys in camp was aSnodgrass, and of course I told him yes," George explained. "Then heasked me if I knew what your father's first name was. I told him I hadheard it, but just then, somehow, it seemed to have slipped my memory.At that he up and asked me if it was Hiram."
Rufus gave a little cry at hearing this.
"It might be this man knew my father once on a time, or they may havehad some business deal together; though that's hardly likely, becauseJem Shock, poacher and farm laborer, would hardly be the one _my_ fatherwould be friendly with."
"I don't know anything about that," said George, swiftly; "but when Itold him I remembered, on his mentioning it, that Hiram was yourfather's name, he gritted those big white teeth of his like everything,and his eyes certainly looked wicked enough to give a fellow a shiver."
"But didn't he say anything to explain why he had come to the camp?"asked Lil Artha, deeply interested in the story.
"He asked no favor, neither would he sit down and have a cup of coffeewhen I offered to make him one," George went on; "but he asked me togive you a message which he wanted you to carry to your father when youwent home. He said: 'Tell that Snodgrass boy to say to his father thatJem Shock never will forgive the rank treachery that handed him over toa gang of sharpers in the land speculating business. And tell HiramSnodgrass, too,' he went on, 'that he ought to thank his stars his sonwasn't treated by Jem Shock as he deserved. Only for the prayers of agood woman in his cabin, and the influence of a sweet child, Jem Shock'dbe tempted to do something wicked to wipe out the debt he owed yourfather.'"
Rufus went white on hearing this. Then the color surged back to hischeeks and his eyes sparkled like twin fires.
"It's all wrong, I'm sure it must be!" he cried, angrily. "I know myfather better than most people do, and I'm as certain as I breathe thathe wouldn't deliberately betray anybody who trusted in his word. Theremust be some terrible mistake about it, don't you see, fellows? I'llbring you face to face with my dad when I'm telling him about this, andyou'll hear for yourselves what he says. But nothing can shake myconfidence in his integrity; I've seen it tested too many times to doubthim now, just because this poacher fellow dares accuse him of wrongdoing."
It sounded very fine, this defense on the part of a loyal son, and Elmercould only admire Rufus for showing himself so faithful. At the sametime, he knew real-estate dealers often have a peculiar code of morals,and frequently do things that others may not exactly approve of, salvingtheir own consciences in some way. Elmer was a little afraid that HiramSnodgrass might have been tempted to turn a client over to somecombination of operators, some of whom were not just as scrupulous as anhonest man would like to have them in his dealings.
"Was that all he said, George?" asked Lil Artha, out of pity for Rufus,who appeared to be suffering acutely from mental pain.
"Yes, and after delivering the message, he whirled around and walkedaway with the grand air of a lord of the realm," George explained."Somehow, poacher that he may be, because he believes like a good manypersons that wild game isn't the property of the State, there'ssomething about Jem Shock that tells me he isn't a common dickey. Hehates all human kind because his nature has been soured by some wronghe's endured, that's all."
"Well, I'm going to find out what it all means, and as soon as I get thechance," Rufus asserted, between his set teeth. "If it was a mistake, itshall be righted. I tell you my father is too big a man to play meantoward anybody. But while we're up here nothing can be done. I wish Ihad a chance to ask this fellow what it's all about, so I could get thehang of things."
"H'm! if I were you, Rufus," suggested wise George, "I'd go slow aboutshowing myself to Jem Shock. He hates the sound of your name, and if yougave him half an excuse, why he might forget his good resolutions, andhurt you, with the idea of revenging himself on your dad. How aboutthat, Elmer; is my logic sound?"
"Yes, there's no use taking unnecessary risks," admitted thescout-master, "and common prudence demands that Rufus should keep awayfrom Jem. Later on, if he does find that a terrible mistake has beenmade, it would be easy to come back up here and square things up withthe poacher. But it certainly pleases me to know that the home influenceis working on Jem's revengeful mind. If the mother is anything like thatsplendid little clear-eyed chap I don't wonder at it, either."
Secretly, Elmer was more determined than ever to try and make thepersonal acquaintance of Conrad's mother, the daughter of that oncefamous Swedish violinist whose bow had thrilled countless thousands, anddrawn genuine tears from their eyes.
The subject was by common consent dropped then and there, though, ofcourse, it would remain to agitate the mind of Rufus long afterwards.Indeed, the boy seemed to be unusually quiet during the balance of thatafternoon, and even while they sat around the crackling camp-fire aftersupper had been disposed of.
Elmer could guess the reason why. The tenderfoot had, in the firstplace, been under a most severe strain when he experienced that perilwith the deadly snake. It would have an effect upon his nervous systemfor some little time; and possibly he might even awaken from sleepoccasionally with a half-suppressed cry of horror, as though in hisdreams he again saw that horrid reptile with its great coils, its flatsquare head drawn back for striking, and its tail elevated so that themonotonous danger signal at the tip could continue to buzz angrily.
Then again the boy had taken that accusation on the part of the poacherquite to heart. It could be easily seen that he had a great affectionfor his father, even though it was his fond mother who had always givenin to his whims, and come near utterly spoiling Rufus by her favors.
"It galls him to have heard any one accuse hi
s father of being atrickster," was what Elmer told himself, as he noticed the soberness ofRufus, while the others in the circle about the fire chattered away, andseemed to be enjoying themselves hugely.
He had not changed his own plans a particle on account of hearing aboutthe visit paid to the camp by Jem Shock. If anything, his resolution wasstronger than ever to see more of Conrad, and perhaps meet his mother.
All of them were pretty tired, and, of course, as the tenderfoot pairhad secured so little sleep on the first night, it was likely theywould soon be "dead to the world" after letting their heads fall ontheir crude pillows. These were made out of a slip filled with sweethemlock browse stripped by hand fresh from the tree, and fragrant ascould be, with the incense of the woods. This bosky odor in itself issaid to be conducive to sound slumber; at least all who spend theirvacations close to Nature's heart so affirm, and they should know.
The night passed without any sort of alarm. Indeed, Alec and Rufus, oncethey got to sleep, knew next to nothing up to the time Lil Artha arousedthem by beating on his frying-pan gong, as "the first call tobreakfast."
They were glad to see that again the weather favored them, since therewere all the signs of a pleasant day ahead. Elmer, however, warned thenew recruits not to be too optimistic, because after the warmth of thelast few days, it was likely that some sort of storm might develop.
It was arranged that George should change places with Lil Artha on thisday, and accompany the two surveyors as a guard. The tall scout insistedon his carrying the gun along with him.
"Of course you won't need it to shoot any deer you happen to scare up,George," the owner went on to tell him, "but, as we saw yesterday, theremay crop up conditions that make the having of a shooting-iron mightyhandy. You may not need a gun at all, but if you do you want it rightthere."
Lil Artha possibly had something in mind which he wanted to do whileleft behind. He kept his own counsel, however, and Elmer, knowing thatthe tall scout was to be thoroughly trusted, did not ask questions.
So along about nine in the morning, when he thought it likely he wouldbe apt to find Conrad seated in his favorite nook and playing some ofhis dreamy airs, all of them creations of his own brain, Elmer startedforth. Lil Artha of course could easily surmise from the direction hetook that he meant to look the boy up again, but immersed in his ownaffairs, he said nothing, only waved a cheery goodbye after the other.
So Elmer strode along, and this time he paid a little less attention tothe many interesting things that cropped up on this side or that, forhis thoughts were mostly concerned with Conrad, and his quaint thrillingmusic, which he yearned to hear again.