CHAPTER XIX.
GIRAFFE TRIES FOR THE FOURTEENTH TIME.
"Whatever can we do, Giraffe?" asked Bumpus, presently, after he hadsighed several times, in a most forlorn way.
"Oh!" remarked the other, making out to be little concerned about thematter, although his manner did not deceive the fat boy in the least,for he knew Giraffe was worried greatly; "there are lots of things wecan do, all right; but you see the trouble is, Bumpus, they ain't agoin'to help out much."
"We're in a tough hole, all right," grunted the other, disconsolately.
"Talk about Thad and Step Hen camping out;" Giraffe went on to say, "whytheir troubles couldn't be mentioned in the same breath with ours, andyou know it. They had aplenty of matches along, and could get all theblaze they wanted."
"And say, think of having the best part of a fine young buck to cook!"burst out Bumpus, with another groan. "As for us, we've got the game allright; but however can we get down to eating partridges that ain't evereven been near a fire."
"Quit talkin' of eating, Bumpus; you fairly set me wild," declared thetall boy, rubbing his empty stomach, as though its calls were growingmore insistent with a knowledge that they must pass unheeded now.
"Then you must be hungry?" suggested Bumpus.
"Hungry ain't no name for it," Giraffe replied. "That's always the way,I've been told. When there ain't no water, a feller feels as if histongue was stickin' to the roof of his mouth. And Bumpus, bein' hungryain't the very worst of it, either!"
The fat boy sat up, and looked at his companion in misery as thoughstartled.
"What you mean, Giraffe, by slingin' that scare into me; I'd like toknow what's worse than starvin' to death in a single night?" hedemanded.
"Oh! shucks! don't you worry about that," the other went on, with asneer. "Not so much chance of our comin' to such an end in so short atime. But there is real danger around us, Bumpus."
"Say, do you mean about them wolves?" exclaimed Bumpus, with a tremblein his voice.
"That's just what I do mean," came the reply "When they tackled ourcomrades, why they were bold as anything, even if the boys did have afire burning all the time. Think of how we're up against it, without asingle match to start a blaze."
"Then there's only one thing for us to do, Giraffe."
"Suppose you tell me what that is?" demanded the tall scout.
"Climb a tree," replied Bumpus, promptly.
Giraffe made an impatient gesture.
"Of course we could do that, as a last resort, Bumpus; but the chancesare, if we did, we'd freeze before morning!" he declared. "I've heardold hunters say that of all the agony they ever endured, being kept in atree all night was the worst. Feel in your pockets again, Bumpus; tryeverywhere, and see if you can only scare up _one_ single match. Ifyou did, we'd be mighty careful not to waste it, I tell you. This is acase of 'my kingdom for a match!'"
So the fat scout commenced a systematic search, Every single pocket didhe feel in with trembling fingers, while his comrade watched his faceanxiously, knowing that it was likely to indicate the success or failureof the search.
When he saw a sudden grin come upon that broad countenance Giraffe feltlike bursting out into a yell of joy.
"Got one, haven't you Bumpus?" he exclaimed, eagerly. "That was a bullygood idea of mine after all, you see, having you look again. Say, won'twe be careful of that one precious match, though? And won't we have thefine dry stuff all ready to kindle, as soon as I strike it. You must letme handle things, Bumpus, because, you know, I'm more used to--what'sthe matter with you? Don't tell me it _ain't_ a match after all?Oh! thunder!"
Bumpus had slowly drawn his hand out of his pocket, and held some objectup between his forefinger and his thumb. It was about the length of amatch, but had a sharpened point, instead of a blunt head.
"A--a miserable toothpick that I just dropped into my pocket when we atethat dinner at the restaurant!" groaned the wretched Bumpus, staringfirst at the offending object, and then turning a piteous face towardhis comrade.
Giraffe managed to rise to the occasion. Perhaps he remembered that Thadhad really committed the other into his charge; and that it was to himthe scoutmaster would look to give a good account of the expedition. Andthen again, Bumpus was so shocked by the series of calamities which hadbefallen them that he looked almost ready to collapse.
So Giraffe drew himself up, and assumed a confidence that he was farfrom feeling.
"Don't take on so, Bumpus," he went on to say, almost cheerily. "It maynot be so very bad, after all. Don't let's forget that we're scouts; andmust keep a stiff upper lip whenever things turn out wrong. We'll justdo the best we can; and I reckon it'll all come out right in the end. Itnearly always does, you know."
At least his words and manner had some effect on the almost exhaustedfat boy, who brightened up more or less.
"Now, that's nice of you talking that way, Giraffe," he said. "You'rethe right kind of a chum to have in time of trouble. But say, ain't itgettin' cold though? Is that why you're slapping your arms around so?"
"Try it, and see how quick you feel warmer, Bumpus," replied the other,with the patronizing air of one who is superior in knowledge, andwilling to impart all he knows; "you see, the violent action starts theheart to beating nearly twice as fast as it does ordinarily; and thatpumps the blood harder, so it gets to the very end of your extremities.That's what Thad says, anyhow; and it sure enough works."
So, for a minute or two both lads kept up a strenuous exercise, thoughit was too much for poor Bumpus, who presently stopped.
"Feel better, don't you?" demanded Giraffe imperiously.
"A whole lot; but doin' that has one bad point, I find," said Bumpus.
"As how?" asked his companion.
"Why, it keeps on making you all the hungrier; exercise always has thateffect on me. Why, Giraffe, I feel like I could eat a whole ham rightnow."
"Didn't I tell you to let up on that style of talk; you're just makingme groan inside every time you speak of eatin'. We ought to be tryin'our level best to better our condition."
"But I don't know anything that would help us, Giraffe; so it's up toyou to get us out of this ugly hole. Perhaps we might use a shell frommy gun, and by taking out most of the powder, snap it off, and start afire going."
Strange to say, Giraffe did not seem to take to the idea, simple thoughit was; and later on commended by Thad and Allan, when they heard aboutthe trouble. The fact was, Giraffe had suddenly remembered something.
"You leave it to me, and see if I don't pull out a trick worth while,"he remarked mysteriously; and Bumpus saw him turn aside to get down onhis knees.
For some time the fat boy sat there, apparently lost in bitterreflections. Now and then he would give a start, and look around himhastily, after which he would heave a great sigh, or else groandismally. From this it might be assumed that Bumpus was allowing himselfto dwell upon many a glorious supper he had devoured in the company ofhis Boy Scout chums; and just then he was enjoying things the best heknew how, he would remember the desolation that confronted himself andGiraffe.
Then he would pick up one of the two partridges that had fallen to hisnew Marlin ten bore, look critically at it, feel the meat on the plumpbreast; and then shake his head, as though the idea of having to turncannibal, and devour the game raw did not appeal at all to him.
On one occasion, when he aroused himself from this abstraction he becameconscious of a strange humming sound.
"What you doin' there, Giraffe?" he demanded, as the noise certainlyproceeded from the spot where his chum was down on his hands and knees.
"Why, you see," replied the other, slowly, "I fetched my little bow andfire-makin' outfit along with me, thinkin' I might have a chance to trya scheme I got in my head. I'm gettin' right into it now, because I wantto start business before it's real plumb dark!"
But far from reassuring the dejected Bumpus, these words only made himgrunt. Had he not watched Giraffe working away for dear life with thatmis
erable little outfit a dozen times, and always with the sameresult--getting perilously near success, but always missing it by ahair's breadth?
What chance did they have of securing the much desired fire, if alldepended on Giraffe succeeding in inducing that twirling stick togenerate enough heat to throw off a spark that would catch in the drytinder? None at all. It was only a hollow mockery. Some smart scoutsmight be able to do the little trick; but up to now it had baffled theskill of Giraffe. Why, even Thad had lost pretty much all hope of hisever succeeding, Bumpus suspected; and believed that the only good thingabout the tall scout's labors was his persistence.
So, shaking his head again dolefully, Bumpus allowed himself to oncemore figure out a bill of fare that he would like to commence on, if heonly had the good fortune to sit down at a table in a first-classrestaurant. It seemed to give him untold satisfaction just to imaginethe heaping platters that were being brought before him in rapidsuccession. Why, in his vivid imagination he could almost get thedelicious odors of the various dishes that had long been favorites withhim; particularly the liver and bacon and fried onions. Oh! howtantalizing to suddenly arouse himself with a start, to look around atthe rapidly darkening scene of those lonely pine woods, and hear,instead of the waiter's cheery voice, only that continual grindingsound, as the boy with the never-give-up nature kept sawing away withhis miserable little bow; and the poor stick kept whirling back andforwards with a violent motion, in the socket that held one end.
In the estimation of Bumpus, that was coming down from the sublime tothe ridiculous. He had little confidence in all this labor of Giraffe;though goodness knows, that if ever success would prove a boon to acouple of stranded hunters caught in the darkness of a wintry night,with not a match in their possession, it was then.