Produced by Jim Ludwig
THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE FLYING SQUADRONbyScout Master Robert Shaler
CONTENTS
CHAPTERS I. The Two Wolf Patrol Boys II. A Camp Supper III. The Mysterious Explosion IV. Reading a "Sign" by Torchlight V. The "Fool-Proof" Aeroplane VI. A Red Letter Day in the Woods VII. Bud's Meteor VIII. Uncle Sam's Flying Squadron IX. Friends in Khaki X. Up in a War Monoplane XI. Good-By to the Foreign Spies XII. Home Again
CHAPTER I
THE TWO WOLF PATROL BOYS
"I want to own up that I'm pretty nearly all in and done for!"
"Same here, Bud. The going was tough over that frozen side of oldStormberg mountain. Then we are carrying such loads into the bargain."
"For one, I'm glad we are nearly there, Hugh."
"Yes, another steady pull and we ought to strike the shanty. We aimedto get to it by nightfall, you remember, Bud."
"Yes, and after eating such a big Thanksgiving dinner, we've beenpretty spry to accomplish all we have. Why, I haven't had a pullanything like this since we broke camp last summer up at Pioneer Lake!"
"And we never could have done it only for the lift we got fromFarmer Badgely, going home from market. That put us some miles onthe way. If you've rested enough, Bud, perhaps we would better be onthe move again. The sun is getting close to the diving line, younotice."
"Here goes, then!"
With these words Bud Morgan, first-class scout and one of the leadingboys in the Wolf Patrol, inserted his arms in the loops of the packhe was handling, and managed to heave it on to his sturdy back.
His companion did likewise, for each of them was "toting" much morethan the customary amount of luggage that a scout on the hike wouldcarry with him.
This comrade was an agile chap, about the same weight as Bud, butwith a wide-awake expression on his face that let everybody know inthe start that he was one of those born leaders who forge to thefront through circumstances often beyond their control.
Hugh Hardin was not only leader of the Wolf Patrol. Sometimes he hadbeen deputized to act in place of the regular scout master of thetroop, when Lieutenant Denmead and Assistant Rawson chanced to becalled away and could not serve. So well had Hugh carried out histask on such occasions, it was generally accepted as a foregoneconclusion that in case the latter officer resigned, as he had latelygiven hints of doing, Hugh would be elected in his stead. There mightbe a few boys in the troop, now consisting of four patrols, who wouldprefer to see Alec Sands, leader of the Otters, placed in that elevatedposition, but his popularity was confined to his particular chums,while that of Hugh embraced members of every patrol.
On this day, Hugh and Bud had started from home immediately afterpartaking of a glorious Thanksgiving feast. As all preparations hadbeen made for this trip up into the wilderness many miles above thehome town, it was evident that they had a particular object in view;which, in fact, was the case.
Bud Morgan was rather given to conjuring up new and sometimesstartling inventions. These he usually tried upon some of his matesand not always in a fashion to add to their peace of mind, either.On more than one occasion in the past they had been suddenlyconfronted by some innovation that for the moment rather demoralizedthe valiant wearers of the scout khaki.
Bud had not been very successful in his wonderful inventions. Theywere apt to disappoint him in the severe testing out. Theory mightbe all very well, but when it came to practice there was generallya screw loose in his figuring that could not be tightened; and, inconsequence, trouble often perched on Bud's shoulders.
During the late summer and early autumn he had been working on someidea that seemed to have taken hold of his mind to a greater extentthan any previous effort had ever done. His chums knew of it, butno one had been able to coax Bud to let them share his confidence.
When the time came that Bud could not contain his secret any longer,he had gone to the leader of his patrol and confessed. At the sametime he managed to interest Hugh to such an extent that the otherpromised to go off with him during the few days of grace granted bythe school authorities around "turkey-eating time" in late November,so as to give his new invention at least a fair trial.
And this was why they had started so soon after the annual big dinner,which fact in itself spoke volumes for the grit and determinationof the two lads. Few boys would have been in condition to walk threemiles during the balance of the day.
They knew one fellow at least, Billy Worth, also a Wolf scout, whowas so fond of eating that doubtless at this very moment he wasstretched out at full length on the sofa in his den at home, tryingto figure how ever he could partake of supper after disposing of sucha stupendous amount of turkey and fixings.
In the previous stories of this series, the reader who may have beenfortunate enough to peruse them has come to know both Hugh and Budpretty well. They have been followed through many adventurescalculated to prove their worth as scouts, and, taken on the whole,it will be admitted that in most cases the boys carried off thehonors. In the Wolf patrol, as well as among the Otters, Hawks,and Foxes, there were other lads who were also animated by thesame sort of progressive spirit, and who never allowed an opportunityto improve their minds or to broaden their knowledge of Natureescape them.
After taking up their heavy burdens again, Hugh and his comradewalked on for some time through the woods. The leaves were welloff the trees, though the oaks still held their brown mantle, beingthe very last to shed their summer coat. It had frozen quite hardfor several nights previous, and some of the town boys had cherishedvague hopes that there might be ice for the Thanksgiving holidays, acustom that used to prevail years before, according to the accountsgiven by their parents. As yet, however, only a covering an inchor so thick had settled on the ponds, and of course the running rivershowed no signs of congealing, so that skating would have to bepostponed to a later date.
Around the two scouts there lay a complete wilderness of trees. Hadthey searched high and low it is doubtful whether they could havefound a more lonely spot within twenty miles of home.
Stormberg Mountain, on which many of their previous adventures hadtaken place, reared its peak on the right; and Rainbow Lake waswithin two miles of their present location. In selecting this placefor their little outing, Bud had probably figured that the chancesof their being disturbed or spied upon by any of the curious townboys would be very slight. And, like all modest inventors, Bud wasvery shy about showing off until he could be certain that he hadactually something worth talking about to display.
The sun had seemed to hesitate upon the horizon, but now it took asudden dip below the earth's rim, and Bud exclaimed:
"Say, did you see the sun just slide out of sight then, as though hewas ashamed to leave us in the dark? This place has all grown upsince I was here last, so I hope we'll get to the shack before nightreally sets in."
"We will all right, Bud, so don't worry any," laughed Hugh, whoseaim it seemed to be to take things as philosophically as possible,especially when they could not be changed. "Right now I'm beginningto recognize some familiar things around us. There is that chestnutthat has thrown out three young suckers. When it gets big, it willmake a land-mark worth talking about. I noticed it the last time Iwas through these woods."
"Yes, like as not," grumbled Bud, who was very tired, "if the oldchestnut bug that's killing all the trees in the next county doesn'tget up here next year and put the kibosh on our fine nut trees forkeeps. Oh! look at that rabbit spin out of that brush pile! He'son the jump, let me tell you! Hugh, I'm beginning to recognize somethings around here, too, that I remember must have been close to theshack. There's the meadow clearing that I had in my mind
whenchoosing to come away up here to try out my latest wonder. Yes, andas sure as anything, I can hear the singing of that little waterfalljust below the big spring."
"It seems to tell _me_ that I'm thirsty enough to stop and get adrink before going on. The shack lies just back of that screen oftrees and bushes, anyway," Hugh remarked, as he turned slightly asideand headed directly toward the quarter from whence that melodioussong arose.
Apparently Bud was of the same mind, for he instantly followed suit.In another minute both scouts had deposited their packs on the hardground and were kneeling at the rim of the little basin where theclear water, bubbling up from the sand, ran away in a busy streamthat as yet had not felt the chilling hand of Jack Frost.
Each boy produced a collapsible metal cup with which he could dipinto the sparkling spring. This is a much better way than bendingdown and sucking in great quantities of water, without knowing whatimpurities may be swallowed. Some scouts on their tramps even carrya small filtering stone such as is used in the army, and this isconsidered a wise precaution by thoughtful scout masters.
"Well, that tastes pretty fine," remarked Bud, after he had drunk hisfill and carefully replaced his cup in its receptacle; "and now toget under cover. I reckon the very first thing we ought to attendto is getting a supply of wood indoors, so as to make the old shantyfeel comfortable. I never think of a camp without seeing a campfire as the best thing in it. It is that that binds scouts togethermore than any other part of the outdoor game, I think. Does itstrike you that way, too, Hugh?"
"Yes, I came to that conclusion," replied the leader of the Wolfpatrol, "after watching how anxious the boys always were to getplenty of fuel ready long before night came. Then you know afire stands for grub time, too, and that always appeals to scoutswho have done lots of things during the day to tire themselves out."
"That's so, I've had heaps of fun just watching Billy Worth's eyesdance while he hauled firewood into camp. With every armful heseemed to be saying, 'There, that's going to help cook our supperto-night! And we're going to have fried onions, and potatoes andham omelette!' I had half a notion to ask Billy to come along withus on this trip, but somehow I hated to think of the fun he'd pokeat me in case my wonderful invention turned out to be a fizzle,like so many of them have in the past. I knew _you_ wouldn't giveme away, Hugh, if that happened,---and if I lived to tell the tale!Well, I hope I can get my pack on my back again for the last hundredfeet; but it comes harder every time. Thanks awfully for the poke,Hugh; it did the business. Now I'm in harness and ready to go on."
The two weary scouts staggered more or less as they started to pushthrough the last barrier of trees and brush. They knew that theywould speedily discover the long deserted shack there among thesecond growth thicket of young trees. Indeed, it was hardly halfa minute later when Bud came to a sudden halt, at the same timesaying in a hoarse whisper:
"Hugh, look there, will you? There's a light in the shanty! Whatdo you think of the meanness of that? After we've come all theway up here just to keep to ourselves, then to find somebody campingon the ground! Shucks! It makes me feel as if it was a bad omen,and right in the start, too!"