CHAPTER III
THE CAMP ON THE LAKE SHORE
"Why, it's only a big owl!" shouted Giraffe.
"Hey, Davy, shake hands with your yellow-eyed panther!" roared Step Hen.
Bumpus snatched up his bugle, for he held that office in the CranfordTroop, and let out a piercing series of blasts that would haveundoubtedly frightened any wild animal, had there been such within amile of the camp on the lake shore.
It was a large owl that Thad grasped in such fashion that the bird couldnot reach him with its curved beak, though it made several viciouslunges, as though anxious to fight the whole patrol at once.
He had kept it hidden under his coat when descending the tree, and nowgripped it firmly by its two splendidly colored wings.
"Well, it did have yellow eyes, all right," complained the dejectedDavy; "and as it stuck there in that black hole, how was I to know itwas only a harmless old owl, a hooter at that?"
"If you think he's harmless just try and lay a finger on him," saidThad. "Why, he'd snap you like lightning; once let that beak strike, andyou'd lose a piece of skin as big as a half dollar. He's a savage bird,let me warn you."
"Oh! say, can't we, keep him for a pet?" ejaculated Bumpus, who couldhardly take his eyes off the bird, for its plumage was certainlybeautiful, being a combination of creamy yellows and nut browns, whiletwo bunches stuck up like horns from the region of his ears.
"I've got a nice little chain we might put around one of his legs, andwhat fun we'd have with the thing while we were afloat on the raginglake," Step Hen went on to say.
"Allan, get on that thick pair of gloves we brought, and see if youcould fasten the chain to his leg. It would be worth while to have somesort of pet along with us; because Bumpus has kicked over the traceslong ago, and won't let us make a baby out of him any more," Thad wenton to remark.
When he had protected his hands in this way, Allan had little difficultyin adjusting the slender but strong steel chain which Step Hen hadbrought with him, intending to use in case he managed to capture araccoon, or some other small beast, for he was especially found of pets.
When they had fastened the other end of the chain to something, the owlsat on the limb of a tree, and gazed at them with blinking eyes. Therewas still enough of daylight, with all that glow in the western heavensto interfere with his sight more or less, and he simply ruffled up hisfeathers in high dudgeon, and kept trying to pick at the chain that heldhis leg.
"Now, that's what I call a pretty good start," argued Step Hen, as hestood in front of the chained owl, and admired his plumage; "perhapslater on I might happen to land a 'coon or a mink, who knows. I'vealways believed that I'd like to have a pet mink, though somebody toldme they couldn't be tamed."
"Yes," went on Giraffe scornfully, "if you had your way the whole boat'dbe a floating menagerie, you've got such a liking for pets. The minkwould soon be joined by a 'possum; then would come a pair of muskrats;after which we'd expect to find a fox under our feet every time westepped; a wolverine growling like fun at us when we made the leastmove; a squirrel climbing all over us; a heron perched on the garboardstreak, whatever that might be; and mebbe a baby bear rolling on thedeck. All them things are possible, once Step Hen gets started on hiscollecting stunt."
"Well, forget it now, won't you, Giraffe, because there goes Bumpusputting supper on the fire; and unless you look sharp he'll just cutdown your ration till you'll only get as much as any two of us," advisedStep Hen.
In spite of all these little encounters of wit, and the sharp thingsthat were sometimes said, boy fashion, these six churns were as fond ofeach other as any lads could possibly be. There was hardly anythingthey would not have done for one another, given the opportunity; andthis had been proved many times in the past.
While they were fond of joking the tall scout on his appetite, truth totell every one of the others could display a pretty good stowagecapacity when it came to disposing of the meals. And so they were allanxious to help Bumpus when he started getting the camp supper ready.
Besides these six lads there were of course two others who went to, makeup the full complement; of the Silver Fox Patrol; and who have figuredin previous stories of this series.
These boys were named Robert Quail White, who was Southern born, andwent by the name of "Bob White," among his friends; and Edmund MauriceTravers Smith, conveniently shortened to plain "Smithy."
These two had taken a different route to the lake, and expected to meettheir six churns at a given rendezvous. They were intending also tomake use of another boat, since the one engaged for the party would onlyaccommodate seven at a pinch, and counting the scout-master they wouldhave numbered nine individuals in all.
The other two had found that they wanted to see the wonderful Soo Canal,and the rapids that the St. Mary river boasts at that point, where thepent-up waters of Superior rush through the St. Mary's river to helpswell the other Great Lakes, and eventually pass through the St.Lawrence river to the sea.
It is no joke cooking for half a dozen hungry scouts, and the one whoseduty compelled him to be the chef for a day had to count on filling thecapacity of coffee-pot and frying-pans, of which latter there were two.
Evening had settled down upon them by the time they were ready to enjoythe supper of Boston baked beans, fried onions with the steak that hadbeen procured at the last town they had passed through; crackers, somebread that one of them toasted to a beautiful brown color alongside thefire, and almost scorched his face in the bargain; and the whole flankedby the coffee which was "like ambrosia," their absent chum Smithy wouldhave said, until they dashed some of the contents of the evaporatedcream into each tin cup, along with lumps of sugar.
"This is what I call living," sighed Giraffe, as he craned his neckvisibly in the endeavor to see, whether there was a third "helping" leftin the pan for "manners," which was another name for Conrad Stedman.
"Hadn't we better save this piece of steak for Tim?" suggested Step Hen,wickedly, for that was the name he had given to the captive owl.
"No, you don't," objected Giraffe, vociferously, just as the other hadknown he would do; "that's the very last beef steak we're apt to see forhalf a moon; and I say it would be a shame to waste it on a heathenbird. Besides, you couldn't coax Jim to take a bite till he's nearlystarved; ain't that so, Thad?"
They always appealed to either the assistant scout-master or Allan,whenever any question like this came up, connected with bird or animallore; and no matter how puzzling the matter might seem to the one whoasked, it was promptly answered in nearly every instance.
"Yes, he isn't likely to take hold for a day or two," replied Thad. "Bythat time the old fellow will sort of get used to seeing us about; andhe won't refuse to eat when you put something out for him; only all ofyou be careful that he doesn't prefer a piece out of your hand. Don'ttrust him ever!"
"You can make up your mind I won't give him a chance to grab me,"asserted Bumpus, never dreaming that by accident he would be the veryfirst to feel the force of that curved beak.
"Listen!" exclaimed Step Hen; "as sure as anything there's another!Why, this must be what you might call Owl-land."
From far away in the timber came the plain sound of hooting. All of thescouts knew what it was easily enough, though there had been a time whenthey were real tenderfeet, and could hardly distinguish between the callof an owl and the braying of a donkey; but camping-out experience haddone away with all such ignorance as that.
"There, don't that make you feel foolish, Step Hen?" demanded Bumpus.
"Me? Whatever put that silly notion into your head, Bumpus?"
"Why," the other went on to say reproachfully, "it was you that reallywanted to keep the poor old bird; and just listen to its mate mourningfor it, would you? I'd think you'd feel so sorry you'd want to unfastenthat chain right away, and give the owl its freedom."
"Not for Joseph, though I'll let you go and undo his chain if you feelinclined that way," Step Hen observed, knowing full well
that Bumpus didnot want to see the feathered captive set free quite that bad."Besides, how d'ye know that's a mate to my bird whooping it up backthere?"
"Well, if you want to find out, just you sleep with one eye open,"Bumpus told him; "and take it from me you'll see that other owl comewinnowing around here, wanting to know why our new pet don't come whenshe calls."
"Huh! mebbe I will,"' was all Step Hen would say about it; but evidentlythe idea had appealed to him; and there was a chance that he wouldindulge in very little rest that night, for trying to "keep one eye openwhile he slept."
After supper was all over, and the boys lay around on their blankets,they fell to talking of other days when they had been in company, andmet with a great many, surprising adventures.
Then Bumpus, who really had a very fine tenor voice, which he couldstrain so as to sing soprano like a bird, was coaxed to favor them witha number of selections, the others coming in heavy in each chorus.
Sometimes it was a popular ballad of the day that Bumpus gave them; butmore often a school chorus, or it might be some tender Scotch song like"Comin' Through the Rye," "Annie Laurie," or "Twickenham Ferry;" forboys can appreciate such sentiments more than most folks believe; andespecially when in an open air camp, with the breeze sighing through thetrees around them, or the waves murmuring as they wash the sandy shoreof a lake, and the moonlight throwing a magical spell upon all theirsurroundings; for there is the seed of romance in the heart of nearlyevery healthy lad.
So the evening wore on until some of them began to yawn frequently,showing that they were ready to turn in. As one of them had said, thismight be the last time they would camp ashore during trip, because onthe morrow they anticipated, unless something unforeseen came up toprevent it, going aboard their boat, and starting on the cruise upon thebig waters of Superior.
They had no tent on this occasion, but really that was not going toprove any hardship to these bold lads, accustomed to spending many anight in the woods, with only a blanket for a cover against the dew andfrost.
It was arranged to keep the fire going. This would serve in a doublecapacity, for not only would they be kept warm through the cold part ofthe night, but if there did happen to be any wild beasts around in thatsection of the Lake Superior country, which both Allan and Thad ratherdoubted, why, the glow of the blaze was apt to make them keep theirdistance.
The last thing Giraffe remembered, as his heavy eyes persisted inclosing, was seeing Step Hen bob up his head to stare over toward thelow branch upon which the captive owl was fastened; as though he mighthave arranged a program with himself and meant to do this thing atstated intervals all through the night.
Giraffe chuckled at the idea of sacrificing good sleep in the interestof knowledge; he was willing to simply ask some one who knew, and besatisfied to accept their answer as conclusive.
An hour later and the camp seemed to be all quiet, for every one wasapparently sound asleep. Even Thad and Allan had known of no reason whya watch should be maintained, for they felt sure there could hardly be ahuman being within miles of the camp; and even if this were not so, thechances were strongly in favor of its proving to be an honest farmer, orsome miner on his way to the workings further west.
The only sounds that could have been heard from time to time were anoccasional peevish fretful croak from the captive owl, as it continuedto peck savagely at the chain around its leg; or it might be a snorefrom Bumpus, or some other fellow who had a fashion of lying squarely onhis back.
Perhaps pretty soon, when one of the scouts had been kept awake by thisnoise until patience ceased to be a virtue, he would get quietly up, andpour a tin-cup of lake water over the one who persisted in sleeping withhis mouth wide open; for that sort of radical remedy had proveneffective on other occasions, and brought relief.
It must have been almost midnight when a sudden change came about thattook even the seasoned campers by surprise, for they had not beenanticipating any such startling event.
The stillness was broken by a piercing scream that caused every head tobob up, and the blankets to be hurriedly thrown aside.
"My owl's mate has come in on us, mebbe!" exclaimed Step Hen; for thatidea was so firmly lodged in his brain that it had to occur to him assoon as he heard all that row.
But some of the others were wiser, for they knew that shout had surelycome from human lips.
Giraffe was the first to call out and draw their attention to certainfacts.
"Looky there at old Bumpus dancing a jig, will you! Whatever ails thefeller, d'ye think! Acts like he'd clean gone out of his head, and gotloony!" he cried, as with the other boys he came tumbling out from underthe rude shelter made of branches.