CHAPTER XXXIV
_In the Hands of the Enemy_
Weary as they were with their over-energetic day's work, the boys wentto bed early that night--all of them but Tom. That tireless Nimrod hadfound a bear's den the day before and was minded to go out and watch forthe bear that inhabited it. "Your bear is a night prowler," he said,"and if I can catch this one going out of his den or into it to-night,I'll bring home a supply of meat. We're a trifle short of that commodityjust now."
Several of the boys wanted to go with Tom, and the lieutenant, who haddined with them that evening, wanted to send two soldiers as hisassistants.
"No," said Tom, "I don't want anybody with me. We'd inevitably talk, andthen we'd never see a bear. I'll go alone."
With that he took his rifle and went out into the darkness, while therest of the boys went to bed and to sleep.
As he neared the bear den which he had discovered during the day andidentified by tracks, Tom moved very cautiously, making no noise, and,secreting himself between two rock masses, lay down to awaitdevelopments.
Hour after hour passed, and there were none. Still Tom maintained anattitude of alert attention.
Presently a great light appeared over a spur of the mountain, in thedirection of Camp Venture.
"There's something the matter over there," said Tom to himself, "butwith all those soldiers there they don't need me half as much as theyneed a bear."
Just at that moment--it was about three o'clock in the morning--Tomheard a crackling of sticks near at hand, and a moment later a greatblack bear came waddling and lumbering along on his way to the den.
With that instinct of humorous perception which was strong in Tom, hecould not help likening the belated beast to a convivial gentlemanreturning from his club in the small hours.
Then it occurred to him that convivial gentlemen under suchcircumstances are sometimes "held up" at their own door ways, a factwhich still further heightened the resemblance between the two cases. Itnext occurred to Tom that should his shot prove ineffective orimperfectly effective, the bear might get the better of him, asconvivial gentlemen sometimes do with footpads. For, from the point atwhich Tom was lying, there was no avenue of escape except directly inthe path of the bear, and a wounded bear is about as ugly an enemy toencounter as it is possible to find anywhere.
"Moral:" said Tom to himself, "Don't shoot till you've got a bead on avital point. Fortunately this rifle has an 'initial velocity' as theycall it, which will send a bullet through the thickest skull that anyanimal in the world wears as a breastwork to his brains."
Of course Tom would have preferred to shoot at the animal's heart, butthere was no chance to do that, for at that moment the great beastdiscovered his huntsman and presented his full front to him at adistance of less than ten feet. Another second and the bear would makemince meat of the boy. So Tom taking a hasty aim fired at the animal'sforehead, and the bullet did its work so well that the beast fellinstantly dead.
After waiting for a minute or so to see if any scratching capacityremained in his game, Tom went to the bear and after inspecting itmuttered: "I've shot Ursa Major himself," for the bear was of unusualbulk, greatly the largest Tom had ever seen. "I wonder what the starswill look like now that the constellation of the Great Bear is donefor."
The beast was much too heavy for Tom to carry or even drag to the camp.So he instantly set out in search of assistance. His plan was to go tothe camp and secure three or four soldiers to assist him in transportinghis game. But he had not gone far on his campward journey beforehe was "held up" by three mountaineers. Fortunately one of theparty--apparently its leader--was his own particular mountaineer, theone whom he had set free and who had so generously repaid his favor withgifts of corn and rye meal.
"Now set down, little Tom," said the man; "we wants a little talk withyou."
"All right," said Tom, "I'm ready."
"Well you see, you done tole me an' I done tole the other folks as howyou boys had nothin' whatsomever to do with the revenue officers or thesoldiers."
"That's all right," said Tom. "We haven't had anything to do with them,we haven't spied upon you fellows or molested you in any way."
"But there's a big gang o' soldiers an' revenue officers in your camp."
"Yes, I know that," said Tom. "But are we talking fair and square as wedid before?"
"Yes, fa'r an' squar'," answered the man.
"Very well then, I'll tell you about this matter. We boys don't likeyour illegal occupation up here in the mountains, but it is none of ourbusiness. We have never spied out your stills and certainly we havegiven no information to the revenue officers."
"What did they come up here for then?" asked one of the mountaineer'scompanions.
"They came up to capture us. They had seen the lights of Camp Ventureand had located us. So they thought they had a still sure, and they cameup here to capture it. The first thing they did was to surround us andfire at us in the dark. I explained matters to them and they searchedour camp all over. Then they decided to camp there till they could getsome provisions from down below, and while they were waiting, they askedme to tell them where the stills were so that they might raid them formeal. I knew where some stills were of course, for I've seen a lot sinceI came up here, but I refused to tell them."
"Is that honest Injun, Tom?"
"Yes," answered the boy. "I never tell lies. But you must understand meclearly. I haven't the smallest respect for you moonshiners or for yourbusiness. Under ordinary circumstances I should not hesitate to tell therevenue officers where a still was if I happened to know. But I made abargain with you, Bill Jones. I told you truly that we had come up hereto cut railroad ties and not to interfere with you or your criminalbusiness. I told you that if you'd let us alone we'd let you alone. Wecould have sent a message down the mountain by our chute any day whichwould have brought the soldiers and the revenue people up at once but wedidn't. I had promised you and I have kept my promise."
"Yes," answered Bill Jones, "an' you let me off in a state prison case,jest in time to save my little gal from starvin' to death! I'll neverforgit it, an' I tell you fellers you mustn't hurt little Tom. Ef youdo, I'll stand on his side an' they'll be some ugly work done beforeyou're through with it."
"Well," said one of the men, "he tells a mighty nice, slick story like,an' maybe it's true. But they's jest one question I'd like to ask himafore we close the conversation like."
"Ask me any question you please," said Tom, "and I'll answer it truly. Ihave nothing to conceal, and I never tell lies."
"Well," said the man after discharging a quid of tobacco from furtherservice and biting off a new one to take its place, "what I want to knowis what you'se been doin', out here in the mounting all night like."
"That's easy," said Tom. "I've been killing a bear."
"Where?" asked the man.
"About a quarter of a mile back. You see we're getting short of meatdown there in camp, with all these soldiers quartered upon us."
"Then ef you done got a bear whar is it?" asked the man.
"It is back there, as I tell you, about a quarter of a mile."
"Why didn't you bring it with you?" asked the man.
"Simply because it is too heavy. It is the biggest bear I ever saw. Iwas on my way to camp, when you stopped me, to get some fellows to comeout here and help me drag it."
"Will you show it to us?" asked the man, still incredulously. "Seein'sbelievin' you know."
"Certainly," said Tom. "The little old moon is rising now, and you canget a good look at the bear that I've sat up all night to kill."
He led the way back and at sight of the bear even the incredulous one ofthe party was satisfied.
"Now," spoke up Bill Jones, "we've got jest one thing to do. Ef this baris left here it'll be half et up by varmints afore men can be broughtfrom the camp to carry it in. Fellers we've got to carry it in ferLittle Tom--him what let me go jist in time to save my little gal fromstarvin' when her mother was lyin dead in
the cabin an' fer two days thelittle gal hadn't so much as a bite to eat. We'll drag the bar to thecamp fer Little Tom!"
One of the men offered an objection: "We'll git arrested ef we do," hesaid.
"For what?" asked Tom.
"Why fer moonshining of course."
"But you haven't been caught moonshining. Nobody in camp can accuse youof that or any other crime. Anyhow if you fellows will help me to campwith this bear I pledge you my honor that I'll stand by you and see toit that you're not arrested."
"That's 'nuff sed," said Bill Jones. "Little Tom never goes back on hisword, an' he knows how to manage things. We'll take the bar to camp."
The men assented but with hesitation and obvious reluctance. Seeingtheir hesitation Bill Jones spoke again:
"Now I tell you, you needn't worry the least little bit. I know whereofI speak, as the Bible says, when I tell you that you kin bet all you'vegot on Little Tom Ridsdale. When he says a thing he means it an' when hemeans it he'll do it ef all the eggs in the basket gits broke."
"Thank you Bill," said Tom. "Anyhow I'll see that you fellows get safelyout of our camp or else I'll go with you with my rifle in my hand."
The men seemed satisfied. Seizing the bear they dragged it campwards asthe daylight began to grow strong. Before Camp Venture was reached thesun was well above the horizon, and as they approached Tom gained somenotion of what had happened there and of what the blaze of the nightbefore had signified. But well outside the camp his mountaineers droppedthe bear and bade Tom good bye.
Not a vestige of the house in which the boys had lived all winterremained. Only the smoke of a still smoldering fire marked the placewhere it had been.