CHAPTER XV
THE FIRE VIGIL
When the sound of their snow-shoes crunching over the surface of thedrifts came to the ears of Lub, still seated there on the log, he wasseen to start, and half raise his gun, while he evidently gave some sortof signal, for X-Ray came rushing out of the shack, also armed.
At discovering that there was no sudden peril both the defenders of thecamp laughed at their fears.
"Welcome back, fellows!" sang out Lub; "didn't expect you so soon, andsupper is not even started yet. But after we've heard your report we'llget busy."
"Did you go all the way over?" asked X-Ray, eagerly.
"We sure did," replied Ethan.
"And perhaps now you learned what the row was about?" continued Lub.
"They were having a dance," said Ethan, with a suggestive grin.
"It must have been because they were half drunk, then," sneered X-Ray.
"Nope; perfectly sober, so far as we could learn from their _chef_. Yousee, Mr. Bodman and his two sportsmen guests were coaxed to dance_against their will_. Every time a gun went off, and the bullet kickedup the snow and dirt near their feet they had to jump all the harder!"
Of course it was Ethan's object to arouse the wonder of the other pair,and to judge from the puzzled expression on their faces he had alreadysucceeded in doing so.
"Oh! come on, and tell us all about it," said Lub.
At that the two returned scouts found places on the log, and started torelate how they had come upon the panic-stricken _chef_, who by degreeshad told the whole remarkable happening, beginning with his mistake inscalding a stray dog under the impression that it was a prowling wolf,down to the minute they came upon him hiding there, and afraid to goback to the camp lest he be confronted with that furious giant of awoodsman, wild to avenge the insult to his four-footed pet.
Never had Lub and X-Ray listened to a more curious and thrilling story.They almost held their very breath as they hung upon every word, with alook of intense interest stamped on their faces.
"Now," said Phil, when everything they had learned had been told, "whatdo you two think about it? Was the Terrible Badger the man we've beenhearing so much about since coming up here--Baylay?"
"Must be that he is," announced X-Ray, promptly.
"Well, the indications all point that way," Lub remarked, in his slowfashion, as though he might be still weighing things in his mind. "Thereare so few persons up around here that it couldn't well be any one else.So we'll have to take it for granted the owner of the dog is Baylay."
"Hurra! since Lub has finally figured it out the rest of us needn'tbother about it any more. Lub has settled the thing beyond all dispute,"laughed Ethan.
"Well, I guess you'll find that I'm right," ventured Lub, who often tookhimself very seriously, and in this way sometimes intensified the joke.
"How about that grub, _chef_?" asked Ethan; "that little tramp seems tohave put an edge on my appetite."
"Huh! as if it wasn't always sharp enough," Lub told him; "but ifthere's nothing more to listen to I suppose I might as well get busy.You see, I've got a pot of beans cooking there, which has been on more'ntwo hours, so I should think the things would be fairly done. And alongwith that we're going to have some fried ham, with eggs to follow,coffee, cakes, and then crackers and cheese for those who feel thatway."
"Well, if it will hurry things up any I'm ready to pitch in and helpyou, _chef_," Ethan told him.
"Get some more wood, then!" ordered Lub, "and be careful about thatbean-pot. I hung it across on that iron rod from two stakes withcrotches on top, but it is a little shaky. If you spill the beans yourname will be Dennis, I warn you."
"He'd better cut a hole in the ice and drown himself if he's thatclumsy," warned X-Ray; "for after smelling those beans cooking all thistime it would make me pretty cross if I was cheated out of having threemesses for supper."
Somehow even tender-hearted Lub had not been heard to express anythinglike sorrow on account of what had happened over at the other camp. Infact all of them seemed to be of the one mind; and to think that itserved the bossy millionaire about right to be ordered around a little,and made to dance a hornpipe at the dictation of the terror of the pinewoods.
According to their notion it was a dose of his own medicine Mr. JamesBodman had been compelled to take. No doubt many a time he had by hisbrutal methods of frenzied finance compelled others to dance to hisfiddling; and now he knew how it felt himself.
Indeed, X-Ray was filled with only one keen regret. He would have givenalmost anything for the pleasure of being in position to see what theFrench _chef_ had so aptly described.
"Just to think of that red-faced fat old fellow dancing as the bulletsplowed up the snow close to his toes!" he was heard to say; "I can seehim jumping up and down like mad, cracking his heels together, puffinglike a winded nag, and screaming his threats at the man who was treatinghim as if he were only a common every-day ten dollar a week clerk,instead of the great American millionaire. Wow! it must have been rich,though!"
They could talk of nothing else all evening. No matter what subject wasbroached some one was sure to bring it back to the one intenselyinteresting topic.
It seemed to be the consensus of opinion among them that Phil was rightwhen he figured that Baylay could not have been home before he visitedthe other camp. If he had known of his child's vanishing in the greatsnow forest he would hardly have bothered himself seeking revenge forthe injury to his dog. On the contrary it was more than likely he wouldhave besought the inmates of the camp to come to his assistance intrying to find the child, even though all hope of the little one beingstill alive must be abandoned.
"I wonder if we will see him here, sooner or later?" Lub ventured tosay, and then giving his little charge a benevolent look he continued:"If he could only up and tell us things it'd make it so much easier.Sometimes seems to me the boy knows what I'm saying to him, and triesthe best he can to answer, but as yet I haven't mastered his signlanguage. Chances are his mammy would know everything he wants to tell."
"He's gone to sleep now," remarked Phil, "after that fine supper he putaway. One thing sure, he hasn't lost his appetite even if he has hisfolks."
"Can you blame the little shaver?" said Lub, quickly; "like as not it'sbeen a long spell since he's seen such grub as we put before him, andplenty of it at that. Up here the guides are in the habit of taking whatthey call pot-luck; one day plenty of meat on hand, and another time thepot is pretty nearly empty."
"X-Ray, don't you want to come out with me for a short time?" asked Philas he got on his feet.
"Sure I do," the other replied, without the slightest hesitation in hismanner or speech; "what's doing now, Phil?"
"Oh! you remember I said I had found several places where certain smallfur-bearing animals live. An old trapper would say they '_use_' theground where their tracks show. Well, I want to get some flashlightpictures of the same, and it's to lay my trap that I'm going out now."
"Glad you don't think of going alone, Phil," remarked Lub, seriously.
"Why, do you think I might run up against a wolf pack, and have to climba tree to save myself from their teeth?" laughed Phil, as he slung thecamera over his shoulder, and then picked up his repeating rifle.
"Well, it wasn't so much that as the chance of your meeting some of theugly crowd from the other camp that made me say what I did," Lubcontinued. "Any lot of people who could get down so low as to try andburn a party of boys out of their shack, just for petty spite, would becapable of doing pretty nearly anything."
At that both Phil and Ethan laughed loudly.
"Make your mind easy about that millionaire and his party!" exclaimedthe latter, "they've had enough experience with the Terrible Baylay todo them a life-time. I rather think they'll be afraid to venture faraway from their old camp the rest of the time they're up here. Fact is,it wouldn't surprise me a whit if they packed up and vacated inside oftwenty-four hours."
"And you're saying just what
was in my mind, too, Ethan," Phil added."Not one of those three wealthy men could be tempted to get away fromthe fire this night; and I rather think they'll take a dislike to thewhole neighborhood. They haven't been very lucky since coming here."
"Not in getting their caribou, anyway," said X-Ray, uproariously, as heallowed his thoughts to go back to the time when he and Phil offeredtheir leavings to the domineering financier, after he tried to make outhe had first claim to the quarry that had been brought down.
As Phil had made all his preparations beforehand they experienced littledifficulty in placing the trap. It was so arranged that the mink couldnot possibly get the attractive bait without setting the flashlightcartridge off; and if everything worked well his picture would be takenas neatly as though the photographer were present in person tosuperintend things.
"I hope this will be the beginning of a series of successful jobs alongthis same line," Phil was saying, as after arranging things to suit hisideas they headed in the direction of camp once more.
"You haven't given up the idea of visiting that beaver settlement, Ihope, Phil?"
"Just as soon as we get the boy off our hands we'll take it up," he wastold.
"While that is hanging over us I'd rather stay near home; becausewhether Baylay comes in the dead of night, or by the light of the sun Iwant to be there to meet him."
"And the rest of us would rather have it that way, I'm sure," admittedEthan, which was enough in itself to show how the balance of theMountain Boys had come to depend on Phil as their leader. "But if youfeel so sure none of that crowd will venture out to-night, is that goingto make any change in our regular program of keeping watch, Phil?"
"No, I don't see why it should," came the ready response. "It's a goodhabit to get into, and the more we practice it the better we can standour stint without feeling like going to sleep on post."
"I half expect you're looking for a visit from Baylay," ventured Ethan,shrewdly.
"That depends a good deal on whether he knows about our being here," hewas told.
"If he didn't happen to see our smoke, or run across McNab when thefarmer was getting out of the bush, of course he wouldn't be apt to comethis way. In that event the man would spend all his time scouting thesnow woods around the place where we picked up the kid."
"He must be a smart tracker, Phil?"
"It stands to reason that he is," replied the other; "and I can give agood guess why you say that, Ethan. You think he may try to follow theboy from the time he started out, with his little popgun under his arm,just as he had seen his daddy go forth many a time on a hunt for freshmeat."
"If he did, and the wind hasn't drifted the dry snow so as to cover thetrail all up, why in the course of time he'd reach the spot where wefound the kid; and as the trail ended there he might guess somebody hadfound him, or else the wolves had carried the boy off."
"That's true enough, Ethan; but as the wind has been blowing more orless ever since, and the snow is like powder, I'm afraid that trail ofthe boy has been covered long ago. Even the smartest tracker couldn'tkeep it long. But we'll have to wait and see what turns up."
They sat there before the fire for a long time. There was so much totalk about that the time passed before they knew it. Lub had some whilesince managed to get his little charge tucked away under the capaciousblanket, and he now declared his intention of joining him.
Phil insisted upon taking the first watch on this particular night, andwhile the other pair may have had some idea as to what his reason wasthey did not ask any questions.
"You'll wake me in good time, remember, Phil," had been the last wordsof X-Ray as he smothered a tremendous yawn; and then followed Ethanunder his blanket.
Phil sat there watching the fire, which he meant to keep burningcheerfully all through his time on guard. If any one were heading forthe camp through the snow woods that welcome pyramid of flame wouldserve as a guidepost to their steps. And somehow Phil seemed to have theutmost confidence that sooner or later his vigilance would be rewarded.
An hour, two of them almost had passed, and beyond the customary noisesof the night nothing had broken upon his hearing. The wind murmured andfretted among the pine-tops; or a limb creaked mournfully as it scrapedacross another. A snow owl called to its mate in the deeper recesses ofthe woods; perhaps some daring little creatures came creeping fromunknown recesses under various roots, and hunted for crumbs of food nearthe camp.
Then Phil raised his head to listen. He smiled, and nodded, as thoughsatisfied his long vigil was about to be rewarded.
Yes, plainly now he caught the peculiar crunch of advancing snow-shoes.The sound came from the quarter away from the lake; and it was in thatdirection they believed the waif's people had their lonely cabin, deepin the recesses of the bush, so that only with the greatest difficultycould any venturesome game warden ever find the home of the poacher whoscorned all their warnings, and defied arrest.
Nearer the sounds came. Whoever it was advancing he was apparently in adesperate hurry; and that seemed to fit in with Phil's way of figuring.Indeed, with the fate of that little darling of a boy hung up in thebalance he could not see how any father who cared at all for his childwould linger on the snow-shoe trail.
Phil arose quietly to his feet. The sounds were close at hand as a hugeform loomed up in the light of the firelight; and Phil drew a breath ofrelief as he realized that the crisis had come; for that could be noother than the poacher Baylay, come to ask in his anguish if they hadseen the lost boy.
CHAPTER XVI
BAYLAY'S HOME-COMING--CONCLUSION
As Phil stood there, he saw the big man who had terrorized the Bodmancamp so recently, swiftly advance.
There was no evidence of braggadocio about Baylay now. He had a gun inhis hand, but this he held up as though to let those in the campunderstand that he came in peace.
Phil wanted the other to show his colors. Great was his amazement whenhe caught a half-choked appealing emotion in the other's tones.Evidently all the fight had been suddenly taken from Anson Baylay whenhe arrived home and learned of his terrible loss.
"I'm acomin' to ask ye to help me," he started to say. "I can't find himin the snow; an' ma says p'raps _somebody_ might a picked him up. Ihopes so, sure, 'cause we sets a store by the kid. Hev ye seen myKinney?"
"Are you the man they call the Terrible Baylay?" asked Phil.
"Anson Baylay is my name, but I ain't so terrible; seein' I feel as weakas a cat, 'cause o' this thing that's happened; an' wi' ma acryin' herhead off. But ye ain't tole me yit if ye seen a sign o' my lettle boyKinney. Tell me the wost, stranger; I kin stand it; but I sure hate tofetch the news hum to her."
"Is Kinney a little boy with yellow hair and blue eyes?" asked Phil.
"Yes, yes, that's him!" gasped the giant, thrusting out a trembling handand gripping the boy by the arm so that Phil winced.
"Don't squeeze my arm like that, Baylay," he said, hastily; "you may notmean to hurt but all the same you do. Tell me, is Kinney tongue-tied, sothat he can't say a word?"
"That's what he is, mister; but the dearest little cub as ever was born!Does you mean to tell me ye seen him?" cried Baylay.
"Kinney's safe and sound, Baylay, and I guess that's the best news youever had," Phil hastened to say, for he saw that the man was sufferingtortures in his hopes and fears.
With that the giant gave a sigh that must have welled up from his heart."Is he here with ye, mister?" he managed to ask, tremulously.
"He's sound asleep in our shack here," said Phil; "we ran on him in thewoods. He had gone out hunting, with his little popgun. When he foundhimself lost and getting very cold the brave little chap tried the besthe knew how to start a fire, but the deep snow kept him from finding theright sort of kindling. He had given up when we ran across him,attracted by his moaning. But we came up just in time."
"Take me to him, mister, _please_ take me to him. I can't believe it'less I see him, and 'less I feel him. I sure thought he was gone awayfrom us forever. And
my heart is ahungerin' for Kinney. We got otherkids, but there be only one Kinney!"
Phil could not resist. He knew the big logger would have rushed into theshack anyway, even if he had declined to wake the others up.
"Wait here, and I'll fetch the boy," he said.
First he threw on some more wood, so that the fire would start afresh.Then, entering he bent over each of his comrades, saying:
"Wake up, and come out; he's here!"
As Lub started to crawl from under his blanket Phil reached over andpicking up the now wideawake little lad he said close to his ear:
"Daddy's come for you, Kinney; he's outside here waiting to hug you!"
They all came tumbling out in a bunch, eager to witness the meetingbetween their little ward and his terrible father.
When Lub saw the man fiercely hugging the little mite, with the child'sarms pressed around his neck, he stood there staring, and Phil heard himsay to himself wonderingly:
"And they call that big-hearted man the _Terrible_ Baylay, do they?Well, I guess after all he's only a bluff, and just the same as anyother fellow. Why, honest to goodness I do believe there are real tearsrolling down his cheeks right now."
But Phil knew it was the power of love making this giant as a child.
"You must stay the rest of the night with us," he told the giant, "andin the morning some of us will go with you to your cabin. We want tomeet the mother of the boy, because we've got something to propose thatwill be a blessing to you and to Kinney."
At first Baylay wanted to carry the good news to the mother. But Philtold him he must consider the boy.
Then Baylay thought of going alone to take the joyful tidings to thegrieving heart in that lonely cabin; but he lacked the nerve to tearhimself away from the little chap whose arms were about his big neck andwhose kisses were pressing on his bearded cheek.
Consequently he finally agreed to remain, and since sleep woulddoubtless refuse to come to any of them during the balance of thateventful night they sat there by the fire and talked.
Phil believed he knew of a plan whereby a certain cherished scheme ofhis own could be put through, with Baylay as the manager of the farm onwhich Phil meant to try and breed the valuable silver black foxes, withtheir pelts worth fortunes.
He even mentioned this to the former guide, trapper, and logger, anddiscovering that Baylay was fully posted as to every detail, Phil made aproposition to him, which was joyfully accepted.
When morning came Lub had plenty of assistance in getting a hurriedbreakfast, and that finished they prepared to start forth.
However, in due time the whole party managed to reach the isolated cabinwhere Anson Baylay lived.
When they saw little Kinney safe in the arms of his mother, who wasalmost wild with joy, it was noticeable how each of the boys found itnecessary to turn aside and wink violently as they pretended to belooking at something which had suddenly attracted their attention.
As they sat at the homely table in that cabin and the face of thepoacher's happy wife beamed with smiles, Phil gently took up the othersubject.
When those parents learned that there was a strong possibility of anoperation giving their afflicted child the blessed power of speech; andthat these splendid boys offered to stand all the expense, taking Kinneyand his mother with them to Montreal for the occasion, they could notfind words to express the deep gratitude that filled their hearts.
So it was settled, and when the time came for the Mountain Boys todepart the Baylay family would go with them to civilization, where Ansoncould keep in touch with his new employer from time to time. Then themother and Kinney would accompany Phil and his chums as far as Montreal.
Phil managed to get his striking picture of a great bull moose; andEthan on his part shot the monster later on, so that he could have thehorns as a trophy of his skill.
They no longer saw Mr. James Bodman and his party, as the Saguenay Rivercountry had become too unpleasant for them.
Finally Tammis McNab came with his sledge and ponies. It was crowdingmatters to take them all, but he landed them safely at the town, wherethey could be transported to the St. Lawrence.
In due time the boys arrived in Montreal with Mrs. Baylay and Kinney. Afamous surgeon told them there would be no difficulty whatever inperforming a successful operation; and that inside of a few months noone would ever know the child had had any difficulty in enunciating.
"Well," said Lub, when with his three chums he made himself comfortablein the Pullman car at the Montreal station, and were about to enter uponthe last lap of the homeward journey; "I kind of think this has been themost remarkable of all our trips. And I wonder where the next one willtake us."
"Nobody can say just now," laughed Phil. "Our vacation is near an end,and we'll soon be hard at work again; but no matter where the MountainBoys go they know how to take care of themselves."
In this happy mood, then, did Phil and his chums go back to their homesin Brewster, satisfied that they had a glorious time during theirsnow-shoe trip to the wilds of Canada, and not regretting for a singleminute they had undertaken the long journey.
It was to be expected that the Mountain Boys would enjoy other outingsof a similar character; and the author only hopes it will be hispleasing duty to chronicle their doings for the benefit of the manyyoung friends who have followed their fortunes through the pages of thisand the preceding books of the series.
THE END
THE MOUNTAIN BOYS SERIES
1. Phil Bradley's Mountain Boys 2. Phil Bradley at the Wheel 3. Phil Bradley's Shooting Box 4. Phil Bradley's Snow-Shoe Trail
These books describe with interesting detail the experiences of a partyof boys among the mountain pines.
They teach the young reader how to protect himself against the elements,what to do and what to avoid, and above all to become self-reliant andmanly.
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THE HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS
A Series of Books for Boys By Capt. Alan Douglas, Scout-master
The Campfires of the Wolf Patrol
Their first camping experience affords the scouts splendid opportunities to use their recently acquired knowledge in a practical way. Elmer Chenoweth, a lad from the northwest woods, astonishes everyone by his familiarity with camp life. A clean, wholesome story every boy should read.
Woodcraft; or, How a Patrol Leader Made Good
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Pathfinder; or, The Missing Tenderfoot
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Fast Nine; or, a Challenge from Fairfield
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Endurance Test; or, How Clear Grit Won the Day
Few stories "get" us more than illustrations of pluck in the face of apparent failure. Our heroes show the stuff they are made of and surprise their most ardent admirers. One of the best stories Captain Douglas has written.
Under Canvas; or, The Hunt for the Cartaret Ghost
It was hard to disbelieve the evidence of their eyes but the boys by the exercise of common-sense solved a mystery which had long puzzled older heads.
Storm-bound; or, a Vacation Among the Snow Drifts
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Boy Scout Nature Lore to be Found in The Hickory Ridge Boy Scout Series,all illustrated:--
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