CHAPTER II
BESIDE THE FRAGRANT CAMP FIRE
"I heard say that this Baylay had come back to his old haunts; does thatmean he used to live up in this section, Mr. McNab?" asked Phil, alittle later, showing that his thoughts were still fixed upon theunpleasant neighbor they were likely to have during their outing.
"Aweel, he did spend some time up aboot this way," the driver replied."You see, the mon has a family, for all his wild ways, and somehow hemanages to support the wife and childer and a raft o' dogs, though it'sa mystery how he does the same."
"Children you say, and up here in this wilderness?" exclaimed Lub,looking more or less surprised.
"Oh! ay, a pair o' thim I'm tawld, tho' for the matter I couldno' sayfor certain, since I never ha' set eyes on the same. They tell me thatthe wife is a wee sma' woman, but that she has been known to subdue hergiant husband as no mortal man ever dared."
"Gee! I'd like to see her do it, then," asserted X-Ray, impulsively, ofcourse never dreaming at the time that any such opportunity would drifthis way.
When noon came they stopped and made a fire, so as to have hot coffee,which of course every one declared to be very refreshing, for they werechilled more or less by the long inaction.
Then it was on again deeper into the wilderness. The road had beenabandoned for some time, since it turned sharply in the wrong direction,heading for the lumber camp on the river. Besides, the vicinity of sucha place, where trees were falling all day long, and rough loggerscalling out or singing at their labor, could not be reckoned a goodhunting-ground, since the game would be scared away.
As the shadows began to lengthen the boys were cheered by hearing Tammisdeclare they were now close on the spot he had in mind. Once before someyears back he had piloted a hunting-party up here, and from all accountsthe prospects for big game were much better this season than for a longwhile back.
One of Phil's hobbies was along the line of flashlight photography.Indeed, he had become quite fascinated with the idea of "shooting gamewith a camera," and was even losing some of his hunter spirit that haduntil recently been such a pronounced part of his make-up.
He had already made quite a collection of wonderful pictures, andyearned for other worlds to conquer. Some of these days he declared hemeant to take a trip into the fastnesses of Darkest Africa, where hecould snap off the wild animals in their native haunts--elephant, lion,rhinoceros, hippopotamus and every other species of creature that livesin jungle and swamp and forest in the country which Roosevelt hadrecently visited on his great hunt.
Of course Phil expected to add to his collection while on this jaunt;and since Ethan was a born hunter, with X-Ray backing him up, they couldsupply the camp with what fresh meat was necessary, leaving Lub tomanage the culinary department, and lend Phil a helping hand ifnecessary.
The sun was just about an hour high when McNab suddenly drew in hisshaggy team.
"What mair cud ye want than this braw place, laddies?" he demanded, ashe sat there, and swept his hand around in a semi-circle.
Phil followed his movement. He saw that indeed there could hardly be afiner spot for camping. It was on the shore of a lake, and they couldlook far out over the ice-covered surface to where the fir crowned hillscame down to the further shore, fully a mile away.
Situated in the heart of the virgin forest, with the ax of the loggerstill a stranger to the splendid growth of timber, it seemed to offerthem a glorious opportunity for spending their fortnight there in thewilderness.
The boys jumped to the ground, and commenced exercising their arms so asto induce a better circulation of blood.
"No need of that, fellows," laughed Phil; "we're going to have plenty ofthings to do to tire you out before we get settled here. Grab hold, andunload the sledge to begin with. Then all of us must get busy putting upsome sort of temporary shelter for the night, like we did before.To-morrow we can start in to build a more permanent one that will resista blizzard if it comes along."
McNab looked after his team while the Mountain Boys began to get to workunder the direction of their leader; for Phil happened to know a greatdeal more about this sort of thing than any of his three chums.
The merry whack of the two axes they had fetched along told thatpreparations were underway looking to the temporary shelter spoken of byPhil. Lub was quite an adept in building fires for cooking purposes,since he had had considerable practice; accordingly no one interferedwhen he started to roll two logs he had picked out until he had themforming what might be called a V, with a little space separating theends that were close together.
In arranging this he had made sure to leave the broad end toward theprevailing breeze, which at the time was from the west. This insured agood draught, once the fire was lighted; and would also conduce to thecomfort of the cook bending over the coals, as it would blow the pungentsmoke away from his face.
Phil, not knowing what they might strike away up in this section ofCanada, had made sure to purchase certain supplies at a sporting goodsemporium in New York, and which had come to him through the mails. Justwhat these were none of the other boys knew up to the present, thoughPhil had promised to tell them before long.
Of course they had coffee and tea, sugar, biscuits, bacon, salt pork,beans, rice, some canned goods and like things. And at McNab's they hadbeen fortunate enough to lay in quite a supply of butter and fresh eggs,that might last through half of their expected two weeks in the woods.
By the time darkness began to gather the shelter for the night had beencompleted, and they clustered around the fire intending to take thingseasy, as well as eagerly sniff the tempting odors that were beginning topermeate the neighboring atmosphere.
"Now is the chance to tell us, Phil, what under the sun you have in thatbig package you got from New York City before we left home," suggestedX-Ray, who did not like to have anything that was connected with amystery go long unexplained.
"Well, I suppose I had better keep my promise," laughed Phil, startingto cut the cords that bound the package in question; "or else you willhave a fit. There never could be a secret when you were around."
"Oh! I don't know about that," muttered X-Ray, giving Phil a wink, andthen looking blandly toward the unconscious Ethan who did not dream thathe was concerned in the matter in the least.
"Well, these are some of the concentrated foods that are used byprospectors and Arctic explorers, who can carry but a small pack ontheir backs, and yet may starve to death for all the game they can get.They are splendid in their way, I'm told, though I must confess thatoutside of the condensed milk and the soups I never tasted any of thesethings. I know what they are, though."
The boys commenced examining the various articles for themselves.
"Now tell me what the dickens _erbswurst_ can be?" demanded Ethan as hetook up a strange roll that must have weighed several pounds, and lookedlike a sausage.
"Oh! that's in common use in Germany, especially in the army. It is madeof concentrated pea-meal ready to use, and with other vegetables, andsome dried meat mixed in with it. You can eat it as it is, or made intoa soup it is very fine, and will sustain life better than almost anyother thing you could find."
"And what is this queer looking can that has a label telling that it isself-heating; explain to me how can that be?" asked X-Ray Tyson.
"That is really a wonderful discovery, and duck hunters shivering intheir blind, on a winter morning, balloonists far up among the clouds,and all persons who need something warm to take away their shakyfeeling, but can't have a fire, find a great boon in those soups."
"But how can it be self-heating I'd like to know?" asked Ethan,scornfully.
"It is after all very simple," explained Phil. "The soup is in a secondcan, and the space between the two is filled with dry quick-lime. Whenwanted, a small hole is cut in the top of the outer can and some waterallowed to pass in. This you see generates a terrific heat, and in ajiffy the soup is made piping hot."
"Well, did you ever hear the beat of that
?" exclaimed Lub, who hadstopped his culinary labors long enough to look and listen to what wasgoing on, for it really concerned his department.
"And here we have some desiccated vegetables, looks like," remarkedEthan, as he pointed to a variety of cans.
"Those are what they call dehydrated vegetables," explained Phil. "Theyare potatoes, spinach, onions and cabbage in a concentrated form. Onecan weighing from four to twelve ounces is equal to from seven tofifteen pounds of the fresh stuff."
"But how do you use them?" asked Lub, wonderingly, thinking no doubtwhat a labor saving device this would be for the cook.
"Oh!" Phil told him, "just add the proper amount of water to a smallportion, and cook it the same way you would the fresh vegetable. Theyare used pretty generally in the United States navy, I understand; forit is sometimes hard to get green stuff, and a diet of salt meat is aptto induce scurvy in sailors."
"Well, I see you have soup tablets," continued X-Ray Tyson, examiningstill further, "something that is called trumilk, and another that goesby the name of truegg; do you mean to tell me these are all right, andthat you can actually carry eggs along in powder shape?"
"Yes, two of those cans of condensed eggs are equal to four dozen of thefresh variety," explained Phil. "They say they are fine, scrambled or inomelettes, and that is the way we can use them after our other supplygives out."
"Well, if only you've got the money to buy things," remarked Ethan,"there's no need of anybody going into the woods, and taking chances ofstarving these days, when they supply all these wonderful condensedthings. But as for me I'd rather just keep them for an emergency, andlive on the fat of the land as long as I could find any fresh meat."
The old Scotch-Canadian was greatly impressed with the explanationsgiven by Phil. He examined the various cans and packages closely, andseemed to handle them almost reverently, as though it was utterly beyondhis ken how they could so preserve eggs and things in such a condensedform. And yet for years he had been using, off and on, milk that hadbeen conserved after the same principle.
"Supper's ready for serving, fellows; so get your pannikins where I candish things out!" announced Lub about that time.
They were soon enjoying themselves about as well as any one could wish.Really Lub was getting better at his profession all the time, and X-Rayas well as Ethan did not hesitate to tell him so.
"Now, I know you're just giving me that taffy so as to influence me tokeep on the job right along," urged Lub, a little suspicious when the"Greeks came bearing gifts," though his eyes did twinkle withgratification at hearing the warm praise, because time had been when thesame fat boy was very green in connection with camp cookery, andafforded his chums many a hearty laugh over his blunders.
"Honest to goodness I mean every word of it, and more too, Lub!"affirmed X-Ray.
"I never tasted a better cup of coffee," declared Ethan; "and thesebeans are warmed up to beat the band; while the bacon is as crisp andbrown as--well, as I could fry it myself, and that's the highest praiseanybody would want to have handed out to them, I guess."
There was enough and to spare, for after the last appetite had beenappeased Lub declared that it was a shame to leave that small portion,so he would have to put it away himself, which he accordingly did,though they warned him he was in danger of bursting from over feeding.
Afterwards they made themselves comfortable, each with his warm blanketabout his shoulders, and facing the fire. A couple of logs rolled upnear the blaze afforded them seats, and for at least two hours theycontinued to chat on every sort of subject.
Their home life was often touched upon, as well as previous outings inwhich they had taken part. Ethan even told "The" McNab what wonderfulsuccess he had had in his root-gathering and fur-trapping. On hearinghow a single black fox skin had netted him three hundred dollars theScotch farmer said he did not doubt it as he knew a man who had receivedthree times that sum for an especially fine pelt.
"As for meself," he added, "it's verra curious but I never even saw ablack fox in all me trapping experience. They do be verra rare, theytell me. I have a good woman and three bairn at home, and a thousanddollars would be a muckle fortune for us, but I dinna expect sich luckto come my way. Ye are verra fortunate I must say, Ethan, lad."
Of course Lub had to titter at that, when X-Ray gave him a kick on thesly, as if to warn him to behave himself, so that their great secretmight not be endangered by Ethan having his suspicions aroused.
Presently Lub began to yawn and stretch at a great rate. That might betaken for a sign that he was becoming sleepy, and wanted to turn in.They had their several places portioned off under the temporary shelter,so that if Lub chose he could crawl in when he pleased.
He was evidently of a mind to do so, and had even started to rise to hisfeet, when the others heard him give vent to an exclamation.
"Didn't that logger say Baylay owned several dogs, fellows?" hedemanded.
"Why yes, he did," replied X-Ray, quickly; "but what makes you ask sucha thing as that, Lub?"
"Because I reckon then he must be somewhere around here right now, forthere's a strange animal nosing about in the shadows over where I threwwhat scraps were left of our supper!"
At that every one looked. Sure enough they could see a moving figure,that did look like a pretty good-sized dog.
Phil, however, uttered a low word of caution.
"Sit tight, everybody!" he hissed, "until I reach out and take hold ofmy gun!"
"But, Phil, go slow if that's one of the poacher's dogs!" warned Lub inalarm.
"Dog nothing!" came from Phil as he took up his gun; "that's a gray wolfI tell you!"