CHAPTER IX
THE WAIF OF THE SNOW FOREST
Ethan winked several times as though he could hardly believe his eyes,and little wonder; for there, half lying in the snow was a child, asturdy looking little chap not over five years of age possibly, anduttering sounds that the boys now realized were pitiful moans.
Apparently the little fellow had actually tried to light a fire, forthere were a few sticks gathered, and half burned matches that had beenstruck in the useless endeavor to ignite the wood, lay scattered on thesurface of the snow.
"Look at the little make-believe popgun, Phil," said Ethan, in aquivering voice; "honest to goodness, I believe he's started out to huntgame just as his daddy is in the habit of doing, and got lost. But,Phil, he must be nearly frozen. Let's get a fire going and thaw him outin a hurry!"
Phil had already leaped forward. Forgotten was his camera at thatmoment, because his generous warm boyish heart was throbbing withsympathy for the poor little chap lying there.
"How about it?" asked Ethan, hovering close by while the other hurriedlyexamined the boy, who lay there with his eyes half open, seeing them,yet not appearing to notice what they were doing, with only that dolefullittle cry falling from his blue lips.
"No, he's not frozen yet, I believe," asserted Phil; "but another hourwould have done the business for him. I reckon he knew how to keep hisarms going until he got tuckered out. Get a fire started, Ethan."
That was all the other was waiting to hear, and in all probability EthanAllen excelled all his previous records for a quick blaze; because heworked with might and main.
Meanwhile Phil was rubbing the hands and limbs of the child, astonishedbeyond measure at having run across such a little fellow there in themidst of that Canadian wilderness.
"Here you are, Phil; fetch him up close to it!" called out the otherboy, as he judiciously added further pieces of wood to the blaze he hadcontrived to start.
Neither of them could solve the problem as to where the little fellowhad come from.
"He must have rained down," said Ethan; "or else he's been with thatother party of sportsmen, and slipped away from their camp, bent onhaving a regular moose hunt of his own. Look at this popgun, will you;it's one of the kind that has a spring in it, and shoots B. B. shot.I've owned the same kind myself years ago. But what do you think, Phil?"
"I'm all up in the air," replied the other, candidly. "If he came fromthat other camp he couldn't be connected with any of those richsportsmen, for you can see his clothes are those of poverty, though warmenough. He must belong to some Canadian backwoods family. It might bethey've got a man and wife cooking for them in their camp, or the man asa guide and the woman to get the meals. And the child could belong tothem, it might turn out."
"Didn't Mr. McNab tell us that terror of the pines, Anson Baylay, hadseveral kids at his home, as well as a wife, a small woman who knew howto manage the big giant?" inquired Ethan.
"That's a fact!" declared Phil, looking again at the small boy; "Iwonder now if this could be one of his brood? But when he gets so he cantalk perhaps we'll be able to find out all about him."
"What's the program?" demanded Ethan; "we don't want to stay here, dowe, hoping some one may come in search of the poor kid?"
"No, our best plan is get him to camp with all speed. He may not be aswell off as I've hoped is the case. And with a night ahead of us, ashelter, with food and a fire will be good for all of us. Fact is,there's a change coming on; the sun has gone behind the clouds, and itwouldn't surprise me if we had one of those blizzards you're so fond oftalking about."
"Well, for myself I wouldn't mind," said Ethan, loftily; "but it wouldbe pretty tough on the little chap if we got caught in a howling storm,with the mercury going away down below zero. I'll take my turn carryinghim, Phil, remember."
"We'll have to change about, because he's going to be no light load,"Phil admitted; "I wish the boy would come to himself; he might tell ussomething that'd put us on the right track. But we're not going to waitfor that."
With these words he gathered the little fellow up in his arms andstarted. Ethan on his part took charge of the guns, as well as thecamera; and in this manner they headed in what Phil believed to be abee-line for the camp.
It would have been no small task carrying the boy for any distance, evenunder ordinary conditions; and the fact of their being on snow-shoesmade it all the more difficult.
Still, both of them were stalwart fellows, and able to do considerablealong the line of carrying burdens. Their outdoor life had given themmore strength than most boys of their age possessed.
Phil kept it up for quite a time.
"Better change off with me, now," Ethan hinted, for the fifth time.
"All right, then, Ethan; just lay those things down where I can getthem, and I'll give you the boy. He's some heft, believe me, and apretty chubby lad for his age, which I shouldn't take to be more thanfive, or six at the most."
"But isn't it queer he hasn't come to, and asked us who we are, andwhere we're taking him?" remarked the second boy, as he took the objectof their solicitude into his arms.
"He'll come out of it all right later on, I feel pretty sure," Philobserved, as he loaded himself with the guns and camera, after which hestarted ahead of his companion so as to break the way.
"There's a dash of color beginning to show in his cheeks, I do believe!"called out Ethan, presently.
Later on he had to hand his burden over to the other; and this sort ofthing continued many times, until all of two hours had gone.
Both boys were growing very tired after their long tramp, and now withcarrying their human burden, too. But Phil buoyed up the spirits of hischum by saving that they were close on the camp.
"I can see where the lake lies over yonder," he remarked, when theychanced to be on a rise that gave them a chance to see around more orless; "and away over in that direction there's a black smoke rising thatmust come from the camp of that other party with James Bodman."
"But that isn't where we've just come from, Phil?" observed Ethan,shrewdly.
"Far away from it, to tell the truth, and I see what you mean, Ethan. Itdoesn't look as if this chap could ever have wandered away from _that_camp this morning, because he would have had to cover miles, which hecould never have done with all the deep snow."
"And, Phil, it must be that he's a Baylay; but we'll find all that outwhen he comes to himself again in the camp. I'm rested now, so give me achance to spell you."
Both of them were more pleased than they would have liked to say whenthey discovered the little shack they had built close to the shore ofthe lake; with X-Ray just starting out ax in hand to cut some wood.
Ethan gave a whoop, and Lub came running out of the shelter, allexcitement.
"Bringing home the bacon, are you, fellows?" he called; "well, you doseem to be staggering under a bully old load, Ethan. Have you botheredgetting the moose's head, horns and all to camp? Might have left thathanging up till--well, what's this I see? Great Jehosophat! this isn't amoose's head; it's a child!"
X-Ray was equally astounded. They crowded around, and stared, and seemedready to fairly burst with curiosity.
"Wait till we get him between blankets, boys, and then you'll have thewhole story," said Phil.
Lub rushed in ahead of the others, and it was his blanket that he heldup in front of the fire to "get it good and warm for the poor littlechap," he explained.
There was more color creeping into the face of the unknown child, Phildiscovered. He did not believe anything serious could have come uponhim, and hoped for the best.
"I really think he's sleeping from exhaustion and fright now," he toldthe others, after they had bundled their charge up snugly, and weresitting there before the glowing fire, with both Lub and X-Rayimpatiently waiting to hear all about the remarkable occurrence; for itis not often that hunters start out after moose and return bearing achild that they have saved from being frozen to death.
By degrees the story was
told, first how the two hunters managed to getclose up on the cow moose so that Phil could take a couple of snapshots;and then later on when aiming to discover the beaver village how theyhad run upon the lad in the thicket, where he had gone to try and make afire.
"Think of the little duffer having matches in his pocket, and believinghe knew all about the job of making a fire, too," said Ethan, as thoughhe considered this the most remarkable feature of the whole thing.
The little toy gun had been carefully carried along with their ownlarger weapons and Phil held it up as he went on to say:
"And he was trying to find his deer just as much as we were, it seemslike, from his having this 'repeater' in his possession. That's why Ithink he must belong to a backwoodsman or a guide, because children insuch families take to doing all these things like ducks do to water."
"And," continued Ethan, solemnly, "so far as we know there's only oneparty up in this neighborhood who has kids of his own, because youremember Mr. McNab told us about him."
"Gee! you mean that terrible Baylay, don't you?" asked Lub, aghast, ashe glanced apprehensively toward the place where the child was snuggledin his blanket, and then toward the adjacent woods.
"Yes, Ethan and myself have about come to the conclusion he must be achip of the old block, a Baylay, afraid of nothing; though he did biteoff more than he could chew when he started off on a hunt for big gamein winter time, and found himself lost in the forest, with the snow halfway up to his neck in places."
They talked it all over, but no one could suggest any particular thingthey could do, save to keep the boy in camp, and wait to see what wouldturn up.
It came time for them to think of getting supper. X-Ray generouslyoffered to "spell" Lub, for he was afraid they were overdoing it inallowing the stout youth to fill the office of cook continually, andthat he might suddenly rebel.
"I don't mind having some help, since you are so kind, X-Ray," Lub toldhim; "and so the first thing you do fetch me some more wood."
X-Ray had perhaps thought to be the "chief-cook-and-bottle-washer"himself for once, as he himself expressed it, for he made a wry faceupon being ordered about in such a summary fashion. However, he noddedhis head toward the autocrat of the culinary department, and went off toget his arms full of fuel, saying as he did so:
"Anything to keep peace in the family; and besides I'll have some sayabout the bill of fare we put up at our hotel this night."
While supper was cooking Ethan caught hold of Phil's sleeve and pointedover to where the little chap had been placed, rolled up in Lub'sblanket. He was now sitting bolt upright, and rubbing his eyes with hisknuckles as though he did not know what to make of it all.
Phil immediately hurried over, and threw himself down beside the littlefellow.
"It's all right, bub, we're your friends, and mean to keep you here withus until your daddy comes along for you. Went out hunting, eh, and gotlost? Well, never mind, plenty of bigger men than you have done the samething. You tried the best you knew how to light a fire, too; and Ibelieve you'd have done it if the ground had been clear of snow, so youcould find plenty of small wood. But supper will be ready soon, andwe're expecting you to be pretty hungry."
Somehow there was that about Phil Bradley to invite the confidence ofany one, especially when he smiled as Phil was doing now, and spoke sosoothingly, and directly from the heart.
It was not long before he had the little chap smiling; and when Lub cameover into the shelter with a cup of warm soup for the boy, he drank itravenously. This told Phil that it must have been many hours since thechild had tasted any food.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he left his home, wherever that can be,early this morning, and had been pushing his way through the snow eversince. No wonder he was all tired out, and couldn't say a word, but keepon moaning. But he's all right now."
"If they start out and follow his trail," ventured X-Ray, with one ofthose bright inspirations that had given him his nick-name, "they'llshow up here in our camp some time or other, I should say. Whee! I hopenow, that terror of the pines will be reasonable, and believe what wetell him; that is, I don't want him to suspect we tried to kidnap Johnnyhere."
"By the way, I wonder what his name really is?" said Lub.
"Ask him, Phil; he seems to think a heap of you already," suggestedX-Ray.
Accordingly Phil bent over the boy, while the others crowded around.
"We want to know whose boy you are, and what your name is, my littleman. Do they call you Johnny at home?" he asked, and as clearly aspossible.
The small urchin shook his curly head vigorously; he even in a measurereturned Phil's smile; and then started to make a series ofunintelligible noises that sent a thrill through Phil's heart.
The latter turned with piteous look toward his chums, whose facesreflected his expression of commiseration, almost horror.
"No wonder he didn't say anything, boys!" exclaimed Phil; "for don't yousee the poor little chap is tongue-tied?"