CHAPTER XXIV
THE SEARCH
It was a most anxious night for everybody at Snow Camp. The thoughtof the six girls adrift in the blizzard kept most of the householdawake, Long Jerry Todd, the guide, remained in the kitchen, on thewatch for the first break in the storm. The others retired, all butMr. Cameron and Tom, who sat before the fire in the living hall.
"I couldn't sleep anyway," said Tom, "with Helen and Ruth out in thecold. It's dreadful, Dad. I feel that we boys are partly to blame,too."
"How's that?" his father asked him.
"Why, the girls were mad with us. I let Isadore go too far with hisjoking," and he told Mr. Cameron about the spoiled taffy. "If wehadn't done that to them of course they wouldn't have gone into thewoods without us--"
"But I am afraid you lads would have been no more cautious than thegirls," interposed Mr. Cameron. "This storm would have taken you bysurprise just the same."
"But we could have been with them and helped them."
"I have great faith in that little Fielding girl's good sense--andMadge Steele is to be trusted," said his father. "Don't blameyourself, boy. It was something entirely unforeseen."
Several times during the night Mr. Cameron tried to communicate withthe neighbors over the telephone; but some disaster had overtaken theline and it probably could not be repaired until after the storm.
About five o'clock Long Jerry came into the room. He had been outinto the storm, for he was covered with snow.
"How does it look?" asked Mr. Cameron, earnestly.
"She's going to break with sun-up," prophesied the woodsman. "I'vebeen feeding the cattle and I've got the other men up. If it breaksat all, we three'll start for the neighbors and rouse a gang to helpbeat the woods."
"But hadn't we better try to find the girls at once, Jerry?" queriedTom.
"We'll need a large party, Master Tom," said the guide. "We mustcover a deal of ground, and the more men we have who are used to thetrail, the better. If it stops snowing we can get around to theneighbors on snowshoes easier than any other way. The drifts arepacked hard. I had to tunnel out of the kitchen door. The snow hasbanked up to the second story gallery."
"They'll be buried yards under this snow," groaned Tom.
"Keep up your courage," said Long Jerry, cheerfully. "If them galswas sharp at all they'd find some shelter and make a fire."
"If they had matches," said Mr. Cameron, doubtfully.
"Ruth had matches, I know," said Tom.
"Oh, we'll find them safe and sound," declared the guide.
One of Long Jerry's prophecies was fulfilled within the hour. Thestorm broke. Tom had aroused his friends and the three boys hadenlarged the tunnel through the snow from the back porch into theyard, and were shoveling a passageway to the stables. The last flakesof the blizzard fluttered down upon them, and the tail of the galeblew the clouds to tatters and revealed the almost black sky with thestars sparkling like points of living fire.
"Hurrah!" cried Bob Steele. "It's over!"
The guide and the two other men were already getting on theirsnowshoes, having eaten hurriedly by the kitchen fire. They startedout at once to rouse the neighbors. By sunrise the sky was entirelyclear and the visitors to the backwoods could climb to the secondfloor gallery of the lodge and look out over the great drifts. Inplaces the snow was heaped fifteen feet high; but the men shuffledoff over these drifts and back again as easily as they would havewalked on six inches of snow.
They brought with them six other men, who also sat down to breakfastin the big kitchen, while Mr. Cameron and the boys and Mrs.Murchiston finished their meal in the dining-room. To the surprise ofthe visitors to the camp, one of the men whom Long Jerry had broughtin to help find the girls was the Rattlesnake Man, as he was called.
"We found him poking about the woods by himself, sir," said LongJerry, privately, to Mr. Cameron. "He says there's been a boy stayingwith him for a while back, and that he started out hunting justbefore the storm. The old hermit was looking for him. By what hesays, I believe it's the same boy you folks was bringing up here-theone that claims to be Fred Hatfield."
"That poor fellow may have lost himself in the blizzard, too, eh?"returned the merchant. "Let us hope we will find them all safely."
In fifteen minutes the whole party started from the lodge onsnowshoes, the boys dragging their toboggans and the men carryingfood and hot coffee in vacuum bottles. They separated into fourparties; the three boys and Jerry Todd kept together. Jerry believedthat the girls would have drifted some with the storm and thereforehe struck off due east from the house.
In an hour they came back to the bank of the stream near where Ruthand Reno had their adventure with the panther.
"If old Reno had been well enough to come with us, he would havescented them in a hurry," declared Tom. "See the creek! it'scompletely smothered in snow."
They followed the course of the stream for some distance and foundthe banks growing more steep. Suddenly Jerry began to sniff the keenair, and in a moment he cried:
"There's a fire near, boys. Somebody is burning pine boughs--andthere isn't any house near, that I can swear to!"
They hurried on. Inside of half a mile Isadore descried a column ofblue smoke ahead. They began to shout at once, and it was not longbefore answering cries delighted them.
"That's Madge yelling," declared Bob. "I'd know her warwhoopanywhere."
Tom had set out as fast as he could travel, the toboggan jumpingafter him over the drifts. Even Busy Izzy grew excited, and yelledlike a good fellow as he joined in the chase. They all ran down thebed of the stream and reached a deep cut where the banks were veryhigh on either hand.
Up the white slope of the left hand bank was a small plateau onwhich the fire was burning. Some sort of a camp had been established,surrounded by an embankment of tramped snow. Over this fortress theheads of all six of the girls became visible, all crying out to theirrescuers in such a medley of exclamations that no one wasunderstandable.
"Helen! Ruth!" cried Tom. "Are you all right?"
"We're right as right can be, Tommy," returned his sister, gaily.
"We're not!" squealed Jennie Stone. "We're almost starved to death.If you haven't brought anything for us to eat, don't dare come uphere, for we've turned cannibals and we're just about to cast lots tosee who should first be sacrificed to the general good!"
But there was more than laughter to season this rescue. Some tearsof relief were shed, and even Isadore Phelps showed some shame-facedjoy that the catastrophe had resulted in no worse hardships for thegirls. He said to Heavy:
"I'm sorry I spoiled that old taffy. If you'd eaten your full shareof _that_ the other day, I expect you wouldn't have suffered sofrom hunger."
The only person who was seriously troubled by the adventure was thestrange boy. He had suffered severely In the storm and now he couldscarcely move for pains in his back and legs. Otherwise it isdoubtful if he would not have run when he heard Long Jerry's voiceamong the rescuers.
"Great turtle soup!" roared the guide, when he beheld the shrinking,cowering boy. "How did you get here? Do you mean to say you arealive, Fred Hatfield? Why, they buried you--"
"No, they didn't!" snarled the boy. "They only thought they did."
"And you've let 'em think all this time that you were shot--and poor'Lias in jail? Well! you always was a mean little scamp, FredHatfield!"
But Ruth would not let the guide scold the boy any more. "He's verysick, Mr. Todd," she said. "He'll have to be carried to the lodge. Ibelieve it is rheumatism, and he ought to have a doctor at once."
"Lucky he is down and out, then," muttered the guide, "or I'd betempted to lay him across my knee and spank him right here and now!"
The girls were very thankful indeed for the hot drink and the foodthat had been brought. Jerry signaled with his rifle and brought thewhole party to the spot within the hour, including the RattlesnakeMan. But when the old hermit saw that the boy was found he would stopno longer.
; "Let his folks look after him. I gave him shelter; but he's a badboy, I reckon. And he doesn't like my children. I don't want anybodyabout my place that doesn't like my children. Now, that little girl,"he added, pointing to Ruth, "_she_ wasn't afraid of them; wasyou?"
"Not much," returned Ruth, bravely. "And I'm coming to see youagain, sir, if I can."
"You may come at any time, and welcome," answered the RattlesnakeMan, with a low bow. "Maybe you would like to learn how to handle mypets," he added, with a queer grin.
"What, the snakes!" screamed Helen.
"No, I don't think I'd care to do that," replied Ruth.
"They would not hurt you-they soon learn to know their friends-andthey get to be as friendly as kittens," returned the hermit. "I havea name for each one of them," he went on, somewhat proudly.
"Maybe I'll--I'll look at them-but I won't want to touch them,"answered Ruth. A few minutes later the strange Rattlesnake Man tookhis departure.
Fred Hatfield and the girls were all packed upon the sleds and drawnover the snow to the camp, where the rescued and rescuers arrived insafety before noon. But the girls had been through such anexperience, and were so exhausted, that as soon as dinner was overthey were commanded to go to bed, while one of the men started totown for a doctor to attend young Hatfield.
"And be sure and take this letter to the sheriff," said Mr. Cameron."This foolish boy's brother must be released from jail at once. Andif his folks want him, they can come here to Snow Camp and take himhome," added the merchant, in some disgust. "I must say that it seemsas though pity would be wasted on Fred Hatfield."