CHAPTER VIII.
A NIGHT TO BE REMEMBERED.
"Are you sure that chain will hold, Smithy?" asked the still nervousStep-hen, when some of the noise and enthusiasm had died away, so thatthe scouts could act like reasonable human beings again.
They had dodged into the tents, and appeared wrapped in their variousblankets; so that as they walked to and fro they resembled so manysolemn Indian braves.
"No question about it," returned the other, in whose cheeks a splash ofcolor had come, while his eyes were sparkling with satisfaction over thereceipt of honors such as any Boy Scout should be proud to deserve ofhis fellows.
"Hey! ain't you goin' to help me out of this?" called Bumpus just then.
"Well, would you ever, if he ain't sticking there under that tent, toolazy to help himself crawl out again," remarked Step-hen; possiblywondering whether this might not be a good opportunity for him to sneakoff with that knapsack belonging to Bumpus, so that he could secure thecompass he was positive the fat boy was hiding from him.
"Yes, I _am_ stuck here, and so tight I just can't hardly breathe,"complained the prisoner. "Somebody go inside, and give me a shove. Ifthat don't do the business, then another of these here pegs has got tobe lifted, that's all."
Allan obliged the other with a helping hand, and Bumpus was soon able todon his blanket like the rest. Sleep had been banished for the timebeing, by this remarkable happening. The boys began to speculate as towhat they should do with the bear, now that they had him tied up.
"It's sure a white elephant we've got on our hands," laughed Thad. "Wedon't dare let him loose; and if we keep him here long, he'll eat us outof house and home."
At that Giraffe groaned most dismally. If there was anything he hated tosee it was good food being tossed to the beasts.
"Our first camp-fire brought us bad luck, fellows!" he complained.
"Oh! I don't know," remarked Thad. "It gave us a run for the money; andchances are, we'll never get over laughing at the funny things thathappened. Then besides think what it did for Smithy! After what he did Iguess there isn't a scout who will ever taunt him about being a coward."
"No, Smithy certainly made good this night; and I pass him up awayahead of me on the roll. He deserves a merit badge, suh, for his truegrit," was what the generous Southern lad declared firmly.
"Hear! hear! we'll put in an application to Headquarters for a badge tobe given to our comrade Smithy for saving our bacon!" cried Davy Jones.
"Well," declared Giraffe, "it might have been our bacon, in fact;because I saw him sniffing in the direction of the tent where it happensto be lying. A fine lot of scouts we'd be, camped away up here, far fromour base of supplies, and to run out of bacon the first thing. What's abreakfast without coffee and bacon; tell me that?"
But apparently none of the others were so much given to thinking aboutthe delights of eating as Giraffe, for nobody answered his question.
Thad had pulled Allan aside.
"What did I tell you about that boy?" he whispered, as he watched theemotions that flitted across the now flushed face of the proud Smithy,receiving the homage of his fellow scouts.
"Well, you were right, that's all; he did have the pluck as you said,and he showed it too. I never saw a better piece of grit, never," wasthe reply the Maine boy gave to the question.
"His mother and aunts may have done their level best to make a sissy outof him; and we always believed they had come mighty near doing it too;but I tell you, Allan, I just feel sure that his father or grandfathermust have been a brave soldier in their day. There's warrior blood inSmithy's veins, in spite of his pale face, and his girlish ways."
"Oh! it won't take long for him to get rid of all those things," saidthe other, confidently. "Already we've seen him accept that tattered oldpair of pajamas from Davy Jones; either of us might have hesitated toput 'em on, because of the laugh they'd raise. I think Davy only fetchedthem along to get a rise from the boys. Smithy is all right, Thad. Givena few months with us, and his mother won't know her darling angeliclittle boy."
"Say, Thad," sang out Step-hen just then; "what d'ye reckon could havehappened to the fellers that own the bear? We've been talking it over,and no two think alike. Some say they got tired feeding the beast, andturned him loose on the community, to browse off poor scouts, campingout for the first time. Then others got the notion that p'raps somehobos might have stopped the show foreigners, and took their money,letting the bear shuffle off by himself."
"We'll just have to take it out in guessing, and let it go at that," wasthe reply Thad made. "You see, we haven't anything to go by. The bearwasn't carrying any message fastened to his collar, or anything of thesort that I could see."
"Now you're joking, Thad; the only message he had about him was a hungryone, and it showed on his face and in the way he begged," Bob Whiteremarked.
"But, oh! dear me, don't I hope then that the two foreign chaps are hoton the trail of their lost performing pet; and will show up here brightand early to-morrow morning; for just think what an immense stack ofprecious grub that bear can put away inside of forty-eight hours."
Nobody but Giraffe could have had a thought along these lines.
"Well, he's tired as all get-out now, it seems," said Step-hen; "forthere he's lying down like he meant to go to sleep in the shadow of thattree. Makes himself right at home, I must say. I reckon he likes us,fellows."
"Please don't say that, Step-hen; it makes me nervous," remarked Bumpus,wrapping his blanket around him after the way an ancient Roman might histoga, as if, in spite of its warmth, he had started shivering again, asthe significant words of Step-hen awakened unpleasant thoughts in hisnow active mind.
"But how about appointing a sentry to stay on guard during the night?"suggested Giraffe, turning to the scout-master.
"What for?" asked Thad, winking at Allan.
"To watch that he don't get loose, and spread himself at our expense,"the other explained. "Why, if that bear overfed, and killed himself,those foreign men'd be just awful mad, fellows. I wouldn't be surprisednow, if they tried to make us pay a big sum for letting the old sinnerfeed on our rich truck. Sometimes these educated animals are worth aheap."
"Oh! you c'n watch all you're a mind to, Giraffe," jeered Step-hen; "therest of us want some sleep. Be sure and shoo him away if he does breakloose, and try to wreck our cooking department. I'm going to hunt for asoft spot right now inside this tent. Don't anybody dare to wake me upbefore the sun shows again."
With that he started to crawl under the flap of the tent. His action wasthe signal for a general disappearance, as the boys remembered again,now that the excitement was a thing of the past, that they were bothtired and sleepy.
Thad was the last in sight. He wanted to stroll over in the direction ofthe uninvited guest; and if the bear remained quiet, he meant to examinefor himself just how securely Smithy had made the chain.
No one could question his intentions; but then at the time Smithy wasworked up to a degree that might excuse some bungling.
The bear was lying down. He raised his head and made that queer sniffingsound when Thad approached, as though possibly anticipating anotherfeed. Thad spoke to the beast in a low, soothing tone, as he used hisfingers to ascertain just how the end of the chain was fastened.
Smithy had done his work in a business-like way, in spite of tremblinghands. There was a little metal bar which was intended to slip throughan extra strong ring, that in turn was connected with one of the links.This being done the bear would be held securely, unless through someaccident the ring and bar parted company, which might not happen once ina year's time.
So Thad, quite satisfied, left the shady tree under which the prisonerhad stretched his hairy form, and returned to the vicinity of the fire.Here he busied himself for a little while, fixing things so that therewould be no necessity for any one attending the camp-fire during severalhours at least; indeed, the big back log would doubtless last untilmorning, smouldering hour after hour.
> Giving one last look around, and quite satisfied with the arrangement ofthis, the first camp of the newly organized Silver Fox Patrol ofCranford Troop of Boy Scouts, Thad finally followed the example of hischums, crawling under the flap of the tent, which he left up forventilation.
He found three fellows apparently already far gone in sleep, if he couldjudge from their steady and heavy breathing.
So Thad, chuckling to himself as some humorous thought flitted throughhis mind, settled down to join them in dreamland. He knew no reason whyhe should deny himself the rest he sorely needed. There was no dangerhovering over the camp that he was aware of; the bear was securelyfastened, and apparently content to take up regular lodgings again withhuman companions; and the fire could not communicate to any dry brush orgrass, so as to cause an alarm.
And on this account Thad gave himself up to the pleasure of securing hisfull measure of sleep, intending to awaken inside of, say three hours,when he could creep softly out, to throw a fresh log on the camp-fire,without disturbing any one.
The last sounds he remembered hearing consisted of a crackling of theflames as they seized upon a particularly fine piece of fuel; and thecroaking of some bullfrogs along the shore of the lake. Thad lazily madeup his mind to try and secure the hind legs of a few of these big green"mossbacks," as he called them; for he knew from experience what adainty meal they would make, fried with some salt pork, being equal toany tender spring chicken he knew of.
Then he slept, perhaps for some hours, Thad could not tell; when he wasaroused by the greatest kind of shouting from somewhere near by. He satup instantly, his senses on the alert, listening to locate thedisturbance, and get some sort of line on its nature.