CHAPTER III
THE CAMP BY THE WAYSIDE
"Get up, there, you Peter!"
"Give the old sleepy-head another cut with the whip, Jerry."
"No use. He only flips his stub of a tail around, and shakes his head. Itell you nothing short of a burr under his tail would make old Peterrun, fellows."
"And at this time of year there are no burrs. Oh, well, we're in nohurry. What if we do have to make a half-way camp? It is a part of thefun, boys," and Frank lay back on the cargo in the wagon, and laughed tosee the ears of the patient horse wag back and forth as he toiledstolidly along the rough road.
They had decided not to use their motorcycles on this trip, for severalreasons. In the first place, two of them were in need of a goodoverhauling, and of the remaining couple, that belonging to Frank wasthe only one always kept in trim. Besides, neither Adolphus, thecolored man working for Mr. Wallington, nor his team, were available foruse, and so they had to hire a rig that was proving very disappointingto all but Will, who took several fetching views of the picturesquebeast.
Sometimes the boys walked, but when they grew tired they climbed up onthe load, and Peter only wheezed a bit more, as though in protest.
The afternoon was well along by now. They had started just after noon,and had been foolish enough to believe they might reach the foothills ofthe Sunset Mountains by dark.
"Half way there, boys, and I move we look for a decent place to camp,"suggested Bluff after another hour had lagged along.
"I'm getting a little bit hungry myself," admitted Frank, as his handcaressed the chest that contained a dozen tin cans with screw-top lids,and used for holding all such positive necessities as tea, coffee,sugar, rice, self-raising flour, beans, and other things. It was Frank'sspecial property, and had been with him on many a trip up in the wildsof Maine.
"And there's a spot I rather fancy!" exclaimed Jerry, pointing ahead.
Presently the caravan had come to a stop. Poor, tired old Peter wastaken out of the shafts and attended to by Jerry, who could not bear tolet any dumb beast go hungry. Meanwhile, the others hustled about, gotthe tents up, and made a fireplace with a couple of big logs, that wouldanswer for the one night.
"This looks good to me, fellows," declared Jerry as he turned from histask and surveyed the scene, with pleasure written big on his face.
"I'm never so happy as when putting up the tents, and never so miserableas in striking camp. There's a charm about it that a fellow can feel,but never put into words," said Frank, pausing from his labor.
"No danger of a storm to-night, I guess, but I always make it a practiceto provide a runaway for water, in case of a heavy rain. Once I wasflooded out by neglecting that thing, and I don't want it to happenagain," he continued, as Jerry bent down to see what he was digging withthe camp hatchet he carried.
"Look at that sunset, will you!" exclaimed Will, always on the watch foranything bordering on the picturesque. "What wouldn't I give to getthose colors as they are there! The color screen gives me the clouds,all right, but a fortune awaits the man who can fix such a gloriousthing as that!"
"Yes; and just to think what will become of all the poor artists then.They'll be knocked out of business flatter than a pancake," declaredJerry, who always kept his eye on the practical side of things.
"That reminds me of a promise I made Bluff yesterday," laughed Frank.
"Oh, yes!--that the first night in camp you'd give us some of thosebully old Maine flapjacks you know how to toss up in the air so well.Boys, don't you let him crawl, now. I insist on him keeping his word!"cried Bluff eagerly.
"So say we all of us! Tiger! Here's a piece of paper, and while you getthe rest of the things unpacked I'll just amuse myself laying out a billof fare for this fine feast we expect to have. That ham there is ahome-smoked one. Dad bought half a dozen from old Farmer Corntassel, andif ever you taste his hams your mouth'll water at the chance of gettinga slice of that to-night."
So saying, Jerry squatted down on a log and commenced to screw hisforehead up in innumerable wrinkles as he tried to conjure up his menu.
The others were working right along, and when it came time to do thecooking Frank assumed charge.
"Ain't this great, fellows?" demanded Jerry, as the three sat theredevouring the flapjacks as fast as Frank could pile them up.
"And I'm glad I thought of this honey. Butter is good with pancakes, butas for me, I like something sweet besides--maple syrup or honey,"announced Bluff.
"I agree with you in all but one thing, Bluff," said Jerry.
"What might that be?" asked the other, reaching over for his sixthhelping.
"Never, so long as you live, say 'pancakes' when in camp. It may go athome, but under the free sky, with the tents near by, and the glowingfire lighting up the scene, it is considered next door to a crime tocall them anything but flapjacks. Get that, son?"
"I'll try to remember; but it's hard to overcome the teachings ofinfancy, you know. I admit that you know more in a day than I do in aweek about woodcraft, but I'll never own up that you are physicallysounder than I am. I won out as many times blowing up those beastly oldrubber mattresses as you did," declared Bluff.
Frank and Will exchanged quick looks, and both tried to hide a smile.
On their former trip, Frank had fetched along a couple of wide rubbermattresses that could be made into comfortable beds after they had beenfilled with air. The job of so inflating them had seemed a ratherformidable one to tackle, each and every night, and so, profiting by atrick he had seen done elsewhere, he tried a little strategy in order tolighten the burden.
Jerry and Bluff were jealous of each other's make-up. They constantlyboasted as to their superior accomplishments, and so Frank easily causedthem to enter into a competition to see which one could prove a winnerin blowing up the twin rubber mattresses.
The first night it was called a tie. Those eager fellows could hardlywait for the next occasion to come in order to again engage in rivalry.On the second attempt Jerry was the winner, but by so narrow a marginthat he could not refuse Bluff's dare to have another try on the nextnight. Bluff won this time.
And there was never any trouble about getting the beds made up as longas the four chums camped on Wildcat Island.
The joke had never been told to them, so that even to this day theyrested in utter ignorance as to what dupes they had been in the hands oftheir two chums. Frank and Will foresaw other occasions when they wouldbe only too glad to have these eager rivals do the "wind act" witheagerness while they sat by and timed the job.
The supper was pronounced a great success by all, even the cook having agood word to say for Bluffs coffee.
"Any use of posting a sentry to-night?" asked Jerry, as they lay around,and a few yawns attested to the fact that they were getting sleepy.
"Well, not unless you think that ghost may be wandering far away fromhis usual stamping-grounds. I shouldn't think we could look for anyother trouble out here, so far from the railroad and town," declaredFrank.
"All the same, I think we ought to have some sort of system. It'sgenerally understood that we intended coming out here, and how do weknow but what that Pet Peters and his crowd may be mean enough to sneakup on us and stone our camp? They did it before, you remember, fellows,"protested Bluff.
"I hope you don't think of cracking away at human beings the way you didat that big yellow dog, Bluff. Please don't get the habit; it's hard tobreak."
"Kindly refrain, Frank; or, as Pet would say, 'Aw, come off your perch!'I'm always willing to give any one of those fellows a good scare at anytime, but you know I wouldn't want to hurt even Pet himself, unless heforced me," returned Bluff, quickly dropping the gun he had beenfondling so affectionately.
"Well, if you fellows are so bent on trying to prove to Will and I whichone has the biggest lungs, I suppose we'll have to surrender our rightto have a turn at those rubber bags, and let you try again. Help me laythem out, Will, and don't look so envious. When they get tired of
thisthing we can have a chance."
"Don't worry about that, Frank. I shall never get tired of beating Bluffat that good old game. Just watch me run away from him."
But Jerry, to his surprise, was declared to fall just short of being awinner, and he had to listen to the taunts of his rival, and determinethat on the next night he would be in better trim.
The fire was fixed to hold out several hours. Bluff, despite hisdeclaration that he meant to keep awake, and watch, crawled into one ofthe tents and snuggled down under a blanket, since the night air wascool, even for July.
So the silence of slumber presently fell upon the camp by the wayside.
It must have been about midnight when Frank was awakened by a tremendousneighing on the part of old Peter, the horse, fastened to a tree nearby.
Thinking the beast might have become caught in the rope, and needattention, Frank crawled out of the tent. The fire was low, and darknesshovered over the camp.
Just as he appeared, to his astonishment he saw the kettles andcoffee-pot, as well as every frying-pan in camp, begin to creep alongthe ground in a long line, and then ascend toward the branches of thetree, in jangling unison.