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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41919 ***
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 41919-h.htm or 41919-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41919/41919-h/41919-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41919/41919-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      http://archive.org/details/cu31924021993609
+
+
+
+
+
+CAMP VENTURE
+
+A Story of the Virginia Mountains
+
+by
+
+GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON
+
+Author of "A Carolina Cavalier," "The Last of the Flatboats,"
+etc., etc.
+
+Illustrated by W. A. McCullough
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard
+Company
+1901
+
+Copyright, 1901,
+by Lothrop Publishing Company.
+
+All Rights Reserved
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: TOM LEAPED UPON THE MOUNTAINEER'S BACK.]
+
+
+
+
+_CONTENTS_
+
+
+    CHAPTER                                       PAGE
+
+        I. On the Mountain Side                     11
+
+       II. A Picket Shot                            30
+
+      III. The Doctor's Plans                       40
+
+       IV. A New Declaration of Independence        46
+
+        V. The Building of a Cabin                  55
+
+       VI. After Supper                             71
+
+      VII. A "Painter"                              78
+
+     VIII. The Condition of the Moonshiners         94
+
+       IX. A Sunday Discussion                     100
+
+        X. Beginning Work                          108
+
+       XI. An Armed Negotiation                    115
+
+      XII. A Midnight Alarm                        122
+
+     XIII. A Night of Searching                    129
+
+      XIV. Tom Gives an Account of Himself         136
+
+       XV. Two Shots that Hit                      142
+
+      XVI. The Doctor Explains                     156
+
+     XVII. Christmas in Camp Venture               165
+
+    XVIII. Parole                                  175
+
+      XIX. A Stress of Circumstances               188
+
+         XX. In Perilous Plight                    199
+
+        XXI. An Enemy to the Rescue                205
+
+       XXII. All Night Work                        211
+
+      XXIII. A Loan Negotiated                     224
+
+       XXIV. In the High Mountains                 232
+
+        XXV. A Difficulty                          247
+
+       XXVI. The Doctor's Talk                     254
+
+      XXVII. Some Features of the Situation        262
+
+     XXVIII. The Capture of Camp Venture           268
+
+       XXIX. A Puzzling Situation                  285
+
+        XXX. A Point of Honor                      297
+
+       XXXI. Corporal Jenkins's March              301
+
+      XXXII. The Lieutenant's Wrath                307
+
+     XXXIII. A Homing Prospect                     312
+
+      XXXIV. In the Hands of the Enemy             317
+
+       XXXV. The End of Camp Venture               326
+
+      XXXVI. A Start Down the Mountain             332
+
+     XXXVII. Down the Mountain                     339
+
+    XXXVIII. Old King Coal                         344
+
+      XXXIX. The Doctor Sings                      351
+
+         XL. Tom's Journey                         358
+
+        XLI. "His Majesty the King"                366
+
+       XLII. In the Service of the King            381
+
+      XLIII. The Camp Venture Mining Company       389
+
+       XLIV. Little Tom at the End of it All       396
+
+
+
+
+CAMP VENTURE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+_On the Mountain Side_
+
+
+"I'm tired, and the other pack mules are tired, and from the way you
+move I imagine that the rest of you donkeys are tired!" called out Jack
+Ridsdale, as the last of the mules and their drivers scrambled up the
+bank and gained a secure foothold on the little plateau.
+
+"I move that we camp here for the night. All in favor say 'aye.' The
+motion's carried unanimously."
+
+With that the tall boy threw off the pack that burdened his shoulders,
+set his gun up against a friendly tree and proceeded in other ways to
+relieve himself of the restraints under which he had toiled up the steep
+mountain side since early morning, with only now and then a minute's
+pause for breath.
+
+"This is a good place to camp in," he presently added. "There's grazing
+for the mules, there's timber around for fire wood and I hear water
+trickling down from the cliff yonder. So 'Alabama,' which is Cherokee
+eloquence meaning 'here we rest.'"
+
+The party consisted of five sturdy boys and a man, the Doctor, not
+nearly so stalwart in appearance, who seemed about twenty-eight or
+thirty years old. Each member of the party carried a heavy pack upon his
+back and each had a gun slung over his shoulder and an axe hanging by
+his girdle. There were four packmules heavily laden and manifestly weary
+with the long climb up the mountain.
+
+As the boys were scarcely less weary than the mules they eagerly
+welcomed Jack Ridsdale's decision to go no farther that day, but rest
+where they were for the night.
+
+"Now then," Jack resumed as soon as he got his breath again--a thing
+requiring some effort in the rarefied atmosphere of the high mountain
+peak--"we're all starved. The first thing to do is to get a fire started
+and get the kettle on for supper. If some of you fellows will unload the
+mules and get out the necessary things I'll chop some wood and we'll
+have a fire going in next to no time."
+
+With that he swung his axe over his shoulder and stalked off into the
+nearby edge of the wood land. There with deft blows--for he was an
+expert with the axe--he quickly converted some fallen limbs and dead
+trees into a rude sort of fire wood which the other boys shouldered and
+carried to the glade where the Doctor had started a little fire that
+needed only feeding to become a great one.
+
+During their laborious climb up the steep mountain side the party had
+found the early November day rather too warm for comfort; but now that
+the sun had sunk behind the mountain, and evening was drawing near,
+there was a sharp feeling of coming frost in the atmosphere, and as it
+would be necessary to sleep out of doors that night with no shelter but
+the stars, Jack continued his chopping until a great pile of dry wood
+lay near the fire ready for use during the night.
+
+In the meantime the other boys busied themselves in getting supper
+ready. Harry Ridsdale--Jack's younger brother--prepared a great pot of
+coffee, while Ed Parmly fried panful after panful of salt pork, and Jim
+Chenowith endeavored to boil some potatoes. "Little Tom" Ridsdale,
+another brother of Jack's, employed himself in bringing the wood as fast
+as his brother chopped it, and piling it near the fire. While these
+things were doing the Doctor had carefully unpacked some of his
+scientific instruments and hung them up on trees at points, convenient
+for observation.
+
+Presently Ed Parmly called out: "Now fellows, supper's ready--at least
+the pork and the coffee are waiting for Jim Chenowith to dish up his
+potatoes. Come Jim, what's the matter? Are you trying to boil those
+potatoes into mush?"
+
+"No," answered Jim, jabbing the tubers with a stick which he had
+sharpened for that purpose, "but somehow the potatoes don't seem to want
+to get done. Mother always boils them in from ten to twenty minutes,
+according to their size, and these are about the ten minute size, yet
+I've boiled them for full half an hour and they're only now beginning to
+get soft."
+
+"Your mother's potato kettle," said the Doctor, "isn't boiled at an
+elevation of two thousand feet above the sea level and that," consulting
+his aneroid barometer, "is about our present altitude."
+
+"How do you find out that?"
+
+"What has height to do with boiling potatoes?"
+
+These questions were fired at the Doctor instantly.
+
+"One at a time please," said the Doctor, "and as I see Jim is at last
+dishing up his potatoes we'll postpone the answer to both questions, if
+you don't mind, till we have satisfied our appetites."
+
+The hungry fellows were ready enough to give exclusive attention to the
+business in hand, and as they sat there on logs and other improvised
+seats with tin plates before them and tin cups at hand they were a
+picturesque and attractive group, such as an artist would have rejoiced
+to portray.
+
+As is usual with boys in the mountain regions of Southern Virginia, they
+were very tall--the older ones nearing, and Jack exceeding, six feet in
+height, while even "Little Tom" stood five feet seven in his socks with
+a year or two of growth still ahead of him. They were all robust
+fellows, too, lean, muscular, thin visaged, clear eyed and bronzed of
+face. They wore high boots, into which the legs of their trousers were
+thrust, and, over their trousers, thick woollen hunting shirts, the
+whole crowned with soft felt hats. It was precisely the dress which
+Washington urged upon Congress as the best service uniform that could be
+devised for the use of the American army.
+
+"Now then Doctor," said Jim Chenowith, pushing away his tin plate and
+swallowing the last of the coffee from his big tin cup, "tell us why the
+potatoes wouldn't cook."
+
+"Simply because the water wasn't hot enough to cook them as quickly as
+usual."
+
+"Not hot enough? Why it was boiling like a volcano every moment of the
+time," said Jim in protest.
+
+"Yes, but the boiling of water doesn't always mean the same thing. You
+see at or near the sea level water boils at a temperature of 212
+degrees, Fahrenheit. But when you climb up mountains you come into a
+rarer and lighter atmosphere and water boils at considerably lower
+temperatures."
+
+"But I kept my potato kettle boiling very hard--" interrupted Jim; "I
+never stopped firing up under it."
+
+"That made no difference whatever in the amount of heat in it," answered
+the Doctor. "When water boils at all it is just as hot as fire can make
+it, unless it is shut completely off from contact with the air, as is
+the case in steamboilers. You can't make it any hotter no matter how
+much you may 'fire up' under the kettle."
+
+"Why, how's that?" asked "Little Tom," becoming interested. "The more
+fire you make in a stove the hotter the stove gets, and the hotter the
+room gets, too. Why isn't it the same way with a kettle of water?"
+
+"I'll explain that," said the Doctor, "and I think I can make you
+understand it. When water boils it gives off the vapor which we commonly
+call steam. That is to say, some of the water is converted by heat into
+vapor. It requires a great deal of heat to make the change from liquid
+to vapor and so the process of giving off steam cools the water. That is
+why you put a lid on a pot that you wish to boil quickly. You do it to
+check the cooling process by confining the vapor and preventing a too
+rapid conversion of water into steam."
+
+"Is that the reason that you can hold your hand in the steam from a
+kettle when you can't hold it in the water that the steam comes from,"
+asked Jim.
+
+"Yes. The steam is really hotter than the water, but it needs all its
+own heat to keep it in the form of vapor, and so it doesn't give off
+enough heat to burn your hand after it gets a little way from the pot
+and begins to expand freely. Now as I was saying the harder you boil
+water the more steam it gives off and the heating and cooling processes
+are so exactly balanced that boiling water stands always at a uniform
+temperature no matter whether it is boiling hard as we say, or only just
+barely boiling. But in a dense atmosphere it requires more heat to boil
+water than it does in a rarefied atmosphere like that up here on the
+mountain. At Leadville and other places lying from 10,000 to 14,000 feet
+above sea level in the Rocky mountains you can't boil potatoes at all
+and it takes full ten minutes to boil an egg into that condition which
+we call 'soft.' It all depends upon the temperature of boiling water,
+and that is considerably lower here than down in the valleys where we
+live."
+
+"But Doctor," said Harry, "you promised to tell us how you find out how
+high we are above the sea level."
+
+The Doctor got up, went to a tree and took down a scientific instrument.
+
+"This," he said, "is an aneroid barometer. It measures the atmospheric
+pressure, and as that pressure steadily and pretty uniformly decreases
+as we go higher up, the instrument tells us at once how high we are."
+
+"But will it measure so accurately that you can trust it?" asked one of
+the now eagerly interested boys.
+
+"Let me show you," said the Doctor. "Make a torch, for it is growing
+dark, and come with me down the hill a little way. First look where the
+needle stands now."
+
+They all carefully observed the register and then proceeded with their
+mentor down the hill a little way. He there exhibited his instrument
+again and it registered fifty feet lower than it had done on the plateau
+above. Returning to the camp fire they found that the needle had resumed
+its former pointing.
+
+"Then you can tell by that instrument exactly how high you are at any
+time?" queried Jack.
+
+"No, not exactly. You see the atmospheric pressure varies somewhat with
+the weather even if you observe it always on the same level. One has to
+allow for that, but allowing for it we can tell by the instrument what
+our elevation is with something closely approaching accuracy."
+
+Just then came an interruption. A tall rough bearded, unkempt
+mountaineer, rifle in hand, stalked out of the woods and approached the
+camp fire. After inspecting the company and their belongings in silence
+for a time, he spoke a single word of question--"Huntin'?"
+
+"No," answered Jack, who had risen in all his length of limb.
+
+"Trappin'?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Jest campin' out?"
+
+"No," answered Jack, still adhering to that monosyllable.
+
+"Mout I ax then, what ye're a doin' of up here in the high mountings?
+You see us fellers what lives up here ain't over fond of strangers that
+comes potterin' round without explainin' of their selves."
+
+"Well" said Jack, "I don't see why I shouldn't tell you what brings us
+here. My mother owns a tract of timber land a little further around the
+mountain, and it is pretty much all she does own in the world. She's a
+widow, and she's had a pretty hard time to bring up three boys of
+us"--turning and indicating his two brothers--"and now we see a way of
+helping her. They're going to build a railroad down in the valley on the
+other side of this mountain, and they want railroad ties. So we have
+organized a party and come up here to chop down trees, make ties and
+send them down the mountain by a chute."
+
+"Um," answered the mountaineer. "What's them there things for?" pointing
+to the Doctor's scientific instruments hanging about on the trees.
+
+"They are scientific instruments, if you know what that means," answered
+Jack, who was beginning to grow irritable under the intruder's
+impertinent questioning.
+
+"What are you goin' to do with 'em? Will they help you to chop wood?"
+
+"No, of course not. But the Doctor here," indicating him, "is much
+interested in science and he has brought his instruments along so as to
+make our stay on the mountains as profitable as possible in the way of
+study."
+
+"My friend," broke in the Doctor, addressing the mountaineer, "If you
+will come to our camp when we get settled I'll show you how I use these
+things and what they tell me. One of them tells me how high up we are
+and when it's going to storm or clear away; another shows how fast the
+wind is blowing, another how cold it is and so on."
+
+"Which one on 'em tells the strength of whiskey and how much tax they
+ought to be paid on it?"
+
+This question was asked with a peculiar tone of sneering incredulity and
+suspicion.
+
+"Not one of them has any relation whatever to whiskey or taxes or
+anything of the sort," answered the Doctor.
+
+By this time Jack's patience was exhausted and by common consent Jack
+was the leader of the party. He turned to the tree behind him, seized
+his shot gun, presented it at the mountaineer's breast before that
+worthy could bring his rifle to his shoulder, and in an angry, but still
+cold voice, said:
+
+"I'll trouble you to lay down that rifle."
+
+The man obeyed.
+
+"Now I'll trouble you, if you please to lay down your powder horn and
+your bullet pouch and your cap box and everything else that pertains to
+that rifle." All this while Jack was holding the muzzle of his
+full-cocked, double barrelled shot gun in front of the man's breast,
+while all the other boys had seized their guns and stood ready for
+action. The Doctor had not a shot gun, but a repeating, magazine rifle
+of the latest make, long in its range, exceedingly accurate in its fire
+and equipped with fourteen cartridges in its magazine that could be
+fired as fast as their owner pleased. And the moment that the
+mountaineer, before he laid down his rifle, made a motion as if to bring
+it to his shoulder, the Doctor had stepped to Jack's side with his
+destructive weapon in position for instant use. After the man had laid
+down his arms, the Doctor stepped back, lowered his weapon and said to
+Jack:--"Manage the affair in your own way. Only be prudent, and above
+all don't lose your temper."
+
+Jack then said to the mountaineer:
+
+"You've asked us a number of questions. Now I want to ask you some. What
+do you mean by intruding upon our camp? Who are you? What right have you
+to ask us about ourselves and our mission in these mountains? Answer
+man, and answer quick or I'll put two charges of buck shot through you
+in less than half a minute."
+
+"Now, don't be too hard on a feller, pard," answered the man. "I didn't
+mean no harm in partic'lar. But you see us fellers that lives up here in
+the high mountings has a hard enough time to git a livin' and we don't
+like to be interfered with by no revenue officers and no spies and no
+speculators from down below. You see if we're caught, some of the money
+goes to the informer, an' so we takes good keer to have no informers
+about, an' if they insist on stayin' we usually buries 'em. Now you've
+got the drap on me an' my only chance is to go way if you'll let me go.
+So far as I'm concerned you're welcome to go round the mounting an' chop
+all the railroad ties an' cordwood you choose. But there's fellers in
+the mountings that you ain't got no drap on, as you've got it on me, an'
+fellers what ain't so tender hearted as me. An' so, while I'll leave my
+gun an' promise never to meddle with you again if you won't shoot, at
+the same time my earnest, friendly, fatherly advice to you boys is to
+take yourselves down out'n this mounting jes' as quick as you kin. It
+ain't no place for people of your sort."
+
+"We'll do nothing of the kind," answered Jack. "We've come up here on a
+perfectly honest and legitimate mission, and we're going to carry it
+out. We are not interfering with anybody and I give you warning that if
+anybody interferes with us it will be the worse for him. We are armed,
+every man of us and we are prepared to use our arms. Tom,"--turning to
+his brother,--"take that man's rifle and discharge it into the cliff
+back there."
+
+Tom obeyed the command instantly. Then Jack said to their unwelcome
+visitor, "Now you can take your rifle and go away. But don't intrude
+upon us again. If you do, you'll get the contents of our guns without
+any explanations or any arguments. Take your gun and go!"
+
+The intruder took his gun and accoutrements and without a word walked
+away up the mountain through the timber land.
+
+"What does it all mean, Jack?" asked all the boys at once.
+
+"Moonshiners," broke in Tom, sententiously.
+
+Moonshiners are men who operate little unlicensed distilleries in the
+fastnesses of the mountains and surreptitiously sell their whiskey
+without paying the government tax upon it.
+
+"But why should moonshiners object to our camping in the wood lands up
+here and cutting railroad ties?" asked Jim Chenowith. "I don't see the
+connection."
+
+"Well, they do," answered Tom. "They are engaged in a criminal business
+and they don't want to be watched. If they are caught their stills and
+their whiskey are confiscated, they are fined heavily, and worse still
+they are imprisoned for very long terms. They are always on the lookout
+for agents of the revenue in disguise, and so they don't want any
+strangers in this 'land of the sky' on any pretence. They are desperate
+men to whom murder is a pastime and assassination an amusement."
+
+"Then why did you anger the man as you did, Jack, and subject him to
+humiliation?" asked Ed Parmly. "Won't it make him and his people our
+enemies?"
+
+"No," answered Jack. "They are that already. You remember that even
+after hearing my explanation of our purpose in coming up here, he
+ordered us to leave the mountain at once. Not being a pack of cowards of
+course we're not going to do anything of the kind. So it was just as
+well to let him know at once that we're going to stay, that we are fully
+armed, and that in the event of necessity we shall be what he would call
+'quick on trigger.' I meant him to understand that clearly, and he
+understands it. You see men that are freest in killing other men have no
+more fondness than people generally for being killed themselves.
+Desperadoes are not heroes. They are merely bullies who take advantage
+of an unarmed enemy when they can and sneak away as that man did
+whenever an enemy 'gits the drap' on them as the fellow phrased it."
+
+"But won't they attack us in our camp?" asked Jim Chenowith.
+
+"Probably," answered Jack with perfect calmness. "They want us out of
+the mountains and they'll probably try to drive us out. But I for one am
+not going to be driven out, and I don't think the rest of you fellows
+are Molly Cottontails to be chased down the steeps."
+
+"No!" called out little Tom. "We've got guns and we know how to use
+them. We're up here by right and here we'll stay. Won't we boys?"
+
+"Yes! Yes! Yes!" answered the others in chorus.
+
+"All right then," said Jack, "and I thank you all. But now that we know
+our danger we must look out for ourselves. We must never sleep without a
+sentinel on guard, and every fellow of us must always sleep with his gun
+by his side. That's what soldiers call 'sleeping on arms!'"
+
+"All right!" called out Tom, who was always ready. "Arrange the guard
+detail for to-night Jack. I'll take the worst turn, which I believe
+begins about three o'clock--the 'dog watch' they call it on steamboats."
+
+"Well," said Jack, meditatively. "It's now nearly ten o'clock. We'll all
+be up by six in the morning. That's eight hours and there are five of
+us; so it means one hour and thirty-six minutes apiece, of guard duty."
+
+"Hold on," broke in the Doctor. "You've forgotten me."
+
+"Well you see, Doctor, your health isn't good, and we don't want you to
+lose your sleep. We'll do all this guard duty without bothering you."
+
+"Not if I know it," answered the Doctor. "I didn't join this party as a
+dead head, you may be sure of that. I'm going to share and share alike
+with you my comrades. I am not yet very strong after my long illness,
+but I'm strong enough to stay awake for my fair share of the time, and
+you may be sure I am strong enough to pull a trigger and empty fourteen
+bullets from my magazine rifle into any body that may venture to assail
+us. Now boys, I want you to understand my position and attitude clearly.
+Either I am a full member of this company in good standing, or else I do
+not belong to it at all. In the latter case I'll withdraw and go back
+down the mountain. I'm older than you boys, but not enough older to
+make any serious difference. I'm still a good deal of a boy, and either
+you must let me do a boy's part or I'll quit. If I stay with you I must
+be one of you. I must do my share of the cooking and all the rest of the
+work, and especially my fair share of all guard duty and all fighting,
+if fighting becomes necessary at any time. Come now! Is it a bargain? Or
+am I to quit your company to-morrow morning, as a man too old and unfit
+to share with you the work we have come up the mountain to do?"
+
+"I move," said little Tom, who had more wit than any other member of the
+company, "that Doctor LaTrobe be hereby declared to be precisely sixteen
+years old, and fully entitled to consider himself a boy among boys!"
+
+The motion was carried with a shout, and then Jack, who was always
+practical, said:
+
+"Well then there are six of us. That means one hour and twenty minutes
+apiece of guard duty to-night."
+
+So it was arranged, and as soon as the order in which the several
+members of the party should be waked for duty was arranged, the boys
+piled an abundance of wood on the fire, wrapped themselves in their
+blankets and lay down to sleep. But first little Tom manufactured a pot
+of fresh coffee, and set it near the fire where it would keep hot.
+
+"The sentinel must be wide awake," he said, "and I don't know anything
+like good strong coffee to keep one's eyes open."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+_A Picket Shot_
+
+
+The three Ridsdale boys and their comrades lived in a thriving, bustling
+little town in one of the great valleys which divide the Virginia
+Mountains into ranges each having its own name. Their ages ranged from
+Jack's nineteen years down to Jim Chenowith's sixteen. Little Tom was so
+called not so much because he was rather shorter than his overgrown
+brothers, as because his father had been also Thomas Ridsdale and for
+the sake of distinguishing between them the family and the neighbors had
+from his infancy called the boy "Little Tom." He was next to Jack in age
+being now nearly eighteen years old, and as a voracious reader and a
+singularly keen observer he was perhaps better informed than any other
+boy in the party. He was not really little by any means, being five feet
+seven inches high and of unusually stalwart frame. From his tenth year
+till now he had spent his vacations mainly in hunting in these
+mountains. His knowledge of wood craft and of all that pertains to the
+chase was therefore superior even to Jack's.
+
+The father of the Ridsdale boys had been the foremost young lawyer in
+the town, but he had died at a comparatively early age, leaving his
+widow a very scanty estate with which to bring up the three boys who
+were her treasures. The boys had helped from the earliest years in which
+they were capable of helping. They had chopped and sawed and split wood,
+worked in the hay fields, dropped and covered corn, pulled fodder and
+done what ever else there was to do that might bring a little wage to
+eke out the good mother's scant income. In brief they had behaved like
+the brave, manly, mother-loving fellows that they were, and they had
+grown into a sturdy strength that promised stalwart manhood to all of
+them.
+
+Among the widow's meagre possessions was a vast tract of almost
+worthless timber land up there on the mountain. It was almost worthless
+simply because there was no market for the timber that grew upon it. But
+now had come the railroad enterprise, whose contractors wanted ties and
+bridge timbers and unlimited cordwood for use in their engine furnaces.
+So Jack and his brothers had decided to omit this winter's attendance
+upon the High school, and to devote the season to the profitable work
+of wood chopping on the mountain. There was an exceedingly steep descent
+on that side of the mountain, on which their timber lands lay, so that
+by building a short chute to give a headway they could send their
+railroad ties and the other products of their chopping by a steep slide
+to the valley below by force of gravity and without any hauling
+whatever. Two of their schoolmates--Jim Chenowith and Ed Parmly had
+asked to join in the expedition. An arrangement had been made with the
+railroad people to pay a stipulated price for every railroad tie shot
+down the hill, a much higher price for every piece of timber big enough
+for use in bridge building and a fair price for all the cordwood sent
+down the chute. This latter was to be made of the limbs of trees cut
+down for ties or bridge timbers--limbs not large enough for other uses,
+and which must otherwise go to waste. The two boys who did not belong to
+the Ridsdale family--Ed Parmly and Jim Chenowith--were to pay to Mrs.
+Ridsdale a small price agreed upon for each tie or timber, or cord of
+wood that they should cut on her land, the rest of the price going to
+themselves.
+
+During the last week before their departure Dr. LaTrobe had asked the
+privilege of joining the expedition. He was a man of means whose home
+was in Baltimore, but who had come to the town in which the boys lived
+in search of health and strength. He was a tireless student of science,
+and in the course of his duty in one of the charity hospitals of
+Baltimore he had contracted a fever. His recovery from it was so slow
+and unsatisfactory that he had abandoned his work and wandered away into
+South Western Virginia for purposes of recuperation and had been for
+some months boarding with Mrs. Ridsdale. In pursuit of health and
+strength therefore he asked to join the Ridsdale boys in their mountain
+expedition.
+
+"I have quite all the money I want," he explained, "and so the ties and
+timbers and cordwood that I may cut will be counted as your own. All I
+want is the life in the open air, the exercise, the freedom, the
+health-giving experience of a camping trip."
+
+Thus it was that the party had come together. They knew perfectly that
+once in the mountains after winter should set in in earnest their
+communication with the country below must be very uncertain. They
+therefore, took with them on their own backs and on the backs of their
+pack mules those necessaries which would most certainly render them
+independent of other sources of supply. The Doctor had largely directed
+the selection of food stuffs, bringing to bear upon it an expert
+knowledge which the boys, of course, did not possess.
+
+"The basis will be beans," he said.
+
+"But why beans?" asked Jack.
+
+"For several reasons. First, because beans will keep all winter. Second,
+because beans are very nearly perfect food for robust people. They have
+fat in them, and that makes heat, and they have starch and gluten in
+them too, so that they are in fact both meat and bread. Pound for pound,
+dried beans are about the most perfect food possible. To make them
+palatable we must take some dry salted pork along. We can carry that
+better than pickled pork in kegs and we shall not have to carry a lot of
+useless brine if we take the dry salted meat."
+
+The Doctor added some dried beef, a few hams, some bacon and a supply of
+sugar.
+
+"Sugar," he explained, "is almost pure nutriment. It is food so
+concentrated that it ought never to be taken in large quantities in its
+pure state."
+
+"That's why they were so stingy with me in the matter of candy when I
+was a little chap," soliloquized Tom.
+
+The total supply of meat taken along was small, but it was quite well
+understood that the party must rely upon its guns mainly for that part
+of its food supply.
+
+For bread there was a small quantity of "hard tack" and a large supply
+of corn meal.
+
+The salt was securely encased in a water-tight and even moisture-proof
+oil-cloth bag. One big cheese was taken by special request of Ed's
+mother, who had made it a year before, and the Doctor approved its
+inclusion in the list.
+
+"It weighs fifty pounds," he said to Jack who from the first had charge
+of the expedition, "but it is pure food and we couldn't put in fifty
+pounds of any thing else that would go so far to ward off starvation in
+case we get into difficulties. Next to a supply of coffee, nothing could
+be more useful."
+
+There were only four pack mules to carry these things, but every member
+of the party carried a heavy pack on his shoulders, besides his gun and
+axe, so that altogether the expedition was reasonably well provisioned,
+in view of the fact that it was going into the mountains where game of
+every kind abounded.
+
+No provender was carried for the pack mules. There was grass enough for
+them to live upon during the journey of two days and at the end of that
+time they were to be turned loose to find their own way down the
+mountain, cropping grass and herbs as they went.
+
+There was a grind stone for the sharpening of the axes, and one of the
+boys carried a long cross-cut saw. The ammunition supply was large, and
+besides cartridges loaded with turkey shot it included several scores
+that carried full sized buck shot. The ammunition, added to the rest,
+very seriously over-loaded the mules. On a long journey those animals,
+large and brawny as they were, could not have endured the burdens laid
+upon them. But the trip up the mountain was to occupy a good deal less
+than two days and so the owner of the mules readily consented to the
+overloading.
+
+That is how it came about that the five boys and Doctor LaTrobe were
+camping up there in a little mountain glade, on the night on which our
+story opens. They had less than a mile to go on the next day in order to
+reach their permanent camping place, but the journey was mainly a very
+steep up-hill one, and, their halt on the mountain side was in every way
+wise.
+
+Healthily weary as they were it did not take the boys long to fall
+asleep after they had wrapped themselves in their blankets and lain down
+with feet toward the great blazing fire.
+
+It was understood that the one on sentry duty should replenish the fire
+from time to time, but at Jack's wise suggestion the sentry was himself
+to remain well away from the blazing logs, and in the shadow of the
+woodlands beyond.
+
+"Otherwise," explained Jack, "an enemy approaching in the dark might
+easily pick off our sentry, sitting or standing in the firelight, and
+then slip away in the darkness without the possibility of our seeing
+him."
+
+The hours wore away, however, with no disturbance in the camp. One after
+another sentry aroused his successor and himself lay down to sleep.
+
+It was nearing daybreak, and little Tom was on duty. There was already a
+rime of white frost on the grass and leaves and the atmosphere was
+chill. Tom looked longingly at the great blazing fire as he walked his
+beat in the woodland shadows far beyond reach of its comforting
+radiance.
+
+"Any how this snappy air keeps a fellow from sleeping on post," he said
+to himself, "and they punish that crime with death in the army. Whew!
+how my ears ache!
+
+"What's that?" he ejaculated under his breath as he heard a stealthy
+noise. Listening he heard a sound as of some one creeping up through the
+woods. He cocked both barrels of his shot gun, each of which carried
+nine buck shot, and breathlessly waited, listening and looking.
+Presently he fired, and instantly every member of the party was on his
+feet, gun in hand, for they were all sleeping with their pieces beside
+them.
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Where is it?"
+
+"Who is it?" and so on with question after question they bombarded
+little Tom.
+
+"It's breakfast," said little Tom, calmly walking to the foot of a tree
+and there picking up a fat opossum.
+
+There was a laugh, for half asleep as the boys were they saw the humor
+of the situation and realized under what a nervous strain they had been
+sleeping.
+
+"Now go to sleep again," said Tom, "and when I wake you next time
+breakfast will be ready."
+
+He went away into the woods and there dressed the opossum. Then he so
+far disregarded orders as to go to the fire and rig up a device for
+cooking the dainty animal. He cut two forked sticks, sharpened their
+lower ends and drove them firmly into the earth. Across these he laid
+another stick and from it he hung the opossum by a bit of twine which he
+twisted till it set and kept the roast revolving. Then he returned to
+the shadows, but every now and then he came back to the fire to inspect
+his roast and to set the string twirling anew.
+
+Finally, just as day was breaking, little Tom aroused the rest with a
+demand that some of them should make some bread, brew some coffee and
+"make themselves generally useful," as he phrased it.
+
+The sun was not yet up when the last bones of the pig-like little animal
+were picked clean and the final drop of coffee was drunk.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+_The Doctor's Plans_
+
+
+The little company had only a mile, or a trifle more, to go before
+reaching their final destination. But it was literally "up hill work."
+Often it was worse even than that, involving the climbing of cliffs and
+difficult struggles to force the mules through rocky and tangled
+woodlands.
+
+It was nearly ten o'clock therefore when they at last came to a halt in
+a body of thick-growing timber, and after a careful inspection of the
+situation, decided to pitch their permanent camp there.
+
+There were many points to be considered in locating themselves. They
+must have water of course and there was a spring here under the cliff
+that rose at the back of the plateau. It needed some digging out to form
+a basin, but an hour's or two hours' work by two of the party would
+accomplish that. They must be near the cliff on the other side over
+which their ties and timbers were to be sent into the slide that was to
+carry them to the valley below, and this spot seemed the best of all
+for the purpose. Finally the timber, consisting chiefly of vigorous
+young oaks, hickories and chestnuts, but having many giant trees
+besides, was here especially dense in its growth, and ready to their
+hands and axes.
+
+"There's a steep reach of mountain looming up just behind us," said the
+Doctor, "and when the snows come it may give us some trouble in the way
+of avalanches, floods and the like, but on the whole I think this is the
+best spot we could select."
+
+So the pack mules were relieved of their loads, and turned loose. It was
+certain that the sagacious animals would slowly retrace the road over
+which they had come and return to their master in the valley below. At
+any rate the master of them was confident of that and his agreement with
+the boys had been that the mules should simply be turned loose when
+their task was done.
+
+"Now let's all get together," said Jack Ridsdale when the mules
+disappeared over the edge of the last troublesome ascent. "Let's all get
+together and lay out our work."
+
+"That's right," said the Doctor. "We must first of all provide for
+immediate needs, and next for a permanent camp. Now first, what are our
+immediate needs?"
+
+"Water, fire, and a temporary shelter," promptly answered little Tom the
+readiest thinker as well as the most experienced woodsman in the whole
+company.
+
+"Well we'll set two fellows at work digging out a large basin for that
+spring," said Jack. "That will give us an adequate water supply for all
+winter. You Tom, and Ed Parmly, are detailed to that work. Now as to
+shelter. Of course we've got to build a permanent winter quarters. But
+that will take several days--perhaps a week, and in the meantime we're
+likely to have snows or rains and we must have some sort of temporary
+abode. We must build that to-day. How shall it be done?"
+
+"Easy enough," answered Harry Ridsdale. "We can set up some poles just
+under the cliff back there and make a shed open in front and covered
+with bushes so arranged as to shed the rain. Of course the place
+wouldn't be a good one for permanent quarters, but in November there are
+no avalanches or anything else of that sort, and so a temporary shed
+there will answer our purpose for the present."
+
+"But how are we going to keep it warm?" asked Ed.
+
+"By building a big fire in front of it," answered Harry.
+
+"But suppose the wind should blow hard from the north and blow all the
+smoke into our shed?" said Ed.
+
+"Well, let it," answered Harry. "The smoke will rise, especially in a
+high wind, and our bush roof will certainly be porous enough to let it
+through."
+
+After a little further discussion it was decided to adopt Harry's plan,
+and by the time that Tom and Ed had completed the work of digging out a
+water reservoir, the rest of the party had constructed a temporary
+shelter under the cliff, quite sufficient for their immediate needs. By
+this time hunger--that always recurring condition--had seized upon them
+and they prepared a rather late dinner of squirrels that had been shot
+by one and another of the party on the journey. They were tired, too,
+and the need of rest was imperative. So they decided to do no more work
+that day, but to devote its remaining hours to the task of planning
+their winter quarters.
+
+First of all they selected a location for their winter house which the
+Doctor thought the avalanches and the floods from the mountains would
+not seriously inconvenience. The ground on which they were camping was a
+sort of plateau, with a cliff rising behind and with the steep mountain
+side falling away into the fathomless depths in front. The plateau
+embraced several acres of land, and it was fairly level; but the spot
+selected for winter quarters was a little knoll which rose above the
+general level very near the top of the steep front.
+
+By the time that all this had been accomplished night fell, and there
+was supper to get. After supper Jack said:
+
+"Now we've laid out our camp, but we haven't named it yet. With the
+enmity of the moonshiners already aroused, it's a venture--our staying
+here I mean--but we're going to make the venture. So I propose that we
+call this camp of ours 'Camp Danger,' or 'Camp Risk' or camp something
+else of the sort."
+
+"Why not call it 'Camp Venture?'" asked Harry.
+
+"Good! 'Camp Venture' it is," answered Ed Parmly and the Doctor in
+unison. "Let it be 'Camp Venture'" and, added the Doctor, "if we are up
+to our business we'll show our friends that 'Camp Venture' did not
+venture more than its members were able to carry out. I'll tell you
+what, boys, I'm going to keep a diary setting forth all our adventures,
+and when the thing is over and done for, I'm going to write a book about
+it."
+
+"Then we'll all be heroes of romance," said Jack. "Who'll be the villain
+of the piece?"
+
+"Not at all," answered the Doctor. "I shall use fictitious names for all
+of you and even for myself, so that nobody shall ever know who we are or
+who it was that lived and experienced and perhaps suffered in 'Camp
+Venture.' I'm not going to spoil you superb fellows by making public
+personages of you before your time. But I'm going to write a book about
+your doings and sayings, which will perhaps interest some other boys and
+help them to meet duty as it ought to be met."
+
+This story is the book that the Doctor wrote.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+_A New Declaration of Independence_
+
+
+"Well," said little Tom long before supper, "if you fellows are too lazy
+to do any more work after an easy day like this, I am going out into the
+sunset to look for a turkey. I'm not fond of salt meat, and besides
+we've got to spare our salt pork against a time of need. I'll be back by
+supper time."
+
+With that he shouldered his gun, withdrew one of the buckshot
+cartridges, inserted one loaded for turkeys in its stead, and strolled
+away up the mountain side.
+
+An hour passed and little Tom did not return. Another hour went by and
+still no little Tom came. By this time darkness had set in and supper
+was ready. The boys were growing uneasy, but they comforted themselves
+with the thought that "Little Tom knows how to take care of himself,
+anyhow."
+
+So they sat down to their evening meal with a great fire crackling and
+glowing in front of their temporary shelter, and filling it with fierce
+light which completely blinded their eyes to everything in the gloom
+beyond. They had carelessly stacked their arms in a corner, a dozen feet
+beyond reach, and were chatting in a jolly way when suddenly there
+appeared before them the tall mountaineer of the night before.
+
+This time he was wilier than on his previous appearance. This time he
+levelled his gun at the party and quickly stepped between them and their
+arms. Then, with his rifle at his shoulder and his finger near the hair
+trigger that was set to go off at the very lightest touch, he called
+out:
+
+"You got the drap on me las' night, but now I've dun got the drap on
+you. Will you now git out'n this here mounting? I've dun give you notice
+that us fellers what lives up here don't want no visitors from down
+below. So throw up your hands and march right now, every one of you.
+I'll take keer o' your guns an' other things, an' I'm not a goin' to
+take this rifle from my shoulder till the last one of you is well
+started down the mounting. Come now! Git a move onto you!"
+
+At that moment a noise as of some heavy body falling was heard in the
+outer darkness just beyond the limits of the firelight. The next
+instant little Tom leaped upon the mountaineer's back grasped his
+throat with both hands and dragged him to earth. His rifle went off in
+the mélee, but fortunately the bullet had no billet and flattened itself
+against the side of the cliff.
+
+Of course the mountaineer was more than a match for little Tom and in a
+prolonged struggle would easily have got the better of him. But the
+other boys instantly came to their comrade's assistance and the intruder
+was quickly and completely overcome.
+
+He had received some ugly hurts in the encounter, among them a broken
+arm, but the Doctor dressed the wounds and meantime the man became
+placative in his mood.
+
+"I was about to shoot him," said little Tom, "but it isn't a pleasant
+thing to shoot a man even when you must, and so I thought of the other
+plan, and jumped on his back instead. I knew I couldn't hold him down by
+myself, but I knew you other fellows would come to my assistance, so I
+risked that mode of operations."
+
+"If you had shot him," said the Doctor, "you'd have been justified both
+in law and in morals."
+
+"Yes, I know that," said little Tom, "but I shouldn't have slept well
+afterwards and I'm fond of my sleep."
+
+"Well now eat your supper," said the Doctor, "and perhaps our friend
+the enemy here will join you in enjoying it."
+
+To the astonishment of all, the mountaineer eagerly replied:
+
+"Well, I don't keer if I do. I ain't et nothin' sence a very early
+breakfast, an' it wa'n't much of anything that I et then. As for the
+little scrimmage, I don't bear no malice when I gits hurt in a fair
+fight--least of all against a young chap like that. You see I had got
+the drap on you fellers, an' when he come up sort o' unexpected like and
+unbeknownst to me, he jist naterally took the drap on me. It was all
+fair an' right, an' I want to say I'm grateful to him for not usin' his
+gun. He could 'a shot me like a dog, an' he didn't."
+
+All this while the lean and hungry mountaineer was eating voraciously
+and in spite of his wounds with an eager relish.
+
+"How do you people live up here?" asked the Doctor. "You can't grow much
+in the way of crops. Do you generally have enough to eat?"
+
+"Well hardly to say generally. Sometimes we has, and more oftener we
+hasn't. You see our business is onsartain. That's why we don't like
+strangers prowlin' around in the mountings. Now I've got somethin'
+friendly like, to say to you fellers. Fust off I want to tell you _I'm_
+not agoin' to bother you agin. I'm a believin' that you've come up here
+on a straight business. But there's others that ain't got so much faith
+as me. They'll make trouble for you if you stay. My advice to you is to
+git out'n the mountings jest as quick as you kin."
+
+"But my friend," said the Doctor, "Why should we leave the mountains? We
+are on land owned by the mother of my young friends here. We have come
+only to see if we can't get some money for her out of lands that have
+never paid her anything--not even earning the taxes that she has paid on
+them. Why shouldn't we stay here and do this? This is a free country,
+and--"
+
+"They's taxes in it," said the mountaineer, gritting his teeth, "an'
+they's jails for them that tries to carry on business without a payin'
+of the taxes. I don't call that no free country."
+
+"It would be idle to argue that question," replied the Doctor. "But we,
+at least, have nothing to do with the taxes. We are here to make a
+little money in a perfectly legitimate way, by hard work. We are not
+interfering with any body and we don't intend to interfere with any
+body. But we're going to stay here all winter and carry on our
+business."
+
+"Yes!" added Jack, "and if any body interferes with us it will be the
+worse for him."
+
+"Well, you're makin' of a mistake," said the mountaineer, "an' I give
+you friendly warnin'. As I done told you before, I believe you. I think
+you're dead straight. But there's them what ain't so charitable, as the
+preachers say. There's them that'll believe you're lyin', and 'll stick
+to that there belief till the cows come home, an' they'll make a mighty
+heap o' trouble fer you fellers ef you tries to stay here. They're men
+that won't be watched I tell you, and forty witnesses, all on their
+Bible oaths couldn't persuade 'em but what you're here to watch 'em.
+It's friendly advice I give you when I tells you to git out'n these
+mountings."
+
+"All right," broke in little Tom, "but while you're scattering friendly
+advice around suppose you advise your friends to let us alone. Tell them
+that little Tom Ridsdale proposes to shoot next time, and to shoot his
+buckshot barrel at that." Tom rose to his feet and added:
+
+"You and your people mean war. Very well. I for one, accept the issue.
+Hereafter it will be war, and in war every man shoots to do all the
+damage he can. I have a perfect right to be here on my mother's land,
+and here I am going to stay. If every other fellow in the party should
+start down the mountain this night, I would stay here alone to fight it
+out all winter. And every other fellow in our party feels just as I do.
+Go to your criminal friends and tell them that! But warn them that if
+they interfere with us we'll not wrestle with them, we'll shoot and
+we'll take no chance of missing. We'll shoot to produce effects. We'll
+never interfere with you or your friends, but you and your friends
+mustn't interfere with us. If you do, you'll get war and all you want of
+it. We've tried to do the right thing by you; and now I give you fair
+warning."
+
+"Well, all I've got to say," said the mountaineer, as he took his
+departure, "is jest this: You fellers has dealt fair with me, an' I'll
+deal fair with you. That boy that threw me down an' broke my arm mout
+just as easy have shot me through the body; an' then the tender way that
+the Doctor done up my arm! Why even a woman couldn't 'a' been tenderer
+like. Now I ain't got no quarrel with you fellers, an' that's why I'm
+advisin' you to git down out'n the mountings as soon as you kin. There's
+others, I tell you, an' they ain't soft hearted like me. They'll give
+you a heap o' trouble if you stay here."
+
+"Let them try it," answered little Tom. "Let them try it. Then we'll see
+who's who, and what's what. Now tell your friends what I've said to you.
+There! good night! I hope your arm will get well. If it doesn't, come
+over here and let the Doctor look at it."
+
+With that defiant farewell in his ears the mountaineer took his leave.
+
+"Was it prudent, Tom?" asked Ed Parmly, "to send that sort of defiant
+message to the moonshiners?"
+
+"Yes, quite prudent. We want them to know that we are here on our own
+business and not on theirs, at all. We want them to know that we propose
+to stay here whether they want us to do so or not. And finally, we want
+them to understand that any interference with us on their part, will
+mean war. I've simply issued a Declaration of Independence, and--"
+
+"And to it," called out Jim Chenowith, quoting, "we pledge our lives,
+our fortunes and our sacred honor."
+
+"Now," said Jack, "from this hour forward we'll keep a sentinel always
+on duty, so that we may not be caught napping. During the daytime, of
+course, when we're chopping ties and timbers, we'll need no sentinels.
+We'll keep our guns within easy reach, and so every one of us will be a
+sentinel, but when night comes on we mustn't let anybody 'get the drap'
+on us as that fellow did to-night. By the way, Tom, did you get any
+game?"
+
+"Why, yes. I forgot all about that. I dropped it out there to tackle
+that mountaineer. I had carried and dragged it for weary miles, and I
+wonder at my forgetfulness."
+
+Without questioning him further two of the boys went off into that
+circle of darkness which seemed impenetrably black when looked at from
+the fireside, but which was light enough when they got within its
+environment. There they found a deer, weighing perhaps a hundred and
+fifty pounds, which little Tom had shot high up on the mountain and had
+laboriously dragged, in part, and carried on his shoulders in other
+part, all the way to camp.
+
+Tom was much too weary to attend to it, but there were eager hands to
+help, and while Tom slept, they dressed the venison, and when Tom waked
+in the morning, he found that he had been completely excused from sentry
+duty throughout the night. His toilsome hunt, his painful carrying of
+the deer, his nervous strain over the necessity of encountering the
+mountaineer, and pretty seriously injuring him, and above all, his rise
+in wrath and his deliverance of a new Declaration of Independence as a
+defiance to the mountaineers, had been decreed by unanimous vote of the
+party to be the full equivalent of sentry service, and so Tom had been
+permitted to sleep through all the hours till breakfast was served.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+_The Building of a Cabin_
+
+
+Jack routed out the entire party before daylight next morning and bade
+them "get breakfast quick and eat it in a hurry. We've got to begin our
+house to-day," he added.
+
+They were eager enough, for, apart from the frolic of house building,
+they knew how badly they should need a more secure shelter than their
+temporary abode could furnish, should rain or snow come, as was likely
+now at any time.
+
+Breakfast over, Jack took his axe and marked a number of trees for
+cutting. Most of them were trees nearly a foot in thickness--none under
+eight inches--and all were situated in the thickest growth of timber.
+
+"Why not choose trees farther out in the open?" asked Ed Parmly, "where
+they would be easier to get at and get out."
+
+"Because, if you will use your eyes, Ed, you'll see that out in the
+open, the trees taper rapidly from stump to top. I want trees that will
+yield at least one, and if possible, two logs apiece, with very little
+taper to them. Otherwise, our house will be lop-sided."
+
+"But I say, Jack, what causes the difference? Why do trees in the thick
+woods grow so much taller and straighter and of more uniform size than
+trees out in the open?"
+
+"Because every tree is continually hunting for sunlight and air,"
+answered Jack. "Out in the open, each tree finds these easily and goes
+to work at once to put out its branches, about ten feet from the ground,
+and to make itself generally comfortable. But where the trees are
+crowded close together each has to struggle with all the rest for its
+share of sunlight and air. They do not waste their energies in putting
+out branches that they can do without, but just keep on growing straight
+up in search of the air and sunlight. So you see if you want long sticks
+you must go into the thick woods for them. Out there in that half open
+glade there isn't a single tree with a twenty-foot reach before you come
+to its branches, while the trees I have marked here in the thick woods
+will give us, most of them two logs apiece twenty-one feet long and with
+not more than three or four inches difference between their diameters at
+the butt and their diameters at the extreme upper end. It's a good deal
+so with men, by the way. Those that must struggle for a chance usually
+achieve the best results in the end."
+
+By this time the axes were all busy felling the marked trees, and within
+an hour or so they all lay upon the ground, trimmed of their branches,
+and cut into the required lengths of twenty-one feet each.
+
+Having felled his share of them, Jack went a little further into the
+woodlands, and began blocking out great chips from one after another big
+chestnut tree. Having blocked out these chips, Jack sat down and began
+to split them, observing the result in each case with care. Presently he
+satisfied himself and set to work to cut down the giant chestnut whose
+chip had yielded the best results.
+
+"What's all that for, Jack?" asked the Doctor. "Why did you split up
+those chips in that way, like a little boy with a new hatchet?"
+
+"I was hunting for some timber that isn't 'brash,'" answered Jack, "to
+make our clapboards out of."
+
+"What do you mean by 'brash?'"
+
+"Why, some timber splits easily and straight along its grain, while
+other wood breaks away slantwise across the grain. That last kind is
+called 'brash,' and, of course, it is of no account for clapboards. See
+here!" and with that he took up two of the big sample chips and
+illustrated his meaning by splitting them and showing the Doctor how one
+of them split straight with the grain, while the other showed no such
+integrity.
+
+"Oh, then, you're going to make clapboards out of this tree to roof our
+shanty with and to close up its gables."
+
+"I'm going to make clapboards for our roof," answered Jack, "but not for
+our gables. They'll be made of logs, in true mountain fashion."
+
+"But how is that possible?" eagerly asked the Doctor.
+
+"I'll show you when we come to build. I can't very well explain it in
+advance. And another thing, Doctor, you remember that we have only ten
+pounds or so of nails, all told."
+
+"That's true!" exclaimed the Doctor, almost in consternation. "We can't
+roof our house till somebody goes down the mountain and brings a
+supply."
+
+"That's where you are mightily mistaken, Doctor. There isn't a log cabin
+in these mountains that has a nail in its roof."
+
+"But how then are the clapboards held in place?"
+
+"That again is a thing I can show you far better than I can explain it
+without demonstration. But we must first get our clapboards, and if
+you'll go back to the camp and bring a cross cut saw, I'll have this
+giant of the forest laid low by the time you get back, and then you and
+I will cut it into four-foot lengths for clapboards."
+
+It should be explained that in the mountains of Virginia the word
+"clapboard" and the simpler word "board," mean something quite different
+from what they signify elsewhere. When the Virginia mountaineer speaks
+of a "board" or a "clapboard" he means a rough shingle, four feet long,
+simply split out of a piece of timber and not dressed in any way.
+
+When the Doctor returned with the cross cut saw, Jack first marked off
+ten feet of his great tree at the butt and the two set to work to sever
+it.
+
+"But you said we were to cut it into four-foot lengths," said the
+Doctor, as they began to pull the saw back and forth.
+
+"So we are," answered Jack, "after we saw off this butt. You see, the
+butt of a tree is always rather brash, and so we won't use that for
+clapboards. Besides, I've another use for it."
+
+"What?" asked the Doctor.
+
+"I'm going to dig it out into a big trough and make a bath tub out of
+it. You see, that spring up there under the cliff has a fine flow of
+water. I'll sink this trough in the ground, at a proper angle, and
+train the water into it. It will run in at one end and out at the other,
+continually, so we'll always have a fresh bath ready for any comer."
+
+"But will the boys relish a cold bath out of doors when the thermometer
+gets down into the small figures?"
+
+"Well they'd better. Little Tom is a crank on cold bathing in the
+morning, and if any fellow in the party doesn't relish that sort of
+thing, Tom will souse him in any how till he teaches him to like it. He
+won't do you that way, Doctor, of course, but--"
+
+"But why not? I need the tonic influence of cold morning baths more than
+anybody else in the party, and as soon as we get our bath tub in place I
+shall begin taking them. And more than that, I'll help little Tom in the
+work of dousing any boy in the party that neglects that hygienic
+regimen."
+
+Having sawed off the butt of this big tree, Jack went back to the house
+site and directed the boys as to the work of building. The forty sticks
+of timber already cut, when piled into a crib would make the body of a
+cabin nearly twenty feet square, allowing for the overlapping of the
+timbers, and about ten feet high under the eaves. Jack showed the boys
+how to notch the logs at their ends so as to hold them securely in place
+and so also as to let them lie very close together throughout their
+length. For, of course, without notching, each log would lie the whole
+thickness of another log above the timber below it. Having thus started
+the four in the work of building, he returned to the woods where he and
+the Doctor continued the work of sawing the big tree trunk into
+four-foot lengths. About noon the Doctor volunteered to go and prepare a
+roast venison dinner, and Jack proceeded to split the tree-lengths into
+sizes convenient for the riving of the clapboards.
+
+By the time that he had accomplished this, the Doctor whistled through
+his fingers to announce dinner, and every member of the party was
+eagerly ready for the savory meal, the very odor of which made their
+nostrils glad while they were washing their hands and faces in
+preparation for it. There were not many dishes included in it--only some
+sweet potatoes roasted in the ashes, and some big pones of black ash
+cake, to go with the great haunch of roast venison.
+
+Ash cake is a species of corn bread, consisting of corn meal mixed up
+with cold water and a little salt, and baked hard in a bed of hot ashes
+and hotter coals, and if any reader of this story has ever eaten ash
+cake, properly prepared, I need not tell him that there is no better
+kind of bread made anywhere--no, not even in Paris, a city that prides
+itself about equally upon its "pain"--bread,--and its paintings, of
+which it has the finest collections in all the world. Finally, there was
+the sauce--traditionally, the best in the world,--namely, hunger. Half a
+dozen young fellows high up on a mountain side, who had breakfasted
+before daylight and swung axes and lifted logs till midday, needed no
+highly-spiced flavoring to give savor to their meat. They ate like the
+healthy, hard working fellows that they were, and they had no fear of
+indigestions to follow their eating.
+
+After dinner the work of building went on apace. The main crib of the
+house was finished by noon of the next day, and the roof and gables only
+remained to be completed after that. This was to be done as follows:
+
+Logs to form the gables were cut, each a few feet shorter than the one
+below. Then poles six inches in diameter were cut to form a resting
+place for the clapboards, and were placed lengthwise the building,
+resting in notches in the steadily shortening gable timbers. The gable
+timbers were permitted, however, to extend two feet or so beyond the
+notches in which the lengthwise poles rested, and a second notch was
+cut in each end of each of them. When a row of clapboards was laid on
+the lengthwise poles, another lengthwise pole was placed on top to hold
+the clapboards in place, and this top pole rested in the outer notches
+of the gable logs, thus securely holding the roof in position, and as
+the clapboards overlapped each other as shingles do, the roof was
+rainproof.
+
+Meantime Jack had been riving clapboards with a fro. Does the reader
+know what a fro is? The dictionaries do not tell you in any adequate
+way, though in Virginia and throughout the south and the great west that
+implement has played an important part in enabling men to house
+themselves with clapboards or shingles for their roofs. So I must do the
+work that the dictionaries neglect. A fro is an iron or steel blade
+about eight or ten inches long, about three inches wide, a quarter of an
+inch thick at top, tapering to a very dull edge at bottom. In one end of
+it is an eye to hold a handle.
+
+The fro is used in splitting out clapboards and rough shingles. The
+operator places its dull edge on the end of a piece of timber of proper
+width, at the distance of a clapboard's thickness from the side of the
+timber. Then he hits the back of the fro blade with a mallet or club,
+driving it well in like a wedge. Then, by working the handle backwards
+and forwards, and pushing the fro further and further into the crack, as
+it opens, he splits off a shingle, or a clapboard, as the case may be.
+In the south, and in some parts of the west nearly all of the shingles
+and clapboards used are still split out in this way with the fro. Until
+recent years, when shingle making machines were introduced, all shingles
+were made in that way, so that next to the axe, and the pitsaw, which
+used to do the work now done by the saw mill, the fro played the most
+conspicuous part in the creation of human habitations in all that
+pioneer period when sturdy arms were conquering the American wilderness
+and stout hearts were creating the greatness in which we now rejoice. It
+is stupid of the dictionaries not to tell of it.
+
+In splitting out his clapboards from three-cornered sections of his
+chestnut logs, Jack gradually reduced those sections to a width too
+small for the further making of clapboards. This left in each case a
+three-cornered stick two inches thick at its thickest part, and perhaps
+three inches wide to its edge. The Doctor wanted to utilize these sticks
+for firewood and proposed to carry a lot of them to the temporary
+shelter for that purpose.
+
+"Not by any means," said Jack. "Those wedge-shaped pieces are to be used
+for chinking."
+
+"What's chinking?" asked the Doctor.
+
+"Why, you see," answered Jack, "the logs of which our house or hut is
+built, are not quite straight, though they are the straightest we could
+find in the woods. There are spaces between them that are open, and when
+the zero weather comes we should be very uncomfortably cold in there if
+these spaces remained open. No fire that we could make in our chimney
+would keep us warm under such conditions. So we must stop up the cracks.
+We'll do that by fitting these pieces of chinking into the cracks
+between the logs, and then 'daubing' the smaller cracks with mud. That's
+an operation that will try your resolution, Doctor, and determine
+whether you are really only sixteen years old, as we voted that you
+were, or are a much older person, to be specially considered by us
+boys--for I don't know any more disagreeable job than daubing a log
+cabin."
+
+"Good!" answered the Doctor. "I'll submit myself to the test very
+gladly. You'll show me how to 'daub' of course, and if I don't 'daub'
+with the best and youngest of you, then I'll give up and go down the
+mountain, acknowledging myself a failure. But I give you fair warning
+that I don't expect or intend either to give up or to go down the
+mountain."
+
+"We should all be very sorry if you did, Doctor. We've adopted you now.
+We've decreed that for this winter, at any rate, you are only sixteen
+years of age, and upon my word, if you'll allow me to say so--"
+
+"Now, stop right there," broke in the Doctor. "Don't say 'if you'll
+allow me to say so.' That undoes the whole arrangement. You fellows have
+accepted me as a boy among boys, and you've got to stick to that. There
+are to be no deferences to me. There is to be precisely the same
+comradeship between me and the rest of you that exists among yourselves,
+otherwise I shall consider myself an intruder."
+
+"All right," responded Jack, seizing the Doctor's hand and pressing it
+warmly. "We all feel that you are altogether one of us, and I for one
+shall hereafter treat you as such. So when the daubing time comes I'll
+set you your task like the rest of them and I'll criticize every crevice
+you leave open. What with an open roof--for a clapboard roof is very
+open--through which the wind can blow at its own sweet will, and what
+with the necessity of keeping the door open most of the time for light,
+it's going to be very hard work to keep the place comfortably warm."
+
+"But why keep the door open for light?" asked the Doctor. "Why not let
+in the light through windows?"
+
+"We haven't any windows," answered Jack, "and we haven't any sash or
+glass to make them with."
+
+"Of course not," said the Doctor, "but still, if you'll let me, I'll
+show you how to have windows that will keep out the wind and let in
+light at the same time. I've all the necessary materials in my shoulder
+pack."
+
+"I can't guess how you're going to do it, Doctor, but at any rate I
+accept your statement, and if you'll tell me what sized openings you
+want in the walls for your windows, I'll go at once and saw them out."
+
+"That's what troubles me," said the Doctor. "I don't see how we are
+going to make window openings without sawing through the logs, and I
+don't see how that is to be done without weakening the structure, and
+letting the unsupported ends of the logs fall out of place."
+
+"Oh, that's easy enough," answered Jack. "You tell me what sized window
+openings you want in our walls, and I'll take care of the logs."
+
+The Doctor thought a moment, and then said:
+
+"Well, we ought to have two windows, each about two feet and a half one
+way by about three feet or a little more the other way."
+
+"Does it make any difference," asked Jack, "whether the long way is up
+and down, or to the right and left?"
+
+"None. You can make the openings long either way and short either way."
+
+"Good!" answered Jack. "Then I'll make them long to right and left and
+short in their up and down dimensions, so that I shall have to saw out
+only two logs for each window."
+
+Jack went immediately to work. He split out six or eight boards, each
+four times the thickness of any ordinary clapboard, and, taking a
+handful of the small supply of nails on hand, went to the cabin now well
+advanced in construction, and selected the places for the two window
+openings. Then he nailed the thick boards securely to the logs, one on
+each side of one of the proposed window openings. The boards were long
+enough to reach over four of the logs. Jack nailed them securely to all
+four of the logs, thus binding the timbers together, and making each a
+support to all of the others. Then he sawed out three-foot lengths of
+the two middle logs, leaving their ends securely supported by the boards
+which were firmly nailed to them, and also to the uncut logs above and
+below. Then, to make all secure, he fitted pieces of his thick boards
+to the ends of the sawed logs, and nailed them firmly into place as an
+additional protection against sagging.
+
+"Now, then, Doctor," he called out, "come on with your windows. I'm
+curious to see what they are like."
+
+"In a minute," answered the Doctor, who was busy with his materials on a
+log in front of the house. He had taken two strips of thin yard-wide
+muslin each a little over four feet long, and with the inside of a bacon
+rind he was busily greasing them.
+
+The result of the greasing was to render the thin cotton fabric quite
+translucent, and indeed, almost transparent. With tacks, of which there
+was a small supply in the Doctor's own pack, he securely fastened one of
+these pieces of greased muslin on the outside of the window opening that
+Jack had made, and the other on the inside, leaving a space of several
+inches between.
+
+"There," he said, when all was done, "that will let in light almost as
+well as glass could do, and it will keep out wind and cold even better
+than the logs you sawed away could have done, no matter how well chinked
+and daubed they might have been."
+
+Then he and Jack proceeded to deal with the other window opening in the
+same way. By the time that they had done the boys were clamorously
+calling them to supper, and they were not reluctant to answer the
+summons. By this time the roof was on the house and a door of
+clapboards, split out of double thickness, was hung by hinges made of
+limber twigs, called withes, to pegs in the logs, and supplied with a
+wooden latch, catching into a wooden slot. The door opening was made
+precisely as the window holes were. The mountain form of log cabin
+involved the least possible use of metal in its construction, and except
+for the nails used in making the door and windows this one had involved
+the use of no metal at all. It was not all done, by any means, but at
+least its outer shell was done after two days of hard work, and the rest
+could be safely left till the morrow--all of it, except one thing, of
+which Jack was mindful during supper.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+_After Supper_
+
+
+"Boys," said Jack while supper was in process of consumption, "I'm
+afraid we've all got to do a little work to-night by moonlight.
+Fortunately there is a moon, but these thin, fleecy clouds mean snow or
+I'm mistaken."
+
+"What is the work to be done, Jack," asked Ed. "Why," said Jack, "we've
+got to have some dry broom straw for our beds, and we've got to gather
+it to-night. Otherwise it'll all be wet."
+
+"Broom straw" in Virginia means a tall grass of the prairie grass kind,
+which grows thickly in every open space. In winter it is dry and nothing
+makes a sweeter smelling bed.
+
+The boys were tired after their hard day's work, but their enthusiasm
+instantly outvoted their weariness, for their proceedings had not yet
+lost the character of a sort of frolic in their minds.
+
+"Besides," said little Tom as the supper drew to an end, "I for one am
+not half as tired as I was when we sat down to eat."
+
+"Naturally not," said the Doctor.
+
+"But why is it?" asked Tom. "I don't see how I have got rested so soon."
+
+"You've fired up," replied the Doctor. "Did you ever see an engine that
+worked badly for want of steam? Did you ever observe what the engineer
+does in that case?"
+
+"Yes, of course; he sets the stoker to firing up under the boiler. But
+what has that to do with getting tired and getting rested again? I don't
+see the connection."
+
+"Yet it is clear enough," the Doctor responded. "The human system is a
+machine. It must have energy or force or whatever you choose to call it,
+to enable it to do its work. Now an engine gets its energy from the coal
+or wood burned under its boiler. This human machine derives its energy
+solely from food put into the stomach. When you are tired it means
+simply that your supply of physical force has run low. When you eat you
+replenish the supply, just as firing up does it for the engine."
+
+"But Doctor," said Jack with an accent of puzzled inquiry, "how about
+those people that are always tired--'born tired' as they say? They eat,
+but they never get over being tired."
+
+"Dyspeptics, every one of them," replied the Doctor. "It doesn't help an
+engine to shovel coal into its furnace if the coal doesn't burn. In the
+same way it doesn't strengthen a man to eat unless he digests and
+assimilates his food."
+
+"Well now, if you people have sufficiently assimilated your food and
+your ideas," broke in little Tom, "let's get to work."
+
+Some of the boys pulled the grass and piled it in rude shocks. The
+others carried it to the hut and bestowed it in one corner, ready for
+use. As they carried on the work the moon slowly went out, and just as
+they were finishing it, Jim Chenowith called out:
+
+"There's the snow," and very gently the flakes began descending. "Jack
+you're a good weather prophet, and this time it's lucky for us that you
+are. Otherwise we should have had wet broom straw to sleep on all
+winter. By the way, how are we going to arrange our beds?"
+
+"Why, we'll build a platform of small poles along the eastern wall of
+our house--the fireplace being on the western side. We'll divide this
+platform into compartments, each to serve as a bed. We'll lay clapboards
+on the poles to make a smooth surface, and on them we'll pile all the
+broom straw we've got. Then we'll wrap ourselves in our blankets and
+crawl in. Do you see?"
+
+"Yes, but how about the fellows that must sleep under the Doctor's
+muslin window?" asked Harry. "Won't they sleep pretty cold, Doctor?"
+
+"I don't think so," answered the Doctor. "The windows will keep out the
+cold quite as well as the logs themselves do."
+
+"But how can they? How can two thin sheets of muslin keep cold out or
+heat in, which I believe is the better way of putting it?" asked Harry.
+
+"They can't," answered the Doctor. "Bring those two sheets of muslin
+together and they would let heat out and cold in as freely almost as an
+open hole does. It isn't the muslin that keeps the cold out or the heat
+in--which ever way you choose to put it. It is the imprisoned air
+between the two pieces of muslin. There is hardly anywhere a worse
+conductor of heat than confined air. That is why in building fire proof
+structures in the great cities they use hollow bricks for partition
+walls. No amount of heat on one side can pass through the confined air
+in the bricks and set fire to anything on the other side of the wall. In
+the contracts for such buildings it is often stipulated that the owner
+shall be free to build as hot a bonfire as he pleases in any room he may
+select, and if it sets fire to anything in any other room the contractor
+shall pay a heavy penalty."
+
+"But where did you get your idea of greased muslin windows, Doctor?"
+asked Jack. "I never heard of it before."
+
+"I got it by reading history," answered the Doctor. "In old English
+times nobody but princes could afford to use glass. Its cost was too
+great. And then later, when glass became cheaper, a stupid government
+put a tax on windows, and so men went on using greased cloth instead of
+glass in order to get the light of heaven into their habitations without
+having their substance eaten up by a window tax."
+
+"But why was it 'stupid' as you say for the government to raise revenue
+by so simple a means as that of taxing windows?" asked Jack.
+
+"Because governments exist for the good of the people governed, and not
+the reverse of that. Otherwise no government would have any right to
+exist at all. A window tax discourages the use of windows. As a result
+the people live in darkness and foul air, which is not good for them.
+But governments in the old days assumed not that the government existed
+for the good of the people, but that the people existed for the good of
+the government. Never until our American Republic was established was
+that notion driven out of the minds of Kings, Princes and great
+ministers of state. It is one of our country's best services to human
+kind that it has taught this lesson until now in every part of the
+civilized world it is perfectly understood that the government is the
+servant of the people, not the people the servant of the government."
+
+"Yes, I remember," said Jack, "that when the colonies were resisting
+British oppression, Thomas Jefferson put into an address to George III a
+pointed and not very polite reminder that the King was after all only a
+chosen chief magistrate of the people, appointed by them to do their
+service and promote their happiness. There wasn't much idea of 'the
+divine right of kings' in Jefferson's noddle."
+
+"No," responded the Doctor, "nor in Franklin's, or Patrick Henry's or
+John Adams's or James Otis's. Jefferson simply formulated the thought of
+all of them when he contended that the British parliament had no more
+right to pass laws for the government and taxation of Virginia than the
+Virginia legislature had to pass laws for the government and taxation of
+Great Britain. But the beauty of the whole thing lies in the fact that
+these great truths, asserted by the Americans in justification of their
+rebellion, have been fastened upon the minds of men everywhere, and all
+civilized governments have been compelled to accept and submit to them.
+There are kings and emperors still, but they have completely changed
+their conception of their functions. They have been taught, mainly by
+American statesmen, that they are nothing more than the servants of the
+people, and that so far from owning the people, the people are their
+masters. But come boys, it's time to get to bed. So turn in at once. I'm
+on guard for the next hour and a half."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+_A "Painter"_
+
+
+There was still much to do on the house and the boys set themselves at
+work on it very early the next morning. First of all there was a chimney
+to be built. Jack directed two of the boys to saw out a space nine feet
+wide for the fireplace, first securing the logs in position by nailing
+pieces of timber to them, just as he had done with the Doctor's windows.
+He decided that the fireplace when finished should be five feet wide.
+
+"You see," he said, "we've a hard house to keep warm and we must have a
+lot of fire. Now the width of a fire means as much as its other
+dimensions, and so I'm going to have a wide fire. We'll burn full length
+cordwood in our fireplace, and we'll make room for plenty of it in front
+of a big back log. In earlier times an open wood fire place was the only
+heating apparatus people had, and they managed very well with it.
+Nowadays people insist that an open fire will not heat a room. I'm
+disposed to think that that's because they make their fireplaces too
+small. We'll make ours big, like those of our grandfathers."
+
+Then Jack turned to the Doctor and asked:
+
+"Is it freezing?"
+
+"No," answered the Doctor. "The thermometer stands at forty-six, and
+before noon this little skim of snow will be gone I think. But why do
+you ask?"
+
+"Because we want to chink and daub our house as soon as possible, and of
+course we can't do it in freezing weather."
+
+"Why not?" asked the Doctor. "We can warm our hands from time to time
+and make out to stand it."
+
+"Yes," answered Jack, "but that isn't the point. If we daub in freezing
+weather the mud will all drop out. You see it freezes and then when a
+thaw comes the whole thing goes to pieces. So I'm glad it isn't freezing
+to-day. Now come you fellows, and let me show you how to chink and
+daub."
+
+He dug away the soil at several spots, exposing the clay that lay
+beneath. Then pouring great pailfuls of water into the holes thus made,
+he set the boys at work mixing the clay into a soft plastic mud. By the
+time that this was well started the two who were to saw out a fireplace
+opening had finished that task, and Jack set all at work fitting
+chinkings into the cracks between the logs, and so daubing them with the
+soft mud as to close up all cracks, big and little, against the ingress
+of the winter's air.
+
+"Now, Doctor," he said, when the boys began showing something like skill
+in this work, "if you'll come with me, we'll start a chimney."
+
+They went into the woods and set to work splitting some chestnut logs
+into thick slabs, six or seven feet long. With these they made a sort of
+crib work outside the house at the point where the fireplace was to be.
+This, as Jack explained, was to hold the fire place.
+
+Inside of this crib, or box--about two feet inside--Jack drove some
+sharpened sticks into the ground and behind them he placed some
+clapboards set on edge. Then he called for mud and with it filled in the
+space between the clapboards and the crib walls behind. Then he set
+another tier of clapboards and added more mud, and so on till he had the
+whole inside of the slab crib lined with two feet of mud held in place
+by clapboards set on edge and braced with stakes.
+
+"Now, then," said Jack, "when we build a fire the clapboards will slowly
+burn away, but very slowly because no air can get behind them, and in
+the meantime the mud will bake into one great solid brick. Now for the
+top of the chimney."
+
+Then he went outside and built upon this fireplace a smoke stack,
+consisting of cribwork of sticks split out for the purpose, embedding
+each stick in a thick daubing of mud as he went.
+
+By the time he finished it was night--for so eager had the boys been
+with their work that they had not stopped on this third day for dinner,
+but had contented themselves with cold bites left over from breakfast.
+In the meantime also the other boys had finished chinking and daubing
+the house.
+
+"Now we're ready to move in," said Jim Chenowith as they sat down round
+the fire to eat their supper.
+
+"Indeed we're not," answered little Tom. "We haven't built our bed yet
+or a table to eat on, or any chairs to sit on, and besides that the
+fireplace must have at least twenty-four hours in which to dry before we
+can build a fire in it. You're always in a hurry Jim. If we get
+comfortably moved into our winter quarters by this time day after
+to-morrow we'll do very well indeed."
+
+"Yes," interposed Jack, "but we'll move in to-morrow night nevertheless.
+By that time we'll have the bed constructed and a table and some sort of
+chairs made, and we shall be much more comfortable in the house than out
+here under the cliff where it is very uncomfortably wet and muddy since
+the snow began to melt. Of course we can't have a fire in the house for
+two or three days yet, but we can have one outside, in front of the
+door."
+
+"So the programme for to-morrow is to make beds, chairs and a table?"
+asked the Doctor.
+
+"That's the programme for the other boys, Doctor. You and I will in the
+meantime set up the chute through which we are to send the results of
+our chopping into the valley below. Fortunately there is a straight
+slide down the mountain, free from trees and landing at the right place.
+It was used some years ago to send big stones down. All we've got to do
+is to build a short chute at this end of it. Gravity will do the rest."
+
+"But, I say Jack," broke in little Tom, "If we begin to chute sticks
+down there and anybody should be in the way--"
+
+"But there'll be nobody in the way," answered Jack. "You don't imagine
+that I left so serious a matter as that to chance, do you? I've arranged
+the whole thing. Our slide ends in a spreading sort of flat down there
+in the valley that embraces an acre or so of level ground. Our timbers
+will go down there with the speed of cannon balls, but when they get
+there they'll slow up as the descent grows gentler, and stop on the
+level ground. Now I've arranged with the railroad people that we're not
+to send anything down the chute till to-morrow afternoon at the
+earliest, and that after that we are to send nothing down till three
+o'clock each day. That's to give them a chance to collect the stuff,
+haul it away and measure it."
+
+"By the way," asked the Doctor, "how are we going to keep tab on their
+counts and measurements? Must we simply trust the contractor's men for
+all that?"
+
+"Not by any means," answered Jack, who carried a very good business head
+on his shoulders. "Not by any means. We'll keep our own count up here.
+On every hundredth tie that we send down I am to mark 100, 200, 300 and
+so forth, according to the count, using a piece of red keel for the
+purpose. On every big bridge timber that we send down I am to mark the
+length and smallest diameter, keeping an account of it all up here. As
+for cordwood, every time we have sent down ten cords I am to send down a
+slab indicating the amount. All these markings of mine will be verified
+below, of course, and when we go down in the spring the contractor or,
+rather, his agent with whom I made our bargain--for I didn't meet the
+contractor himself--will settle with us. He knows us only as a single
+source of supply, and will credit everything we send down to the whole
+party of us. So as between ourselves we must keep our own accounts so
+as to make a proper and equitable division of the proceeds of our work
+when the springtime comes. To that function I appoint Ed Parmly. He is
+to keep our books. He has had experience in that sort of work in his
+father's store, and we'll look to him to keep a record of every fellow's
+contribution to the supply of timber sent down."
+
+"But Jack," broke in little Tom, "how are we to estimate the amount of
+cordwood we send down the chute?"
+
+"We won't estimate it at all. We'll cord it up and measure it before we
+send it down, just as we'll count our ties and measure up our bridge
+timbers. What's that?"
+
+All the boys had started to their feet at the sound of something that
+seemed to be a human being in excruciating agony.
+
+After a long pause there was a repetition of the strange, pitiful cry.
+
+"May I use your rifle, Doctor?" asked little Tom. "That's a fellow that
+I don't care to tackle with a shot gun, and I've located him pretty
+well."
+
+"What is it, anyhow?" asked Ed Parmly and Jim Chenowith, in a breath.
+
+"It's a panther," answered Tom as he took the gun from the Doctor's
+hands, slipped off his boots and crept stealthily and noiselessly into
+the woods.
+
+"Stay here, all of you," he commanded, "and don't make the least noise."
+
+Tom was a chronic huntsman. From his tenth year onward, as has been
+already told, he had spent a large part of his vacation alone in the
+woods in pursuit of game. Sometimes he had been absent from home for a
+week at a time, having taken no supplies with him, but depending
+exclusively upon his gun for the means of subsistence. Then he had come
+home heavily burdened with wild turkeys, squirrels, opossums, raccoons
+and game of every other species that the mountains afforded. In every
+matter pertaining to the chase his present comrades were willingly ready
+to pay deference to little Tom's superior skill, knowledge and sagacity.
+So they all obeyed him when he bade them remain where they were, and
+keep perfectly still.
+
+There was a long time of waiting. Then came another of the demoniacal
+screams, but still no response from little Tom. Several minutes later
+came three rapidly succeeding reports from the repeating rifle, and
+after half a minute more little Tom called out--
+
+"Come here all of you, and bring your guns."
+
+The boys all hurried to the place from which the voice came, the Doctor
+carrying a brand from the camp fire to give light.
+
+It was well that he had thought of that, for light was just then badly
+needed. Little Tom was lying at the root of a tree, covered with blood
+and manifestly fainting. Only a few feet away lay the panther, shot
+three times through the body but still sufficiently alive to be striking
+out madly with his fearfully clawed fore feet in a desperate endeavor to
+destroy his enemy.
+
+[Illustration: TOM WAS LYING AT THE FOOT OF THE TREE.]
+
+By the light of the Doctor's torch three charges of buckshot were
+quickly driven into the beast's vitals, and at last he lay still.
+
+Then, all attention was given to Little Tom. Throwing his torch upon the
+ground the Doctor called out:
+
+"Build a fire right there, boys, as quickly as you can. I must have
+light by which to examine the boy's wounds."
+
+Willing hands produced the desired light within a very few moments, and
+stripping off part of Tom's clothing, the Doctor discovered that the
+beast had dealt him two vicious blows with his horridly armed claws, one
+tearing his left arm severely and the other lacerating his chest. After
+a hurried examination, the Doctor said:
+
+"He can stand removing to the camp if you'll carry him gently, boys, and
+I can treat him better there than here." Then he gave a few hurried
+directions as to the best way of carrying the wounded boy, and the
+others very lovingly obeyed his instructions in removing their comrade
+to the main camp fire.
+
+"Now," said the Doctor, "remove all his clothing as quickly and as
+gently as you can."
+
+This was done and the Doctor carefully examined the wounds.
+
+"It's all right, boys," he said, presently. "Tom is very painfully hurt,
+but the 'painter' didn't know enough of anatomy to deliver his blows in
+vital parts. Tom will get well, but he's fainting now. Lower his head
+and throw a gourdful of cold water into his face and another over his
+chest."
+
+It was no sooner said than done, and no sooner was it done than Tom
+revived. After blinking his eyes for a moment, he asked:
+
+"Did you fellows finish the painter?"
+
+"Indeed we did," answered Jack; "but it's you old fellow, that we're
+concerned about now."
+
+"That's all right," said Tom, "but that fellow's hide is worth a good
+many dollars, and better than that, we're rid of him. If I hadn't shot
+him he would have dropped from a tree upon some one or other of us, and
+in that case he wouldn't have left anything for the Doctor to do."
+
+Meanwhile the Doctor was carefully cleansing the boy's wounds and
+drenching them in water in which disinfectant tablets from his pocket
+case had been dissolved. Here and there it was necessary to draw the
+edges of deep gashes together by a stitch or two with a surgical needle.
+"But the main thing," the Doctor expounded, "is to cleanse and disinfect
+the wounds. Nature itself," he added, "will repair any wound that does
+not involve a vital part, if it is cleansed and kept clean. The danger
+always is that the wound will become infected, that inflammation and
+blood poisoning will set in and kill the patient. Fortunately, we
+surgeons know now how to prevent that, and I'll answer for it that
+nothing of the kind shall happen to little Tom."
+
+"But what is it that causes the inflammation and blood poisoning?" asked
+Harry.
+
+"Microbes," answered the Doctor; "little things that you can't see
+without a microscope--and some that you can't see with one. The greatest
+advance that was ever made in medical and surgical science was the
+discovery of the fact that nearly all diseases and all hurtful and
+dangerous inflammation is due to the presence of microbes in a wound.
+The moment the Doctors found that out they set to work to kill the
+microbes. They studied them under the most powerful microscopes. They
+tried all sorts of experiments with them till they learned how to kill
+them. Thus they discovered two greatly good things--antiseptic surgery
+first and after that aseptic surgery. Antiseptic surgery aims to kill
+all the evil germs that are already in a wound. Aseptic surgery aims to
+keep all evil germs out of the wounds that the surgeon must make."
+
+"Would you mind giving us some illustrations, Doctor?" asked Jack.
+
+"Certainly not, if you are interested," said the Doctor.
+
+"I have practiced both antiseptic and aseptic surgery on little Tom
+to-night, so his case will serve to illustrate both. I have washed all
+his wounds with a solution of bi-chloride of mercury, commonly called
+corrosive sublimate, for the purpose of killing all the germs that may
+have got into them from that beast's claws or in any other way. That was
+antiseptic surgery. Then, wherever I found it necessary to take a stitch
+or two, I have used ligatures drawn directly out of a disinfecting
+solution, and perhaps you observed that I thoroughly disinfected my
+needles and other implements by passing them through a blaze before
+using them. So, also, as to my hands. Before touching Tom's wounds I
+thoroughly scoured my hands in a solution of corrosive sublimate, so
+that they might not carry any possible infection to the scratches. All
+that is aseptic surgery. In the hospitals, where all conditions can be
+controlled they do this aseptic business completely. First of all, they
+have an operating table made of glass, which absorbs nothing and could
+be easily and perfectly cleansed after each operation by mere washing
+with water. But not content with that they scour the table with a
+disinfecting solution immediately before every operation. Then the
+surgeon, his assistant, and all the attendants are clad in garments that
+have been rendered 'sterile' as they call it, by roasting. So of all the
+towels and sheets and everything else employed about the patient's
+person. Everything is sterilized. The bandages and the thread or the
+catgut to be used are drawn from thoroughly disinfected supplies. The
+surgeon's instruments of every kind are laid in a panfull of a
+disinfecting fluid, and there are so many of each that if any one of
+them is accidentally dropped its use is abandoned and another is used in
+its stead. But come! Little Tom, you are comfortable now. Why not tell
+us how it all happened?"
+
+"Well, you see," answered little Tom, "when I heard that cry and located
+it, I knew what it meant. I knew it was a painter or a catamount, or a
+puma, or a panther, or a mountain lion--or whatever else you choose to
+call it, for it bears all those names and some others. And I knew what
+it was after. It wanted that last leg of venison of ours, but it wasn't
+over particular. If it couldn't get the venison it was quite ready to
+take any one of us boys instead.
+
+"It's a smart beast, the panther. It sneaks on its prey and springs upon
+any animal, human or other, that it may fancy, for lunch. And yet it is
+a fool in some ways. It suffers itself to grow enthusiastic now and
+then, though that is very rare, and when that happens it gives that
+excruciating yell that we heard. I never heard that except once, before
+to-night.
+
+"Well, when I heard it, I knew what it meant. I knew that unless
+somebody killed that panther, that panther would kill somebody in this
+company. At his second yell I located him pretty accurately, though, of
+course, you can't depend too confidently upon that, as the beast often
+runs a dozen yards in a few seconds. So I took your gun, Doctor, and
+went out to find the gentleman. For a time, I couldn't get a sight of
+him, but after awhile he yelled again, and I 'spotted' him. I crept up
+in the very dim light till I got a good view of him, crouching on a
+limb, and evidently planning to spring upon me and accept me in lieu of
+the venison. Then I fired three bullets through him with that splendid
+repeating rifle of yours, Doctor, and then I had an illustration of the
+old adage about 'the ruling passion' being 'strong in death.' For,
+instead of dropping to the ground, as I had expected him to do, the
+beast sprang twenty or thirty feet forward and attacked me with his
+hideously long and sharp claws. He tore me to ribbons at his first
+onset, but then the three bullets I had given him from your gun seemed
+suddenly to dishearten him. So I managed to creep out of his way and
+call to you fellows to come to my rescue. The rest of the story you
+fellows know better than I do. For the next thing I recollect was when
+you doused me with the water so that I should become conscious of the
+prick of the Doctor's needles, as he sewed me up. By the way, Doctor, am
+I seriously hurt?"
+
+"Seriously, yes," answered the Doctor. "But not dangerously, I think.
+You're going to have a good long rest in one of our beds over there in
+the new house, but surgery is now so exact a science that I think I can
+promise you an entirely certain recovery within a few days, or a few
+weeks at furthest, if you'll be a good boy and obey my instructions."
+
+"I say, boys," called out Tom, "how fortunate we've been in bringing a
+Doctor along, even if we did have to resolve half his age away! Doctor,
+I never met any other boy of only sixteen years old who knew half as
+much as you do! Now, I'm tired. I'm going to sleep. Call me when it
+comes my turn for guard duty."
+
+And with that the boy sank to sleep. But there was no call upon him that
+night or for many nights yet to come, for sentinel service.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+_The Condition of the Moonshiners_
+
+
+The next day the boys moved from their temporary shelter into their
+permanent winter quarters, building a fire in front of the door and
+making themselves as comfortable as they could under the circumstances.
+
+Meantime the Doctor and Jack had got the chute ready. It was a strong,
+rough structure of stout poles, forming a sort of trough, beginning on a
+level with the ground at the turn of the hill and extending with a heavy
+incline for twenty yards or so over the steep brow of the mountain. It
+was supported by strong hickory and oak posts and braces throughout its
+length. Any piece of timber placed in its upper end and gently impelled
+forward would quickly traverse it to its farther end and there make a
+tremendous leap and a long slide down the steep, into the depths below.
+
+Little Tom, greatly to his disgust, was peremptorily ordered into bed by
+command of the Doctor, but two of the boys had volunteered to strip off
+that valuable panther skin for him, salt it and stretch it out on the
+logs of the cabin to dry.
+
+It was on Saturday that the boys removed to their new quarters, and the
+next day, being Sunday, was to be spent in resting. But Little Tom, as
+he lay there in his broom straw bed about midday on Saturday became
+troubled in his mind about the provisioning of the garrison.
+
+"We've eaten up the last of the venison to-day," he said, "and there
+isn't an ounce of fresh meat in the camp. If I didn't hurt so badly, and
+if the Doctor wasn't such a tyrant, with his arbitrary orders for me to
+lie still, I'd go out this afternoon and get something better than salt
+meat for all of us to eat to-morrow. Why don't some of you other fellows
+go? If you can't get a deer, you can at any rate kill a turkey or a
+pheasant or two, or some partridges or squirrels, or, as a last resort,
+some rabbits. Oh, how my head aches! Go, some of you, and get what you
+can."
+
+With that the poor bed-ridden boy turned over in his bunk and sought
+sleep. But Ed Parmly and Jim Chenowith acted upon his wise suggestion. A
+few hours later they returned to Camp Venture bearing three hares and
+seven squirrels on their shoulders, and dragging a half-grown hog by
+withes.
+
+"I don't know but what we've made a mistake," said Ed to Jack; "the hog
+may belong to the moonshiners, and if so, they'll present their bill in
+a fashion that we sha'n't want to have it presented."
+
+"Never mind about that," called out Tom, from inside the house. "We're
+at war with those people, you know, and in war you capture all you can
+of the enemy's supplies. But why can't you let a fellow see your game?"
+
+The boys dragged the shoat into the hut, and Tom, expert huntsman that
+he was, had only to glance at it in order to pronounce it one of the
+wild hogs of the mountains, and anybody's property.
+
+"Don't you see," he said, "that although it is only a half-grown shoat,
+it has tusks already. No domesticated hog ever developed in that way.
+And besides, the moonshiners haven't any hogs or anything else, for that
+matter. They are the poorest and most starved human beings I ever saw or
+heard of. I passed a week as a prisoner in one of their huts once, and I
+never dreamed of such poverty or such indolence. So long as they have
+corn pones or anything else to distend their stomachs with, they simply
+will not exert themselves to get anything better. They won't even go out
+and shoot a rabbit if they've got anything else to eat. You simply can't
+conceive of their poverty or of the indolence that produces it. If one
+of them owned a hog he'd kill it without taking the trouble to fatten
+it, and he'd eat it to the picking of the last bone before he would
+exert himself to procure another morsel of food."
+
+"When was it, Tom, that you learned all this?" asked Harry.
+
+"A year ago. You remember the time I went hunting and didn't get back
+for two weeks?"
+
+"Yes, but tell us--"
+
+"Well, that time I was captured by the moonshiners and held for a week
+as a spy. I didn't say anything about it at home except confidentially
+to Jack, for fear mother would worry when I went hunting again. But I
+tell you fellows you never dreamed of the sort of poverty that those men
+and their families live in. I don't know whether they are poor because
+they lead criminal lives, or whether they lead criminal lives because
+they are poor. But I do know that that fellow told the truth the other
+night when he said that they do not usually have enough to eat. You saw
+how starved he was. That's the chronic condition of all of them; and yet
+these mountains are full of game and any man of even half ordinary
+industry can feed himself well by killing it.
+
+"The trouble is they are hopeless people. They have no ambition, no
+energy, no 'go' in them. They drink too much of their illicit whiskey
+for one thing, I suppose, but I don't think that's the bottom trouble.
+They seem to be people born without energy. They like to sit still in
+the sunshine, unless there is a revenue officer to hunt down and shoot.
+I suppose they are what somebody in the newspapers calls
+'degenerates'--people that are run down even before they are born."
+
+"But tell us, Tom," broke in Harry, "how did you get away from them?"
+
+"Why, I watched my chance," answered Tom, "till one day I 'got the drap'
+on my jailer, to employ their own language. With a cocked gun at his
+breast, I made him promise not to follow me, and then I retreated 'in
+good order' as the soldiers say, down the mountain, with both barrels
+cocked. But really, fellows, you can have no idea of the abject poverty
+or the inconceivable indolence of these people. The little energy they
+have is expended in making illicit whiskey and sneaking it down the
+mountain without getting caught. Many of them have already served long
+terms in prison, but they regard that merely as a manifestation of the
+law's injustice, just as they do the hanging of one of their number now
+and then, when he is caught shooting an agent of the revenue. They don't
+understand. They are as ignorant as they are poor, and their poverty
+exceeds anything that it is possible for us to conceive."
+
+By this time Tom's scant strength was exhausted, and after muttering:
+"That's anybody's wild hog," he turned himself over in bed and went to
+sleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+_A Sunday Discussion_
+
+
+"I say, Tom," said the Doctor, on Sunday morning, after the breakfast
+things had been cleared away, and the first fire had been lighted in the
+new fireplace, "I want to ask you something about your experience on
+your hunting trips."
+
+"Go on, Doctor. No boy of sixteen--and we've voted you to be of that
+age--can ask me anything that I'll hesitate to answer."
+
+"Thank you," said the Doctor, with a laugh. "Now, think of me as exactly
+sixteen and tell me all about it. As I understand, you have frequently
+spent from a week to ten days in the mountains, living exclusively upon
+what you could kill."
+
+"So far, Doctor, you are absolutely right," answered the boy, who,
+having laid aside his headache, was disposed to be facetious.
+
+"Well, that must have been animal food exclusively," said the Doctor.
+
+"Absolutely," answered Tom. "I had always a little of the mineral food
+salt to season it with, but as for bread or potatoes, or anything else
+of a vegetable character, why I simply couldn't get them."
+
+"All right. Now, the theory is that a man must have starchy foods in
+order to keep in good health. You had no starchy food for from a week to
+two weeks at a time on each of these occasions, but lived exclusively on
+meat. Now, what effects of this diet did you observe?"
+
+"None whatever, except that little Tom Ridsdale had a mighty keen relish
+for bread when he got home again."
+
+The Doctor then asked detailed questions as to particular symptoms, to
+all of which the substance of Tom's replies was that in his case no
+symptoms whatever had manifested themselves. "I think, Doctor," he
+added, "as the result of my own experience that a healthy young human
+animal like me, when living night and day in the open air and taking a
+great deal of exercise, can eat pretty much anything he pleases that we
+commonly recognize as food, or rather anything of that kind that he can
+get--without much danger of injuring himself. No, I don't know so well
+about that. Once, I got hurt in the mountains, and lived for a week in a
+barn, eating nothing but corn. I was all right in a general way, but I
+suffered a good deal with cold. When I got out and killed a 'coon and
+roasted and ate it, the weather seemed suddenly to warm up."
+
+"Precisely," answered the Doctor. "The fat of the coon furnished you
+with fuel, and you needed it. The more I study the subject, the more
+firmly convinced I become of two things--first, that man is essentially
+a carnivorous, or meat-eating animal, and second, that while starchy
+foods are desirable as a part of his diet, they are not absolutely
+necessary to him, except at comparatively long intervals. You know a
+baby simply cannot digest starchy foods at all. It would starve to death
+with a stomach full of them. Every baby lives exclusively upon the
+animal food milk."
+
+"Yes," answered Jack, "but so does every colt and every calf. Yet,
+neither horses nor cows eat any animal food whatever after they cease to
+be colts and calves."
+
+"That is true," said the Doctor, meditatively. "I hadn't thought of
+that." Then, after a minute's thought, he added--"but neither cows nor
+horses have any carnivorous teeth whatever, any teeth fit for the
+chewing of meat, while man has. Besides that, physicians have observed
+that behind almost every case of obstinate, low fevers and that sort of
+debilitated disease, there is a history of underfeeding, and
+particularly of an insufficient use of meat, whether as a matter of
+necessity, or merely as a matter of choice. Persons who eat no meat, or
+very little meat, may seem very robust so long as positive disease does
+not attack them, but when they contract maladies of a serious sort, they
+are very likely to show a lack of stamina, a deficiency of recuperative
+power."
+
+"Then you don't believe at all, any more than we meat-eating Virginians
+do--in the doctrines of the vegetarians?" asked Jack, as he finished the
+hind legs of a broiled squirrel.
+
+"It will be time enough," answered the Doctor, "to consider the
+doctrines of the vegetarians when they agree among themselves as to what
+those doctrines are."
+
+"Why, how do you mean?" asked Tom.
+
+"Well, some vegetarians held a congress, or a convention, or something
+of that sort in New York a little while ago. There were only fifty-seven
+of them present, I believe, and yet they managed to split their congress
+up into four groups, each antagonizing the views of all the others with
+something approaching violence of temper."
+
+"What were their differences?" asked Tom.
+
+"Well first of all there was a group who advocated the eating of
+vegetable matters only, except that they saw no harm in the use of milk,
+eggs, cheese and butter. Next there was a group who bitterly condemned
+milk, eggs, cheese and butter as animal foods, tending to inflame evil
+passions and utterly to be rejected, though they ate milk biscuit and
+butter crackers. This second group looked with favor upon all fruits and
+vegetables, but here a third group took issue with them, contending that
+only those vegetables should be eaten which grow above ground, and
+utterly rejecting the thought of eating potatoes, parsnips, beets,
+turnips, onions, carrots, radishes and other things that develop beneath
+the surface of the earth. Finally there was a fourth group that agreed
+with the third except that they made a plea in behalf of celery, on the
+ground that it is naturally a plant growing above ground and is
+artificially imbedded in earth only by way of making it tender and
+palatable."
+
+"But how about circuses then?" asked Tom.
+
+"I don't understand," the Doctor answered.
+
+"Why how can anybody go to a circus without eating peanuts? And about
+three-fourths of all the peanuts are developed under ground by burying
+the blossoms."
+
+"It's all very funny," said Jack. "But the funniest thing about it is
+the fetish worship of that word 'vegetable.' Patent medicines are often
+advertised as 'purely vegetable,' as if that settled the question of
+their harmlessness. Yet I know at least a dozen 'purely vegetable'
+plants that grow in these woods which are poisonous."
+
+"Of course," answered the Doctor, "and for that matter the most virulent
+poisons known to man are 'purely vegetable.' There's strychnia for
+example, as purely vegetable in its origin as apple-butter itself is.
+And there are others, such as morphine, stramonium, and nux vomica and
+worst of all hydrocyanic acid, commonly called prussic acid. That is so
+deadly that it is almost never made or kept in its pure state, because a
+single whiff of its fumes in the nostrils would kill almost instantly.
+Yet it is an extract of peach pits or bitter almonds."
+
+"Well now I say," broke in Tom, "let's return to the subject of foods,
+for I am hungry, and I'm going to declare war on the Doctor if he
+doesn't let me have some light thing to eat like a chop from that wild
+boar or something of an equally digestible sort."
+
+"Well, we'll see about that," said the Doctor, going to Tom's bed and
+examining and redressing his wounds. After the inspection he said:
+
+"You were entirely right, Tom, when you called yourself a perfectly
+healthy human animal a little while ago. I never yet saw wounds heal in
+the way they are doing on you. So you may sit up for dinner to-day, and
+you may have whatever you want to eat."
+
+"All right!" cried Tom, hastily scrambling out of bed. "My clamor is for
+pork. How are you going to cook the pig boys?"
+
+After a little consultation, it was decided to hang the shoat before the
+great fire in the new fire place, and roast it whole.
+
+"After all, it doesn't weigh more than forty pounds, and that isn't much
+to divide between six of us," said Harry, laughingly.
+
+"And besides," added Ed, "roast wild shoat is as good cold as hot, or
+rather better. So we'll roast the gentleman whole, and I for one
+volunteer to sit down before him and baste him so that all the juices
+that belong to him shall be found succulently pervading his muscular
+structure."
+
+"I'll help in that," called Jim Chenowith from outside the cabin, where
+he was just finishing a turn of guard duty.
+
+Thus the little company rested and grew strong during the Sunday, and by
+bed time they were eager for the morning and the hard, outdoor work of
+tree felling that it would bring with it. With a great glowing blaze in
+the fireplace, which each sentinel replenished with wood before
+summoning his successor to take his place, the log hut seemed a
+delightful place to sleep in.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+_Beginning Work_
+
+
+The Doctor was the first "boy" to crawl out of bed in the morning. He
+carefully inspected his weather instruments and reported:
+
+"It's a stinging morning. Thermometer only ten degrees above zero
+outside; wind North-northwest, and blowing at twenty miles an hour;
+barometric pressure very high, indicating prolonged clear and cold
+weather; hygrometer indicating a minimum of moisture in the atmosphere,
+promises a clear sky and a bright sun to-day."
+
+"Good!" shouted the other boys. "Now for a hearty breakfast to begin
+with."
+
+"Well I for one am going to begin with an invigorating cold bath," said
+the Doctor seizing a sponge and two towels and running nearly naked
+through the biting air, to the spring under the cliff. After a shudder
+of hesitation all the other boys gave chase to him.
+
+The bathing trough was not yet in place, but by dipping sponges into
+the sluiceway that flowed out of the spring, and rapidly drenching their
+bodies with the intensely cold water, gasping for breath as they did so,
+they all set their blood aflow and their skins a-tingling. Then,
+vigorously rubbing themselves with towels as they went, they ran to the
+cabin and there dressed before a mighty fire of freshly replenished
+logs.
+
+"Why does a bath like that feel so good after it's over?" asked Jack.
+For answer the Doctor gave a little physiological explanation which need
+not be repeated here. He ended it with this dictum: "For a man or woman
+or boy in full health, whose heart and lungs are sound, there is no such
+tonic in the world as a very cold bath on a very cold morning." Then
+suddenly he called out:
+
+"Why hello, Tom! you didn't bathe, did you?" observing the boy
+vigorously polishing his back with a sharp Turkish towel.
+
+"Oh, didn't I though. I've done that sort of thing every morning since I
+was a very little fellow, except when I hadn't the chance to do it."
+
+"But Tom," said the Doctor in much concern, "I'm afraid this was very
+imprudent. Some of your wounds are still unhealed, and you might take
+cold in them."
+
+"Why, Doctor, you have just been telling us how a cold morning bath
+renders it nearly impossible for one to take cold, by reason of the
+stimulated skin and full circulation."
+
+"Still," answered the Doctor doubtfully, "I didn't mean all that to
+apply to a fellow who was cut into ribbons by a catamount's claws only a
+few nights ago. At any rate you mustn't wear those wet bandages, so the
+other boys will have to get breakfast while I take them all off and
+replace them with dry ones."
+
+With that he hastily slipped on a scanty covering of clothes and set to
+work to re-dress Tom's wounds.
+
+"Well bless my soul!" he exclaimed presently.
+
+"What's the matter Doctor? Anything gone wrong with that shoulder?"
+asked Tom.
+
+"Gone wrong! Well I should say not. I never in my life saw the process
+of healing advance so rapidly. Why I gave that big scratch two weeks at
+least to get well in, and if I'm not absolutely blind it is practically
+healed up already. Bring a light one of you! There, hold it so," and
+with a strong magnifying glass, the Doctor minutely examined the wounded
+part. Then he sat back and said:
+
+"Tom Ridsdale you are certainly the healthiest human animal I ever saw
+or heard of. Why a surgeon in private practice wouldn't make his salt
+if all his patients recovered after your fashion. You are practically so
+nearly well that I am going to leave off all your bandages, only holding
+this newly healed cut together with a strip or two of rubber plaster for
+extra safety. But I certainly never saw anything like it!"
+
+"Perhaps that's because you never before had a perfectly healthy,
+out-of-door boy like me as a surgical patient."
+
+"Of course that's it. But now that I've taken off all your bandages and
+given you leave to eat whatever you want, you must be good enough to
+obey my orders in other respects. Otherwise, you might spoil this
+splendid result."
+
+"I will, Doctor. Honestly, I'll do whatever you tell me."
+
+"Well, we're going to begin chopping now, and I peremptorily forbid you
+to do any work for a day or two--at least, until the healing of those
+lacerated muscles is complete and their union firm. It would be very
+easy now to tear the wounds open again, and if you did that they would
+not heal again in a hurry. So, you must do no chopping, no lifting, no
+work of any kind for the present. Promise me that and in return I'll
+faithfully promise to release you from the restraint at the first moment
+when I think it safe to do so."
+
+"All right, Doctor," answered Tom, "I'll potter about and 'keep camp'
+till you say I may go to work. And in the meantime I'm going to make
+some soup out of our scraps and bones. It will warm you fellows up when
+you come in cold and hungry from your chopping in this excessively cold
+air."
+
+With that Tom got out their biggest camp kettle, threw all the meat
+fragments into it, broke up all the bones with a hatchet, and threw them
+in, and then filling the kettle nearly full of cold water, set it on the
+fire to boil.
+
+The other boys, after breakfast, had taken their axes and gone out to
+begin the work of chopping. First of all, they built a fire near the
+timber they were about to cut, so that benumbed hands and half frozen
+feet might be warmed as occasion required. They all had good axes, and
+they all knew how to use them expertly, for these boys had been brought
+up in a heavily timbered country and had been used all their lives to
+chopping.
+
+"Now, let's begin right," said Jack Ridsdale, "and then we'll go on
+right. There are two ways to fell trees in a forest, a right way and a
+wrong way. The wrong way is to fell them in any way that comes handy,
+regardless of any incidental damage that may be done as they fall. The
+right way is so to fell your big tree that in falling it won't smash
+any of the smaller trees standing around. You see, we aren't going to
+cut down any tree that isn't big enough to make railroad ties--that is
+to say any tree that isn't full seven inches in diameter. In doing that,
+if we take a little care, we can save all the smaller trees, and in the
+course of a year or two they will grow up, and we fellows can come out
+here and spend another winter in chopping. It all depends upon the way
+in which we do our work this time, whether these lands remain a splendid
+forest or become a desolate waste with all the soil washed off for lack
+of roots to hold it, and with no hope of anything ever growing upon them
+again."
+
+Then Jack, who was an expert woodchopper, explained to all the others
+how to chop down a tree so as to make it fall wherever the chopper
+wishes it to fall.
+
+"Now, another thing," added Jack. "You, Doctor, have had less experience
+than the rest of us, in this business, and perhaps you'd best practice
+on the easier part of it first. I propose that instead of cutting down
+trees you devote yourself to-day to making cordwood out of the unused
+parts of the trees we cut to build our house with. There are several
+cords of good wood in them. You can cut the branches into round wood
+and split the rest with the mauls and wedges and gluts." A glut is a
+big wooden wedge used to supplement the work of the axe and the iron
+wedge. The Doctor assented readily--the more because he had learned,
+during his sojourn in Virginia how to cut and split wood with very
+tolerable skill, but had never yet practiced the art of felling trees.
+
+With brisk axes expertly wielded by strong arms, the party had goodly
+piles of ties and timbers and cordwood ready for the chute before noon,
+and as they were not to begin sending it down the hill until three
+o'clock the next day, they had every prospect of making a good showing
+with their two days' work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+_An Armed Negotiation_
+
+
+Just before noon, Tom carefully removed all the bones and meat fragments
+from his soup kettle. Then he mixed up some corn meal dumplings and
+dropped them into the kettle, after the southern culinary fashion. These
+would answer as a sufficient substitute for bread, and as for meat, the
+company was to dine that day on the cold roast wild boar.
+
+Just as Tom dropped the last of the dumplings into the kettle, he looked
+out through the half-open door and saw an ugly looking mountaineer
+creeping stealthily, and with his rifle in hand, up over the little
+cliff to the east of Camp Venture. His attention was evidently riveted
+upon the chopping boys, the scene of whose labors lay to the northwest
+of the house. Apparently, the man supposed the hut to be empty and
+intended to pass to the south of it, using it as a secure cover for his
+approach to the boys chopping.
+
+Tom was a person distinctly quick of apprehension. In an instant, he
+saw what the man's plans were, and in another instant he had seized and
+cocked the Doctor's repeating rifle, which had fortunately been left in
+the hut.
+
+As the mountaineer stealthily crept by the cabin, Tom "drew a bead" on
+him at not more than six paces distant, and called out:
+
+"Lay down your gun instantly, or I'll shoot."
+
+There was nothing to do but obey without a moment's loss of time. The
+mountaineer dropped his gun.
+
+"Now, step inside," commanded Tom, still keeping the magazine rifle in
+position for instant and deadly use. "Step inside. I want to talk with
+you."
+
+The man obeyed.
+
+"Now, sit down on that stool," said Tom, "and tell me what you're up to.
+Come, now! No lying! Tell me what you were sneaking into this camp for!"
+
+The man, who seemed much surlier and was certainly much brawnier than
+the former visitor to the camp, hesitated. Tom stimulated his utterance,
+by saying:
+
+"Come, speak up! My patience is about exhausted, and I'm not going to
+wait for you to think of something false to say. Answer, or I'll
+shoot."
+
+"Don't shoot, pard!" pleaded the man. "I didn't mean no harm. I only
+come to negotiate like."
+
+"Then why were you sneaking and creeping upon my comrades with your
+rifle at full cock?"
+
+"Well, you see, we fellers what lives up here in the mountings has to be
+keerful like. I wanted to make a bargain with you fellers, but if I'd
+'a' walked into your camp regular like, why mebbe some on you'd 'a' shot
+me unbeknownst like. So I thought I'd just creep up like a catamount and
+git the drap on some on you, an' then tell you, simple like, as how I
+didn't want to do you no harm if you'd do us fellers no harm. I wanted
+to negotiate, that's all."
+
+"Well, I don't like your way of negotiating," answered Little Tom, still
+keeping his rifle in poise against his hip ready for instant use. "I
+don't like to negotiate with a man that's 'got the drap on me' as you
+say. But now that I've 'got the drap' on you instead, I don't mind
+opening diplomatic relations--I don't suppose you know what that means,
+but never mind. Go on and tell me what it is you want."
+
+"Well, you see," said the mountaineer, "first off we wanted you fellers
+to clear out'n here and git down out'n the mountings. We sent a man to
+you to negotiate that, an' you used him up so bad that he ain't no
+'count no more in such business. Well, you won't go. We all seed that
+clear enough an' at first we was a plannin' to come over here with our
+guns and jes' exterminate you all. But then we knew what a hullabaloo
+that would raise. You see, it would 'a' give us away, like, an' next
+thing we know'd the revenue agents would 'a' come up here with a pack o'
+soldiers at their back, an' us fellers would 'a' been shot down like
+rabbits. So we held a little confab, like, an' we decided to let you
+fellers stay up here in the mountings ef you'd agree to behave decent,
+like."
+
+"How exceedingly kind of you!" ejaculated Tom, derisively. "And how
+considerate! But go on; I didn't mean to interrupt. In what particular
+way do you exact that we shall behave ourselves in order to win your
+gracious permission to remain here on land that belongs to us?"
+
+"Now, you're a gittin' at the pint," answered the man. "We're willin' to
+let you alone ef you'll let us alone. We're willin' to let you stay in
+the mountings an' cut all the timber you like, ef you won't bother us in
+any way."
+
+"In what way have we bothered you?" asked Tom, who was growing steadily
+angrier with the man's extraordinary insolence.
+
+"Well, you see, you fellers has planted your wood chute jist edzackly
+wrong."
+
+"How so?"
+
+"Well, ef you should send anything down that chute it would run right
+through a little shanty we've got down there under the cliff."
+
+"An illicit still, you mean?" asked Tom.
+
+"Well, as to that--"
+
+"Never mind. You needn't lie about it. I understand. Now, as I catch
+your meaning, you want us to change the direction of our wood chute, so
+as to spare an illicit still that you have set up down there under the
+cliff, to hide it from the revenue officers. You've located that still
+on my mother's property, without leave or license, for she owns the
+whole of this side of the mountain down to its very foot; you are using
+her timber to fire up with under your still, without paying her a cent
+for it. In brief, you are thieves and robbers, and you have the
+insolence now to come here and demand that we shall change our chute in
+order to leave you undisturbed in your robbery of the government on the
+one hand and of my mother on the other. Very well, we will do nothing of
+the kind. At five minutes after three o'clock to-morrow afternoon we
+shall begin sending timber down through the chute. If you can remove
+your criminal apparatus by that time we'll not interfere with you. If
+you can't get it away by then, you'll simply have to take the
+consequences. But, at any rate, you can yourselves get out of the way,
+so that our timbers will not hurt you personally.
+
+"Now go! Get away from here--no, don't pick up your rifle; I'll take
+care of that. You people have declared war on us, and in war it is not
+the custom to return arms to men captured and turned loose, I believe. I
+don't want your property, but I'm going to keep it for the present. If
+you'll come peaceably to my mother's house down in the town there, after
+we fellows go home, I'll give your rifle back to you. But not now, when
+you want it to shoot some of us with. Go now! and whether you get your
+still out by three o'clock to-morrow or not, be very careful that
+neither you nor any of your comrades remain there after that hour, for
+then the chute will begin to carry its load."
+
+The evil-visaged man slunk away over the cliff by which he had ascended,
+and down the mountain. There was revenge written in every line of his
+countenance, and Tom quite well understood that he and his comrades must
+take care of themselves. Just as the fellow was marching away, with
+Tom's rifle leveled at him and with his own rifle lying upon the ground
+as a spoil of war, the rest of the company came up, but they did not
+interfere. They trusted Tom as a strategist, and they instantly saw
+that this was an "incident closed" as the diplomatists say. When the
+fellow was completely gone, Tom lowered the hammer of his rifle,
+restored it to its place, picked up the captured gun of the mountaineer,
+lowered its hammer to half cock, and carefully bestowed it in a
+convenient corner.
+
+"What is it, Tom?" eagerly asked the others.
+
+"Wait a minute!" said the boy, "till I dish up the soup. I hope it isn't
+spoiled, and as for the rest, I'll tell you all about it after dinner."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+_A Midnight Alarm_
+
+
+When the boys were well under way with the business of eating dinner,
+they again asked Tom to tell them the nature of his "negotiation" with
+the moonshiner.
+
+"Well, I'll tell you what he said and what he demanded and what answer I
+made. But you must bear in mind that what he said may not have been
+true, and what he demanded may not have been what he really wanted. You
+see, I had 'got the drap' on him and naturally he made his explanations
+as plausible and his demands as small as he could. I had caught him
+creeping up with a cocked gun in his hand, evidently to take a shot at
+some one of you fellows, meaning, when the murder was done, to slip back
+over the rocks yonder without being seen or recognized by anybody.
+Thanks to the cat that scratched me, I was here to head him off in that.
+Then he pretended only to want us to remove our chute. I suppose that
+was a fetch, just to secure a way of escape from the awkward position
+in which I and your splendid rifle, Doctor, had placed him. They may
+have a still down there in the line of the chute, or they may not. But
+they have a still and perhaps several of them somewhere about here and
+so they are determined to drive us down the mountain. That, at least, is
+my reading of the riddle."
+
+"It is pretty certainly correct," said Jack, after thinking for a
+moment. "At any rate that's the understanding upon which we must base
+our proceedings. We must not for one moment relax our vigilance; we must
+not be caught napping; we mustn't let any of those people 'git the drap'
+on us. They have declared war on us, and we must defend ourselves at
+every point."
+
+The dinner was eaten in doors by all except Harry Ridsdale, who sat
+outside acting as a sentinel, and took his dinner on a log. After
+dinner, and again the next morning, Tom volunteered to act as sentinel,
+inasmuch as the Doctor would not yet let him chop, or hew ties, or lift
+logs, or do any other work that might reopen his now nearly healed
+wounds.
+
+Promptly at five minutes after three o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, the
+first product of their industry was sent thundering down the chute. It
+was a huge timber thirty feet long and full two and a half feet thick
+at its smaller end. Jack had cut it at a point very near the mouth of
+the chute, and by united efforts, with handspikes and the slope of the
+hill to assist them, the company had rolled it into place.
+
+Jack took out his watch and observed the time carefully.
+
+"Three o'clock was the time agreed upon with the railroad people for
+having everything clear down there in the valley," he said, "but
+according to railroad usage we'll allow five minutes for variation of
+watches."
+
+When the time was fully up the boys at the forward end of the great
+timber withdrew the handspikes with which they had been holding it
+securely in place. At the same time those at the rear end of it gave it
+a push with their handspikes. The log slid slowly into the chute, then
+with a grinding noise slipped rapidly through it, gave a great leap, and
+went careering down the precipitous hill, making a noise as of thunder.
+
+Tom, with the Doctor's rifle over his shoulder--for he was acting as
+sentinel--had come to observe this splendid beginning of their winter's
+work. As the great timber bounded down the hill, and an echo of its
+final fall came back to announce its arrival at its destination, Tom
+quietly remarked:
+
+"There may have been a distillery in the path of that log yesterday, but
+I wouldn't give much for the remains of it now."
+
+"No," said Jack, "but there's money in that stick of wood. We must send
+down as many such as we can, and what remains of the tree from which I
+cut it will make many railroad ties and a lot of cordwood."
+
+Then Jack examined the chute to see what effect the passage of the great
+timber had produced upon it. He found that pretty nearly all the bark
+had been stripped off the poles of which the chute was made. That was an
+advantage, inasmuch as it rendered the chute smoother for the passage of
+lighter timbers, which would presently render its surfaces glass-like in
+their polish. On the other hand the great timber in its passage had done
+no harm of any kind to the structure.
+
+"That's a tribute, Jack," said Ed, "to your skill and the Doctor's, as
+engineers. For if that great stick didn't break any of your poles or
+twist any of the posts on which they rest, nothing else that we shall
+send down the hill will. I call it good construction, when a chute made
+of such stuff as you have used, carries such a weight as that without
+giving way anywhere."
+
+"Yes," answered Jim Chenowith, "and, of course, the strain on the chute
+will never be so great again, now that the bark has been stripped off
+its poles. It must have been a tremendous trial when that big log slid
+down, resting so heavily on the poles as to strip off every particle of
+bark that it touched!"
+
+"Thanks for your compliments, boys," said Jack, "but now we've got to
+set ourselves to work. Between now and six o'clock we've got to send
+down all the ties that we've got ready, and all the cordwood besides. So
+quit talking and come on."
+
+It was hard work. The railroad ties were so heavy that it required two
+boys to each to handle them comfortably, and the supply of cordwood was
+large enough to tax all the industry of the camp to complete the work
+before six.
+
+In the meantime Tom had gone to the cabin to prepare supper, keeping up
+his sharp lookout all the while.
+
+After supper had been disposed of, Tom quietly took his own
+double-barreled shot gun, slipped a charge of buckshot into each of its
+chambers, belted a loaded cartridge holder round his waist, and went out
+"just to look around," he said. Tom was so given to this sort of
+prowling, both by day and by night, that none of the boys attached any
+importance to his present movements. Had they thought anything at all
+about it, they would have felt certain that little Tom had gone out
+only to stroll around the outskirts of the camp, as it was his habit to
+do.
+
+Instead of that, however, he walked straight to the chute and presently
+clambered over the edge of the cliff, and by holding to bushes dropped
+to a ledge below. Thence, he had a very precipitous but practicable path
+before him for at least half way down the mountain.
+
+Hard working and early rising as the boys were, they enjoyed their
+evenings in front of the great fireplace in their hut, and usually they
+did not go to bed till ten o'clock. This gave them three or four hours
+of enjoyable fireside conversation, and, as they arose sharply at six in
+the morning during these short days it left them eight hours for sleep,
+and that is quite enough for any well man, however hard he may have
+worked in the open air during the day.
+
+But when bedtime came and little Tom did not reappear, they all began to
+feel uneasiness. Still, it was well understood in the camp that "Little
+Tom knows how to take care of himself," and so one by one the boys went
+to bed, all but the sentinel.
+
+About midnight, Jim Chenowith, who had been on guard, came into the hut
+and aroused his comrades.
+
+"I say, fellows," he said, in a deprecative voice, "I hate to disturb
+you, but I'm getting uneasy about Tom. It's twelve o'clock now, and he
+hasn't returned to the camp."
+
+Instantly the entire party sprang out of bed and each began to slip into
+his clothes.
+
+"We must build a bonfire," said the Doctor, as a first suggestion. "You
+see, Tom may have lost his way, and it isn't easy to find one's way
+about in these mountains of a dark night. If we build a bonfire, he will
+be able to locate the camp. If anything worse has happened to the boy,
+why we will--"
+
+The Doctor did not complete his sentence, but the other boys understood,
+and with one voice they answered in boy vernacular: "You bet we will!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+_A Night of Searching_
+
+
+The bonfire was quickly built and stout, willing hands piled upon it the
+brush left over from their chopping till the blaze of it rose thirty
+feet into the air, illuminating the entire mountain side.
+
+So far as anybody could plan there was nothing else to be done while the
+night lasted, except scour the woodlands and thickets round about,
+hallooing now and then; but nothing that the boys could do produced any
+result. Hour after hour passed and still Tom did not appear.
+
+"It would be useless," said Jack, "to go off into the darkness to look
+for him. We simply must wait for daylight, particularly as we don't know
+what direction he took. Possibly by daylight we may track him. But
+unfortunately there is no snow on the ground."
+
+"Unfortunately there will be snow on the ground before daylight comes,"
+said the Doctor, who had conceived a great affection for little Tom,
+"and it will obliterate whatever tracks the boy may have made. All the
+indications are for snow, and indeed it is beginning to snow now. I tell
+you, boys, we must make some torches and study the ground by their
+light. Perhaps we may find Tom's tracks before the snow covers them."
+
+The suggestion was no sooner made than it was carried out, and by the
+light of great, flaring torches the whole party minutely scanned the
+ground, beginning at the cabin door, and prosecuting their researches in
+every direction.
+
+After an hour of this work, the Doctor called out from a point near the
+chute:
+
+"Come here, boys!" and when they came he said:
+
+"Tom went over the bank at this point. See! Here are his tracks in the
+soft earth, and look! There are the bent and broken bushes by which he
+let himself down over that cliff. Thank heaven we know now in what
+direction to look for him as soon as morning comes. It would be useless
+suicide to attempt to follow his trail now."
+
+"Well, I don't know," said Jack. "But I'm ready for that sort of suicide
+in behalf of little Tom. Give me your best torch, boys! I'm going to
+follow the trail down the mountain. You see Tom may have slipped off a
+cliff somewhere down there and broken his legs or rendered himself
+helpless in some other way. I'm going to follow him right now, and the
+rest of you can come after daylight--which isn't more than half an hour
+off now."
+
+"No!" said the Doctor. "If you think best to follow the trail now, we're
+going with you, every one of us. But first let us get our guns and some
+necessaries. If Tom is hurt anywhere down there I must have some
+appliances with which to dress his wounds. If he has fallen into the
+hands of the moonshiners we must rescue him, and to that end we must
+have guns and ammunition. Let us go over his trail by all means, but let
+us go prepared to do him some good when we find him!"
+
+To this thought there was unanimous assent, and instantly the Doctor and
+Jim Chenowith hurried back to the house to bring surgical appliances,
+guns and ammunition. Meantime Jack, who was greatly excited turned to
+the two boys who remained with him, and said, in a voice so cold and
+calm that they knew it meant intense emotion--
+
+"Boys! If the moonshiners have caught little Tom and done any harm to
+him, I am going to drive every moonshiner out of these mountains and
+into a penitentiary or better still to a gibbet, if I have to give my
+whole life to it. Will you join me in that? And if I get killed will you
+promise to go on with the work?"
+
+By that time the others had returned, and they had caught enough of what
+Jack had said to understand its purport. For answer the Doctor grasped
+Jack's hand and said with emotion: "To that purpose I pledge my whole
+life and all of my fortune! If those beasts have dealt foully with
+little Tom, I'll hire and bring here from Baltimore a hundred
+desperately courageous men, every one of them armed with the latest
+magazine rifle there is and commissioned by the revenue chief, and I
+pledge you my honor that when I am through with the job there will not
+be a moonshiner left in these mountains! I'll do that, Jack, if I have
+to hang for it."
+
+The other boys responded with enthusiasm, "We'll be with you in that
+job, Doctor, without any hiring!"
+
+"Thank you, comrades!" That was all that Jack could say before the
+strain upon him overcame even his iron nerves, and for a moment he lost
+consciousness. It was only for a moment, however. At the end of that
+time Jack led the way over the cliff, five torches lighting the journey.
+Presently daylight came, and the torches were thrown away.
+
+The trail that Tom had made of broken bushes, cliff growing saplings,
+bent down in letting himself drop over bluffs and declivities, and boot
+marks where he had scrambled over a ledge, was not very difficult to
+follow for a space. But then came a long stretch of shelving rock
+entirely bare, with a dense forest growth beyond, where the leaves that
+had fallen in the autumn were still a foot deep, and beyond that point
+it was impossible to trace Tom's course. After earnest endeavors to
+recover the trail, the effort was abandoned, and sadly the little
+company made their way back to camp by a circuitous route, for they
+could not climb again the cliffs over which they had managed to clamber
+down.
+
+On the way back they were encouraged by the hope that they might find
+Tom in the camp, when they got there, but in this they were
+disappointed.
+
+They were all disposed to sit down and mourn dejectedly, but at that
+point the Doctor's scientific knowledge came to the rescue.
+
+"See here, boys," he said; "we've got some strenuous work to do for
+Tom's rescue, and we must do some clear and earnest thinking before we
+begin it, in order that we may do it in the best way. We're exhausted.
+We have passed a night with only two hours or less of sleep, and we've
+eaten nothing for fifteen hours, for it's now after nine o'clock. In the
+meantime we have made a tiresome journey down the mountain and back
+again and worse still--for worry is always more wearing than work--we
+have undergone a great stress of anxiety. Now we're going to do all that
+human endeavor can do to rescue Tom. To that end we must have strength
+in our bodies and alertness in our minds. We must have breakfast at once
+and a hearty breakfast at that."
+
+None of the boys had an appetite, but the Doctor insisted and presently
+there was a breakfast served, consisting of bacon, cut into paper-thin
+slices and broiled on the sharpened point of a stick, held in a blaze
+from the fire; corn pones baked to a crisp brown in a skillet, and a
+brimming pot of hot and strong coffee. For butter on their bread, the
+boys had a mixture of the drippings from their recent roasts--the
+venison, the wild boar, the rabbits and the rest--all of which drippings
+they had carefully saved for that purpose.
+
+Appetizing as such a breakfast was to hardworking, sleep-losing and
+exhausted boys, not one of them felt the least relish for it. It
+required all of the Doctor's urging to make them even taste their food,
+till presently Harry, who stood outside as a sentinel, threw down his
+gun and started away at a break-neck pace, calling out at the top of his
+voice as he went:
+
+"There's Tom! There's Tom! There's Tom, and he's all right!"
+
+With that the whole company abandoned breakfast and rushed out to greet
+the returning boy. They plied and bombarded him with questions, of
+course, until at last he said pleadingly:
+
+"Please, boys, I'm awfully hungry and tired. I'll answer all your
+questions after awhile. Just now the only things you really want to know
+are that I'm back safe and sound, and that nothing worse has happened to
+me than the loss of a night's sleep, a good deal of anxiety about you
+fellows, and the getting up of a positively famished appetite. I say,"
+he added, as he entered the cabin, "who broiled that bacon?" and as he
+asked the question he picked up two or three slices of it and thrust
+them one after another into his mouth.
+
+"I did," answered Ed, "and now that you're back, Tom, I'm going to eat a
+lot of it too."
+
+"Well cut three or four times as much more of it," Tom said, slipping
+still another slice of the dainty between his teeth, and following it
+with a mouthful of corn pone, "and I'll help you toast it. But don't
+let's talk till we eat something to talk on."
+
+Ed quickly cut a great plateful of the bacon slices, and every boy in
+the party except the one on guard duty, sharpened a stick and helped in
+the broiling.
+
+Tom had brought their appetites back with him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+_Tom Gives an Account of Himself_
+
+
+"Now first of all," said Tom, when breakfast was over and the boys again
+began questioning him as to his night's adventure,--"first of all if I
+ever disappear again you're not any of you to worry about me. You all
+say that 'little Tom knows how to take care of himself,' and I believe I
+do, particularly when I have a double-barrelled shotgun with me and
+forty cartridges loaded with buckshot in my belt.
+
+"Now to explain. I was curious to find out how far the moonshiner who
+'negotiated' with me at the muzzle of your magazine rifle, Doctor, was
+telling the truth, and how far he was lying. So I made up my mind to
+climb down the mountain, following the line of our chute, and find out
+whether or not that big timber had made a wreck of an illicit still down
+there. Of course it hadn't. That was only an 'explanation' invented by
+the fellow for immediate use, when he was caught sneaking up here to
+shoot some of us. His sole purpose was to drive us 'out'n the mountings'
+as these people put it. His plan was to sneak up here behind the house
+and shoot some one or other of us, and thus compel us to 'git down out'n
+the mountings.' He thought we'd all be out there chopping and that after
+dropping one of us he could slip away unseen and of course unrecognized.
+He thought that then we'd quit. He didn't know that that cat had
+scratched me so badly that the Doctor had condemned me to stay here at
+the house, and so he was taken completely by surprise when I levelled
+that repeating rifle at him, at less than six paces distance. So he
+resorted to humanity's last resource, lying. I remember reading in a
+book somewhere that Queen Elizabeth said that 'a lie is an intellectual
+way of meeting a difficulty.' Well that fellow was very intellectual. He
+lied 'to the queen's taste'--even Queen Elizabeth's taste. He told me
+that he had come up here to ask us fellows to change the direction of
+our chute, lest it demolish his still down there--though of course he
+didn't admit that it was a still. I wanted to find out about that and so
+I slipped away and climbed down the mountain. I found the still all
+right--indeed I found three of them--on my mother's land, but there
+isn't one of them in the line of our chute or within a quarter of a mile
+of it. All that was a fable made up to cover the moonshiner's murderous
+mission.
+
+"Well when I found the stills in full blast I made up my mind to watch
+their operations for a time. I was securely ensconced upon a ledge which
+I thought inaccessible from below, but it wasn't. For presently those
+fellows threw out their pickets, and one of them climbed up to my
+particular ledge, to keep 'watch and ward' there. There were only two
+things for me to do. Either I must shoot the fellow and take my chances
+of running away over a difficult track with which the moonshiners were
+familiar while I was not, or I must crouch away somewhere where the
+moonshining picket was not likely to see me.
+
+"As the more prudent of the two courses open to me, I chose the latter.
+There was a sort of half cave there, a crevice in the rocks, and I
+crawled into that, and there I stayed all night, with my gun at full
+cock and with Little Tom every instant on the alert. My plan was to keep
+myself hidden as long as I could, and if discovered to get in the first
+shot, and then run as fast as I could. Fortunately I was not discovered,
+and about half past six o'clock the stills ceased operations and the
+pickets were called in. Then I made my way around the side of the
+mountain and got back to camp.
+
+"There, that's the whole story of Little Tom's night adventure. Now
+let's get to work at our chopping, for I am well enough now to do my
+share and I hereby declare my independence of the Doctor."
+
+"That's all right," said the Doctor, "but if you break open any of those
+wounds, I'll order you to bed again."
+
+"But wait awhile," interposed Jack. "There's something serious in all
+this. Obviously these people don't intend to make open war upon us.
+Their plan is to sneak upon us and now and then to shoot one of us from
+some hiding place, in order to drive us out of the mountains. Now we've
+got to look out for that. We can do it in two ways. First we can send a
+slab down the chute with a message in it asking our friends down below
+to send up the revenue officers and a company of soldiers to arrest all
+these men, telling the revenue people that we'll show them the stills
+and the men. In other words we can 'carry the war into Africa' as the
+Romans did, and put these fellows on the defensive instead of ourselves
+standing in that position. Or, if we don't care to do that--and there
+are reasons against it--"
+
+"What are the reasons against it?" asked Little Tom, whose disposition
+it was always to take the offensive in a righteous controversy.
+
+"Well, not more than a dozen or twenty of these mountaineers are
+actively engaged in this illicit distilling business, but all the rest
+of the mountaineers are their friends and most of them are their
+relatives, for these mountaineers have intermarried until almost every
+one of them is the near kinsman of all the rest. Now if we call in the
+assistance of the revenue officers and the troops behind them, the best
+that we can hope for is to put a dozen or so of them into jail, while
+possibly two or three of them will be shot in the mélee. That will leave
+the rest of them to make war upon us, with the assistance of all the men
+of the mountains."
+
+"Well what's the other plan," asked Tom, who very reluctantly gave up
+the idea of aggressive fighting.
+
+"We must so place a sentinel every day that no man can come within rifle
+range of us without being discovered and stopped--with a bullet if
+necessary. Fortunately our camp is so placed that there are only two
+points at which it can be reached, and fortunately again there is one
+sheltered point--out there under the cliff--from which a sentinel can
+see anybody approaching by either of the only two roads that lead into
+our camp. My plan is to keep a sentinel always under the cliff out
+there."
+
+Jack had so thoroughly thought the matter out that it needed no
+discussion. His plan was instantly adopted, one boy was sent to the
+sentry's post under the cliff, and the rest made a late beginning of the
+day's work of wood chopping.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+_Two Shots that Hit_
+
+
+The days passed rapidly now, as they always do when people are busily at
+work, and little by little the boys sent a great number of ties and
+timbers and many cords of wood down the chute.
+
+One evening Tom and Ed were "playing on the piano." That is to say they
+were grinding axes by the firelight. For when the grind-stone was
+provided with a proper frame and set up in the house, Tom insisted upon
+calling it the piano, though some of the boys wanted to consider it as a
+sewing machine or a typewriter. One thing was certain, it must be kept
+in doors. Otherwise the water would freeze upon it, rendering it
+useless.
+
+As Tom and Ed played upon the piano immediately after supper, Tom said
+to the Doctor:
+
+"Tell us some more about beans?"
+
+"I don't clearly catch your meaning," answered the Doctor.
+
+"Why you once began telling us how valuable beans were as human food,"
+said Tom, "and as those that I ate for supper are sitting rather
+heavily upon my soul, I want to be encouraged by hearing some more about
+how good they are for me."
+
+"Wait a minute," said the Doctor. Then he went to his medicine case and
+put a small quantity of something white into a tin cup. After that he
+opened the camp box of baking soda and added half a teaspoonful of that
+article; then he dissolved the whole mixture in a cupful of water and
+handed it to Tom.
+
+"There! Drink that!" he said, "and I think you will be in better
+condition to listen to what I may have to say about beans."
+
+Tom swallowed the mixture and then insisted upon hearing about beans.
+
+"Well," said the Doctor, "the most interesting thing I know about beans
+is that without them the great whaling industry which brought a vast
+prosperity to this country a generation or two ago, would have been
+impossible."
+
+"How so?" asked Jack.
+
+"Why you see in order to make whaling voyages profitable the sailing
+ships that carried on the business, had to be gone for four years at a
+time, and of course they had to carry food enough to last that long. For
+meats they carried corned beef and pickled pork. For vegetables they
+had to carry beans because they are the only vegetable product that
+will keep so long. There were no canned goods in those days, so it was
+beans or no whaling."
+
+"Didn't they get fearfully tired of four years' living on nothing but
+beans and salt meats?"
+
+"Of course. And of course they managed sometimes to pick up some fresh
+food, like sea birds' eggs or the sea birds themselves--though they are
+very bad eating because of their fishy flavor; and sometimes, too, the
+whaling ships would stop at ports on their way to the North Pacific
+whaling waters and buy whatever they could of fresher food. But in the
+main the men on whaling voyages had to live on salt meat and beans, and
+one of their most serious troubles was that they suffered a great deal
+from scurvy. By the way, that's something that we must look out for."
+
+"That was caused by eating too much pickled meat, wasn't it?" asked Tom.
+
+"They thought so then," said the Doctor, "but we have another theory
+now. That's a very curious point. For a long time it was confidently
+supposed that there was something in the salt meats that gave men
+scurvy. After a while it was discovered that it was something _left out_
+of the pickled meats that produced that effect. It seems that the brine
+in which meat is pickled extracts from the meat certain nutritious
+principles which are necessary to health, and that it is the lack of
+these nutritious principles that gives men scurvy. So an old whaling
+captain, with a sound head on his shoulders, concluded that the thing
+needed to prevent scurvy was for the men to consume the brine in which
+the meat was pickled. He ordered that the brine should be used instead
+of water in mixing up bread, cooking vegetables and the like."
+
+"Did the thing work?"
+
+"Yes, excellently, and the plan was adopted in all the Canada lumber
+camps where scurvy was as great an enemy to success as it was on the
+whaling vessels themselves. Another thing they do in the lumber camps is
+to quit cooking their potatoes the moment that symptoms of scurvy
+appear. Raw potatoes seem to have a specific effect in preventing and
+even in curing scurvy."
+
+"Scurvy is a sore mouth, isn't it?" asked Tom.
+
+"Not by any means," answered the Doctor. "Sore mouth is one of the
+earliest and mildest symptoms of the disease, and nobody knows what sore
+mouth means till he has had a touch of scurvy. It means that the mouth
+in all its membranes is afire, and that everything put into the
+mouth,--even though it be a piece of ice--burns like so much molten
+iron. But the mouth symptoms are only a beginning. Presently the knees
+and other joints turn purple and become excruciatingly painful. Then
+they suppurate, and in the end amputation becomes necessary. There are
+few worse diseases than scurvy, and we boys must protect ourselves
+against it by every means in our power. It threatens us with a much more
+serious danger than any that the moonshiners can bring upon us."
+
+"By the way," said Jack, "the moonshiners seem to be letting us alone
+now. Perhaps they have given us up as a bad job."
+
+"That's just what they want us to think," responded Tom. "They are lying
+low, in the hope that we'll accept precisely that idea and relax our
+vigilance. That is the one thing that we mustn't do on any account. That
+reminds me that it's time for me to go and relieve Jim Chenowith on
+guard duty."
+
+"Well, before you go, Tom," said the Doctor, "I want to suggest that you
+take a day off to-morrow and get some fresh meat for us. We have lived
+on salt meat for five or six days now, and a big snow may come at any
+time to cut us off from fresh meat supplies. Besides our provisions are
+very sharply limited in quantity and we mustn't use them up too rapidly.
+We don't want scurvy in the camp and we don't want a starving time. So
+boys I propose that Tom, as the best huntsman in the party, be detailed
+and ordered to devote to-morrow to the duty of getting some game for our
+larder."
+
+The suggestion was instantly and unanimously accepted. Then spoke up
+Harry Ridsdale:
+
+"It'll be a hard day's work for Tom, as there's a slippery, soaplike
+snow on the ground, and he needs to be fresh for it. So I volunteer to
+take his turn on guard to-night and let him get in a good, straightaway
+sleep."
+
+"Good for you, Harry," said Jack. But Tom protested that he was
+perfectly ready to stand his turn of guard duty and insisted upon doing
+so. The others unanimously overruled him, however, and so Harry
+shouldered his gun and went to relieve Jim Chenowith as picket. Before
+going he said:
+
+"Now, fellows, there is to be no more talking to-night, for when the
+Doctor talks I want to listen. I've a whole catechism of questions to
+bother him with, but it's bed time now and you fellows must crawl into
+your bunks at once, without any further chatter. To bed, every one of
+you!"
+
+As it was full ten o'clock the boys accepted the suggestion, and in a
+few minutes afterward, Camp Venture sank into silence, while Harry
+stood guard out there under the cliff, and the stars glittered above
+him in a wintry sky. Meantime the logs blazed and sputtered lazily in
+the great fireplace, and the night wore on, with no disturbance in the
+hut except when a sentinel came in, woke up his successor, replenished
+the fire and crept into his broomstraw bed.
+
+About four o'clock the boys were startled out of sleep by the crack of a
+rifle, and the instant response of both barrels of a shotgun.
+
+They were up and out in a moment, for it was their habit just then to
+sleep in their clothes and even in their boots, and for each to keep his
+gun by his side ready for instant use.
+
+Running as fast as possible, they quickly joined Ed Parmly, who was on
+picket at the time, and hurriedly questioned him.
+
+He reported that the rifle shot had come from the edge of the cliff over
+which the road down the mountain led. He added:
+
+"I sent two charges of buckshot in that direction, but without aim, of
+course, as it is too dark to see. I reloaded at once, and while I was
+doing so I heard a groan off there. Perhaps we'd better look the matter
+up."
+
+Just then came another groan, and, at Tom's suggestion, torches were
+lighted and an exploration made.
+
+Just over the edge of the little cliff they found a mountaineer. He was
+in a state of collapse, nine buckshot having passed through the fleshy
+part of his thigh, cutting arteries and big veins enough to cause
+profuse hæmorrhage.
+
+"The man is badly hurt," said the Doctor. "We'll carry him to the hut at
+once and see what can be done for him."
+
+Willing hands lifted and carried the fainting man, and once in the hut
+the Doctor called for all the torches that could be lighted. Hurriedly
+he inspected the man's wounds, taking up an artery and putting a
+compress on a severed vein as he went. Finally he said:
+
+"Fortunately none of the buckshot struck the bone. It is only a flesh
+wound though it is a very bad one. By the way"--the Doctor was seized
+with a kindly thought--"Ed Parmly is probably more anxious about this
+thing than any other boy in the party, and he is still out there on
+picket. Suppose one of you fellows goes out there to relieve him and let
+him come in to find out the amount of damage done by his shot."
+
+The thought appealed at once to the kindly feelings of the boys and they
+all instantly volunteered, but Jack, as the next in order on the sentry
+list, claimed the privilege of relieving Ed.
+
+When Ed came in he first of all wanted to hear whether or not the man
+he had shot in the darkness was likely to die of his wounds.
+
+The Doctor promptly reassured him on that point.
+
+Then Ed said:
+
+"Well, Doctor, if you are quite through with him, suppose you look at a
+little scratch that he gave me. I didn't want to say anything about it,
+but maybe it is better to have it attended to."
+
+The Doctor turned instantly and began stripping off the boy's clothing.
+He found that a bullet, striking him in the left side, had passed
+between two ribs, almost penetrating the hollow of the lower chest, but
+without quite doing so. It was one of those wonderful vagaries of bullet
+wounds that would kill in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, but which
+in the hundredth case do a minimum of damage.
+
+The Doctor having satisfied himself that no vital organ had been
+touched, carefully disinfected the wound and swathed it in bandages. As
+he did so he said to the boy:
+
+"Why didn't you tell us at the start, Ed, that you were wounded?"
+
+"Well you see," said Ed, "I was more concerned about the other fellow.
+It isn't a pleasant thing to kill a man, even when you've got to do it
+in self defence. So as I knew by his groans that he was worse hurt than
+I was, I didn't say anything about what his bullet had done till you
+were through with the job of dressing his wounds."
+
+"Will you permit me to remark," said the Doctor, "quite casually and in
+parentheses as it were, that you, Ed Parmly, are a hero? I haven't met a
+great many heroes in my time, but you are one of the few. Now you're
+going to bed, and I'm going to play tyrant over you till this wound gets
+well. But upon my word, I never knew two shots fired in darkness that
+did their work so effectively as yours and that mountaineer's did."
+
+With the instinct of his science the Doctor had no thought of
+questioning the wounded moonshiner. But Tom had no scientific training
+and no particular scruples concerning the matter. So he turned to the
+mountaineer, who was occupying his bed, and asked in a peremptory voice:
+
+"Why did you shoot Ed? What harm had he done you? What right had you to
+shoot at him."
+
+"Well, you see," said the mountaineer, taking up the familiar parable,
+"we fellers what lives up here in the mountings can't afford to have no
+intruders around. You fellers is intruders, and we're agoin' to drive
+you out'n the mountings. You mout as well make up your minds to that
+fust as last. We's done give you notice to quit, fair and square. You
+won't quit. So all they is fer it is to kill you an' that's what we've
+set out to do."
+
+"But, my friend," said the Doctor, whose training had taught him to
+regard reason as the ultimate court of appeals in human affairs, "we are
+here with a perfect right to be here. We have in no way interfered with
+you or your friends. You have absolutely no right to interfere with us."
+
+"All that don't make no difference whatsomever," answered the
+mountaineer. "We fellers what lives up here in the mountings don't want
+no spies an' nobody else up here. You fellers has got to get out'n the
+mountings an' that's all about it."
+
+"But what right have you?" asked the Doctor, "to drive us out?"
+
+"Well, we ain't a discussin' of rights now," answered the mountaineer.
+"We're a talkin' business. You fellers has got to git out'n the
+mountings."
+
+Here Tom broke in, with his hot temper:
+
+"So that's your last word, is it? Well, now let me give you our last
+word. We are going to stay here. We are going to defend ourselves in our
+rights, and now that you've threatened to kill us, and tried to kill us,
+we've a perfect right to do a little shooting on our own account, and I
+give you warning that if any one of you is caught in this camp, or
+anywhere near it, we'll understand that he has come here to carry out
+your threats, and we'll shoot him without waiting to ask any questions.
+As for you, we ought to send you to jail for shooting one of our party.
+I for one vote to do that. We can lock you up in the penitentiary for
+that offense, and we're going to do it. Just as soon as the Doctor says
+you're able to travel, I'm going to take you down the mountains at the
+muzzle of a gun, and put you in jail. I'm tired of this thing."
+
+This aspect of the case had not presented itself to the minds of the
+other boys, but they approved Tom's plan instantly. The right thing is
+always and obviously to appeal to the law for redress where a wrong has
+been done, and perhaps the jailing of the mountaineer, under a charge of
+"assault with intent to kill"--an offense punishable by a long term of
+imprisonment,--might deter the others from like offenses.
+
+"Well, it's pretty hard," said the mountaineer. "I've just got out only
+three months ago, after a year in prison, for nothin' but helpin' some
+other fellers to make a little whiskey without a payin' of the tax; an'
+now I've got to go back to grindin' stove lids for nothin' but shootin'
+at people that stays in the mountings in spite of all our warnin's."
+
+Obviously the man was utterly incapable of realizing the nature or the
+atrocity of his crime. Obviously, also, he was incapable, as his
+comrades were, of seeing that anybody but themselves had a right to stay
+in the mountains when they objected.
+
+But Tom was bent upon carrying out his idea of taking the man down the
+mountain and bringing him to trial for shooting Ed, and the other boys
+fully sanctioned it.
+
+"It may teach these people," said Jack, "that there are other people in
+the world who have rights. That will be a civilizing lesson."
+
+"Yes," said Tom, "and besides that, it will lock up a man who seems to
+know how to shoot straight even in the dark. Anyhow, I've made up my
+mind. As a 'law-abiding and law-loving citizen' I'm going to put that
+fellow into jail, and send him afterwards to the penitentiary for a ten
+years' term, if I can, for shooting Ed Parmly with intent to kill him.
+It will be a wholesome reminder to the rest of these moonshiners that
+they had better not shoot at us fellows. So, just as soon as the Doctor
+says he's able to travel, I'm going to escort him down the mountain and
+deliver him to the sheriff of the county. In the meantime, daylight is
+breaking and it's time for you fellows who have the job in charge to
+begin the preparation of breakfast."
+
+So, after all, Tom did not get much sleep as a preparation for his game
+hunting trip of the coming day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+_The Doctor Explains_
+
+
+Ed's wound did not incapacitate him for the task of standing guard over
+the wounded and captured mountaineer. Ed was able to get out of bed and
+sit about the house with a gun slung casually across his knees or his
+shoulder, as the case might be, and the mountaineer perfectly understood
+that Ed did not mean for him to escape, by any possible chance, even
+when his strength should return. So he was content to lie still and
+reflect as he did, that "this is better than the prison anyhow."
+
+Tom went hunting, as the Doctor had suggested that he should. Three of
+the boys continued the chopping, while one stood guard--a duty that had
+been made more imperative than ever by the mountaineer's declaration of
+the fixed purpose of the moonshiners.
+
+When Tom returned in the evening he was overladen with game, as it was
+his custom to be on his return from a hunting expedition. He had two
+big wild turkey gobblers, a great necklace of fat squirrels, nearly a
+dozen hares and a small deer which he had dragged down the mountain
+because of his inability to carry it with his other load upon him.
+
+"Here's meat enough," he said, "to last till Christmas anyhow," for it
+was now well on into December, "and I've seen a big turkey gobbler that
+I mean to get for our Christmas dinner. He can't weigh less than twenty
+or twenty-five pounds, and he's a shy, wise, experienced old boy; but
+I've found out what his usual rambles are and if the Doctor will lend me
+that long range rifle of his, I'll promise to get that bird for
+Christmas. I don't believe it would be possible to get within shot gun
+range of him."
+
+"Oh, you can take that gun, Tom, whenever you please," answered the
+Doctor. "In fact, I'm going to give it to you right now. Only I'll ask
+you when you go down the mountain with our prisoner, to mail a letter
+for me, in which I will order another gun of the same sort."
+
+"But, Doctor," said Tom, in protest, "I didn't mean--"
+
+"Of course you didn't," answered the Doctor. "If you'd meant anything of
+the kind, I wouldn't have thought of giving you the gun. As it is, I
+don't know anybody living that could make a better use of such a gun
+than you can. So it is yours, and I'm going to send for another just
+like it for myself. In the meantime, I'll borrow your shotgun for such
+casual uses as our camp life may require. Of course, you'll need the
+shot gun also, sometimes, but the rifle's yours, and I am sure it could
+not be in better hands."
+
+The boy made his acknowledgments as best he could, and the best part of
+them was his fondling of the rifle itself in loving appreciation. But in
+his embarrassment over the Doctor's generosity, he wanted to turn the
+subject of conversation, and as supper was by this time over, he said:
+
+"Now, Doctor, you were telling us the other night something about the
+old-time whaling ships. Won't you tell us to-night something about the
+modern ocean steamers?"
+
+"Yes," broke in Jack. "You see, you are the only 'boy' among us who has
+ever seen a ship, and I believe you have crossed the ocean several
+times."
+
+"Yes, many times," answered the Doctor, meditatively, "and there are
+many points of interest about a great modern ocean steamship, which it
+will please me to tell you about if it will interest you to hear."
+
+The boys expressed an eager desire to hear, and so the Doctor
+proceeded.
+
+"In the first place," he said, "there is nothing in the world so
+complete, so independent, so self-reliant, as a first-class steamship.
+She has everything on board that she can possibly need, or else she has
+the means of making it for herself. She makes her own electric lights,
+and every stateroom is supplied with them. She does not carry fresh
+water for drinking and cooking use, because she has a distilling
+apparatus capable of producing all needed fresh water from the salt
+water of the sea. This is a great advantage. If you have ever read sea
+tales, you know that in cases of long detention, one of the worst of
+troubles in the old days was that the water became foul and the use of
+it bred disease. The modern steamship always has a supply of perfectly
+pure distilled water."
+
+"But, Doctor," asked Ed, "suppose one of the big steamers should break
+down at sea, with her machinery out of order, and wallow around out
+there on the waves for a month or two, wouldn't the crew and passengers
+all starve to death?"
+
+"That could hardly happen," said the Doctor, "for reasons which I will
+explain presently. But even if it did happen, the crew and passengers
+would not starve, for the reason that every great ocean liner carries in
+her hold enough food to last her passengers and crew for fully six
+months, although I believe the law requires them to carry only one
+month's supply."
+
+"How many are there on board usually?"
+
+"Oh, that varies with every voyage. The big ships often carry three or
+four hundred first-class passengers and have crews numbering from
+seventy to one hundred men. But some of them carry, also, a large number
+of steerage passengers. I once crossed from Italy on the North German
+Lloyd's steamer Ems, when we had only twelve first class passengers,
+five second class and fifteen hundred in the steerage."
+
+"And she carried food enough for all those people for six months?" asked
+Jack, in wonder.
+
+"Yes, and more."
+
+"What sort of food was it?"
+
+"Beans by scores of tons; corned beef and mess pork by hundreds of
+barrels, and an almost unlimited supply of canned meats and vegetables,"
+answered the Doctor.
+
+"Now, as I said," the Doctor resumed, "no great steamer is ever likely
+to be delayed for a month or anything like a month, at sea. In the first
+place, each of them carries a skilled chief engineer and a corps of
+competent assistant engineers, a force of blacksmiths and machinists,
+and better still, duplicates of all those parts of her engines that are
+liable to break down. I remember one voyage on the American liner
+Berlin, when in midocean one of our cylinders cracked and threatened to
+burst under the steam pressure. The captain stopped the ship and the
+engineers and machinists cut that cylinder out. We lay there for twenty
+hours in a surging sea, and then proceeded, running with only two of our
+three cylinders in use."
+
+"But what an awful bobbing about you must have got," said Ed, "lying out
+there on the sea, with no headway."
+
+"Oh, no!" answered the Doctor. "Our bow was kept always toward the
+oncoming waves, so that we rode rather more easily than if we had been
+running under steam, for if we had been running we should have laid our
+course straight for New York, taking the waves from any direction. As it
+was, we got them dead ahead."
+
+"But how did they hold the bow always toward the coming waves?" asked
+Ed.
+
+"By the use of what they call 'sea anchors.' These are great hollow
+cones, made of iron. At the big end of each a cable is fastened, and the
+anchors are thrown overboard, usually three or four of them. Of course,
+it is impossible in deep seas to send an anchor down to the bottom, but
+these big cones catch the water, and by their dragging in it, they hold
+the ship pretty nearly stationary, and, more important still, they keep
+her head always pointed toward the wind and waves, so that she rides
+easily. Whenever a ship breaks down at sea she hoists three great black
+disks into her rigging. These mean to any ship that may approach, that
+the steamer is 'not under control'--that is to say, that as she is not
+running, she has no power to steer to one side or the other or in any
+other way to keep out of the path of the approaching vessel. Then, the
+approaching vessel steers clear of the disabled steamer, and usually she
+hoists a set of signal flags, asking if the steamer needs or wants any
+assistance, and the steamer replies with another set of flags giving her
+response to the offer. The flag signalling system has been so completely
+perfected by international agreement that two captains can carry on any
+conversation they please by means of it, even though neither can speak a
+word of the other's language.
+
+"Now this is the other reason why no steamer is ever likely to lie
+crippled on the ocean for a month or any thing like it. There are
+regular pathways on the ocean over which all the regular line steamers
+pass. So, while the ocean is so immense that you may steam over it for
+days without seeing a vessel of any kind, nevertheless no steamer is
+likely to lie disabled for more than a few days without sighting some
+other that stands ready to render assistance. If the disabled steamer
+needs anything the other furnishes it. If she is too far broken down in
+her machinery to repair it at sea, the other will generally take her in
+tow. If she is likely to sink--the most unlikely of all things--the
+other will take off her crew and passengers and leave the ship to her
+fate."
+
+"Why do you say, Doctor, that sinking is the most unlikely of all
+things?" asked Jack. "I should think it the most likely."
+
+"Not at all," the Doctor replied. "The modern steamship is perhaps the
+most perfect product we have of scientific precision in construction. As
+well as you know that twice two makes four, the builders of a modern
+steamship know to the uttermost pound the amount of strain that any wave
+blow can put upon any part of the ship, and they provide for it four
+times over. Except in case of collision in a fog, the great ocean liner
+simply cannot sink at sea. If you took her out to mid ocean and there
+abandoned her, she would float securely until some current should drive
+her on rocks or some other sort of shore. At sea, she is absolutely
+unsinkable, except as I say by collision, and that is as true when she
+is carrying thousands of tons of freight as at any other time."
+
+"It is very wonderful," said Jack.
+
+"Of course it is. If I were called upon to name the modern seven wonders
+of the world, I should unhesitatingly put the ocean greyhound first in
+the list. But come boys! It is past our bed time, and we've heavy work
+to do to-morrow in getting those three great timbers ready to send down
+the chute."
+
+"I'm awfully sorry," said Tom.
+
+"Sorry--for what?" asked the Doctor.
+
+"Why, now that you've told us so much about the great ships, I want to
+hear more. I've at least a hundred questions to ask you."
+
+"Very well," said the Doctor. "The winter will be long and we'll have
+abundant opportunities of evenings to ask and answer all the questions
+we please. But just now our business is to get to bed and to sleep, or
+rather that's the business of you other fellows. My business is to go
+out and relieve Jim Chenowith as our picket guard. So good night boys,
+and good, refreshing slumbers to you!"
+
+With that the Doctor shouldered a gun, first carefully examining its
+cartridges, and strode out into the bitterly cold night to do his turn
+at guard duty. He had indeed made himself a boy among boys, and he had
+won all hearts.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+_Christmas in Camp Venture_
+
+
+As breakfast was in course of preparation the next morning, Ed brought a
+large dripping pan and set it in front of the fire.
+
+"Now you fellows," he said, "who are broiling bacon on the points of
+sharpened sticks, will please let the fat from it drip into this pan,
+and you'll kindly do the same from now till Christmas."
+
+"What's up Ed?" asked Jack. "What do you want us to do that for?"
+
+"Why the Doctor insists that I must stay indoors till after Christmas,
+so quite naturally it is going to fall to me to cook the Christmas
+dinner. I take it for granted that little Tom is going to get that big
+turkey gobbler he told us about, and I'm going to cook it properly--or
+as nearly so as the limited resources of Camp Venture will permit. To
+that end I shall want some drippings from broiling bacon. So save all
+the fat you can, boys, from now until Christmas."
+
+The boys asked no questions, knowing that Ed Parmly was by all odds the
+best cook in the camp, but they saved all they could of the drippings
+from the slices of bacon that they were toasting in the fire.
+
+Three days before Christmas, Tom took his rifle and went out on the
+mountain in search of his big turkey. He brought back some game--Tom
+never failed to do that--but he came back without the big turkey, though
+it was well after nightfall when he arrived at the camp. Some of the
+boys were disposed to joke him about his failure, though of course in a
+friendly way.
+
+"That's all right fellows," answered Tom. "But I've promised you that
+big turkey, and I'm going to deliver the goods."
+
+"How can you speak so confidently, Tom?" asked Harry. "You've missed
+getting him to-day and you may miss getting him to-morrow and next day."
+
+"But I shan't do that," answered Tom with that confidence which is born
+of knowledge and skill. "I know where that turkey and his flock are
+roosting to-night, and I'll be there before daylight to-morrow morning.
+I'll be right under him when he wakes, and I'll have my shot gun with
+me, for the range to a roost is short. I'll have that turkey gobbler
+here before noon to-morrow, or I'll admit that I'm no hunter."
+
+"But suppose he quits his roost during the night and wanders away
+somewhere," suggested the Doctor, who knew nothing of the habits of wild
+turkeys.
+
+"Turkeys never do that," answered Tom. "When once they go to roost they
+stay there till the dawn broadens into full daylight. Nothing could
+persuade them to quit their perches much before sunrise, and before that
+time I'll have that stately gentleman flung over my shoulder."
+
+Accordingly Tom left camp about two hours before the daylight came, and
+about ten o'clock he returned, bearing the gigantic gobbler, in triumph,
+and with it two smaller turkeys which he had also killed.
+
+"There you doubters!" he said as he flung down the birds, "I promised
+you a turkey dinner for Christmas and I've kept my word. It only remains
+for Ed to cook the big bird properly and I haven't the least doubt that
+he'll do that. The other two will keep in such weather as this as long
+as we care to keep them. What with the game we already have on hand, and
+these three turkeys, I think we're in no pressing danger of an outbreak
+of scurvy in camp, are we Doctor?"
+
+"So long as you are around, Tom," answered the Doctor, "I shall feel no
+apprehension of scurvy, and still less of starvation."
+
+Tom had shown his spoil at that part of the camp where the other boys
+were chopping. Having done so he carried the turkeys to the house and
+delivered them over to Ed, who, incapacitated for other work by his
+wound, had made himself at once sentinel in charge of the prisoner and
+company cook.
+
+As soon as Tom left the choppers, Jack stopped his work, and said to the
+others:
+
+"I say, boys, Tom was a Christmas baby, and this coming Christmas day
+will be his eighteenth birthday. Isn't there any way in which we can
+celebrate it?"
+
+"Yes," answered the Doctor, "We'll give a big dinner in his honor on
+that occasion and surprise him with it. I have been jealously saving a
+few onions and potatoes that I brought up the mountain in my pack. I
+have carefully guarded them against frost as well as against use,
+meaning to keep them all winter in case scurvy should appear among us.
+But evidently Tom is taking care of that by keeping us abundantly
+supplied with fresh meat. So I'm going to suggest to Ed that on
+Christmas day he roast the onions in a pan or skillet and bake the
+potatoes in the ashes. That, with the big turkey, will give us a dinner
+fit for princes."
+
+"Good!" cried the others, "and we'll pretend to forget all about it's
+being Tom's birthday," added Jim Chenowith, "till the dinner is dished
+up in his honor. Then we'll congratulate him."
+
+Ed fell in with the plan with all heartiness when he was told of it. He
+was a notably good cook considering that he was a boy, and he was
+determined to produce the best result he could with the meagre means at
+his disposal.
+
+On Christmas morning he took the giblets of his big turkey--the gizzard,
+liver, heart, the outer ends of the wings and the upper part of the
+neck, and put them on the fire to stew.
+
+Then he puzzled his brain over the question of a stuffing for the
+gigantic turkey. He had no wheaten bread of any kind, and he doubted
+that corn bread could be made to answer. Just then he remembered that a
+box of crackers, two-thirds full, remained among Camp Venture's stores.
+He hunted them out and took as many of them as he needed. He toasted
+each to a rich crisp brown. When all were toasted he reduced them to
+crumbs. Next he mixed the crumbs together with the bacon fat drippings
+that he had made the boys save from their broiling. He added just enough
+water to make the mass half adhere together. Then he chopped up one
+small onion and mixed it with the stuffing. After adding a little
+chopped bacon and a liberal supply of black pepper, he pressed the whole
+mass into the hollow of the big bird and hung the turkey up before the
+fire to roast, placing a dripping pan under it, setting it whirling at
+the end of a string, and from time to time basting it with the drippings
+that fell into the pan.
+
+A little later he placed the potatoes in the hot embers to bake. He put
+the onions into a skillet and placing live coals under and upon the lid
+of that utensil, left them to roast. Still later he made up some corn
+pones and set them to bake in another skillet. Finally, just before
+dinner time, he brewed a great pot of coffee.
+
+But in the meantime he had taken the giblets off the fire, chopped them
+to a mince meat and poured them into the dripping pan that had reposed
+under the turkey as it roasted. Into this he poured the water in which
+the giblets had been stewed and added a little of the cracker crumbs for
+thickening, a little salt and a liberal supply of pepper. This done he
+stirred all together vigorously and produced a gravy of which even his
+mother--the best cook he had ever known--might have been proud.
+
+At the very last he dug the potatoes out of the ashes, split open one
+side of each and inserted, in the mealy depths, a freshly broiled slice
+of bacon. This was to replace the butter which he had not.
+
+Then he called the boys to dinner, but as the day was warm he served the
+meal on an improvised table out of doors, from which both points of
+possible invasion of the camp could be fairly well observed. He did this
+in order that the whole company, sentinel and all, might sit down
+together in celebration of Christmas and of little Tom's birthday.
+
+When the little company assembled, each member of it grasped Tom's hand
+and warmly congratulated him, and when the boy learned how they had
+exerted themselves to make his natal day one to be remembered, he fairly
+broke down with affectionate emotion. It was assigned to him to carve
+the great turkey gobbler, which in the absence of scales on which to
+weigh him, the boys pretty accurately estimated at twenty-six pounds.
+Jack served the roast onions, which were done to a beautiful brown, and
+Ed himself dished out the potatoes, roasted to a hard crust without and
+enticing mealiness within.
+
+The coffee was drunk with the meal after the manner of the country, and
+of course there was no milk to go with it, but these healthy, happy,
+out-of-door boys enjoyed that Christmas dinner as they had never enjoyed
+a dinner before.
+
+Just as they were finishing the eating of it something struck and
+penetrated the clapboards that formed the extemporized table. Tom
+instantly glanced at the mark made, estimated direction and, turning,
+sent a bullet from his long range rifle toward the point from which he
+believed the shot to have come. A moment later there came another shot
+and another, and this time Tom saw the smoke of the rifles from which
+they came. He aimed carefully but quickly, and fired two shots in reply.
+
+"There!" he said. "They are shooting from long range, or what they
+regard as such, up there on the mountain. They think we have nothing but
+shot guns and their plan is to shoot at us from too great a distance for
+us to shoot back. I reckon those three bullets of mine will give them a
+new idea of the situation, for this rifle carries at least twice as far
+as any they have."
+
+Apparently Tom was right, for after his shots were delivered no more was
+heard from the assailing mountaineers.
+
+"Now that teaches us a lesson," said Jack. "Our house door faces
+directly south and up the mountain. There are points up there from which
+those rascals can fire right into our house through the door, whenever
+they feel so disposed. We must stop that right now."
+
+"But how?" asked the Doctor.
+
+"By building a bullet proof barricade of poles right here, ten feet in
+front of our door," answered Jack. "We can easily do it this afternoon
+and still get some chopping done."
+
+Jack's suggestion was adopted instantly and the boys set to work at once
+to carry it out. They set up some poles about fifteen feet high and six
+feet apart, burying their lower ends deep in the earth. Then they set up
+a second line in the same way about eight inches in front of the first
+line. Next they placed in the space between the two lines a tier of
+poles about five inches thick and so closely fitted together as to be
+bullet proof. Then for complete safety they cut small brush into pieces,
+and with them filled in what space remained between the two lines of
+poles.
+
+"Now then," said Jack, "Camp Venture is in a state of defence. But it
+needs offensive as well as defensive advantages. We are pretty well
+protected against stray bullets by the wooden barrier we have erected,
+but we must also be able to shoot over it whenever that becomes
+necessary. Let's build a platform inside of it, so that one of us
+standing on it can see everything beyond and shoot as from a breast
+work, if those fellows insist upon shooting as a condition of the game."
+
+So the boys built the platform of poles, with a little ladder leading up
+to it, and as it gave a full view of every part of the camp, it was
+decided that the sentry should thereafter be stationed there in a
+protected position, instead of being required to expose himself out
+under the cliff.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+_Parole_
+
+
+During the next week or two after Christmas the boys made notable
+progress with their chopping, for even the Doctor had by this time
+become as expert as any of them in wielding an axe, while the other
+boys, who could scarcely be more expert with that implement than they
+were at the beginning, acquired a good deal of extra skill in the
+particular work they were now doing. They more readily recognized the
+use to which each piece of timber could be put; they acquired new
+deftness in shaping railroad ties to their destined use, so that the
+work was done more quickly and with a smaller expenditure of time and
+force; especially they learned and invented many devices to facilitate
+their handling of the great bridge timbers, of which they were now
+sending many down the chute.
+
+All of them except Ed chopped all day. Ed volunteered to take the duty
+of camp guard upon himself all day every day, so long as his wound
+should incapacitate him for the hard work of chopping. There was double
+guard duty to do now of course, for in addition to the guarding of the
+camp there was the prisoner to watch. But now that the barricade with
+its platform was built in front of the hut, Ed was confident of his
+ability to watch both inside and outside, particularly as the wounded
+man was pretty nearly helpless still, and the boys took all the guns
+with them when they went chopping, except the one that Ed was using as
+sentinel. There was still another advantage in the fact that there was
+now nearly a foot of snow on the ground, and it would have been easy to
+see a man toiling over its white surface at a great distance.
+
+So Ed played cook and camp guard all through the days and was excused
+from all night duty.
+
+In the meantime there was no more trouble from the mountaineers, except
+that the wounded one in camp continually bewailed his fate and indulged
+in dismal forebodings of the long term he must serve in prison. Finally
+one Sunday, when his wounds were nearly well again, he said:
+
+"It ain't so much for myself I care. I kin stand purty nigh anything.
+What I'm thinkin' about, boys, is my wife an' my little gal. You see my
+wife she's consumptive like an' not much fit fer work, an' my little
+gal, she's only six year old. So I don't know what's to become of 'em
+when I'm sent up, an' that'll be mighty soon now, as I'm gettin' well
+enough to walk."
+
+"Now listen to me a minute," said Tom in a voice as stern as he could
+make it with the tears that were in it--for the picture presented to his
+mind of that poor invalid wife and still more of that little six year
+old girl left to struggle with that mountain poverty and starvation
+which he knew something about, had touched all that was tender in his
+nature.
+
+"Now listen to me! I'm going to have a plain talk with you. The only
+reason you are to go to prison is that you tried your best to kill Ed.
+Why didn't you think of your wife and little girl before you committed
+that crime? Answer me honestly now!"
+
+"Well, I will, Tom. You see I ain't much account. I ain't enough account
+to own a little share in one o' the stills that does a purty poor
+business up here in the mountings. So I has to live on odd jobs like,
+an' at best I barely manage to keep a little bread and meat in the
+mouths of my wife an' little gal an' a calico dress on their backs. No,
+that ain't edzacly the truth nother, an' as you an' me is talkin' fair
+an' square now, I don't want to misrepresent nothin'. I'll own up that
+oncet--just oncet I bought the little gal a doll down there in town,
+jest becase she seemed so lonely an' longin' like as she looked at it.
+It cost me five cents."
+
+By this time all the boys had business with their handkerchiefs, which
+they felt it necessary to go out of doors to attend to.
+
+After awhile Tom mastered himself sufficiently to say:
+
+"Go on! Tell us why you shot Ed?"
+
+"Well, as I wuz a tellin' you," resumed the mountaineer, "I ain't no
+account an' so I has to live by odd jobs. Well, when you fellers come up
+here, the other fellers made up their minds that you must go back, an'
+so they decided like to have you persecuted till you did go. So, as they
+didn't want to take the risk of the job theirselves, they come to me an'
+another feller--that feller what got his arm broke in your camp--"
+
+"Yes, I remember him," said Tom; "go on and tell us all about it."
+
+"Well, they come to us two no 'count fellers, him an' me, an' says, says
+they, 'ef you two fellers'll do the job we'll see as how you an' your
+families will have enough, meal an' meat, to last till blackberry time.'
+You see, we no 'count fellers always looked forrard to blackberry time.
+Ef we kin pull through till the blackberries is ripe, we're all right
+for a spell. Well, nuther on us liked the job, but we didn't see no way
+out'n it. So he come fust an' twicet. The second time he got too bad
+hurt like to go on with the job, an' so then I took it up. My pard he
+had reasoned and argified with you an' you wouldn't listen. So the
+fellers what was hirin' of me says, says they, 'Bill, you've got to
+shoot. If you kin drap one o' them fellers without gittin' caught
+they'll quick enough git out'n the mountings.' That's why I shot Ed. You
+see yourselves as how I couldn't help it."
+
+All that Tom had tried to tell his comrades about the squalid poverty of
+the poorer class of mountaineers had made no such impression upon their
+minds as the prisoner's simple narrative. They were horrified at the
+destitution which he pictured and shocked at the dullness and perversion
+of his moral sense, manifested by his confident assumption that they
+would see that in trying to kill Ed he had done nothing wrong or
+unusual. Here was that degradation of mind and soul which frankly
+regards crime--even including the murder of innocent persons--as a
+legitimate means of livelihood--like the picking of blackberries--a
+degradation which nevertheless leaves the soul capable of emotions of
+affection and tender pity such as this man so manifestly felt for his
+invalid wife and his "little gal."
+
+Unhappily this degradation, this perversion of the moral sense, is not
+confined to mountain moonshiners. There is very much of it in our great
+cities and it is the thing that gives the police force their hardest
+work. It is also the source of the most serious danger that threatens
+all of us.
+
+The man had evidently finished with what he had to say, and as for the
+boys, they had from the first left this man's case in Little Tom's
+hands. Their throats ached too badly now with a pained pity, for them to
+make even a suggestion. So Tom took up the conversation.
+
+"Now I want to say something to you," he said, "and I want you to try to
+understand me. You and I are talking, fair and square, as you said a
+little while ago, aren't we?"
+
+"That's what we is, Tom," answered the man; "an' whatever you say'll be
+right, I don't doubt; but you see may be I won't quite understand it,
+like. I'll do my best. But I ain't got no eddication like. All I know is
+how to write my name, and may be print a few words on paper. The
+sergeant major taught me that when I was in the army."
+
+"Then you served in the army?" asked Tom, somewhat eagerly.
+
+"Yes, I was conscripted, but after I was conscripted I thought I mout as
+well be a good soldier as a bad one an' so I fought all I could. I
+never did make it out quite clear in my head what they was a fightin'
+about, but I says to myself, says I, 'Bill,' says I, 'you're in for this
+thing an' they's only one thing to do, an' that is fight as hard as you
+kin on the side yer on.'"
+
+"Well if you were in the army," interposed Tom, "you know what a parole
+is?"
+
+"Oh, yes, I know that. I had one o' them things oncet. That's how I got
+out'n the army. I was tooken pris'ner along with a lot of other fellers,
+an' after talkin' to us a lot, the officers what had us pris'ners sort
+o' explained the parole business to us, an' after we signed papers
+promisin' not to fight no more, they let us go home, tellin' us that ef
+we was caught fightin' agin they'd hang us. Fur a long time I was afraid
+the conscript officers would ketch me, an' make me fight again, but when
+one on 'em did ketch me at last he tole me he couldn't make me fight
+agin, 'cause I was a prisoner on parole. So I know mighty well what a
+parole means, though at first we all thought it meant a pay-roll an'
+that we was to be paid for not fightin'."
+
+"Well you understand it better now," said Tom. "You understand that when
+a man is paroled, he promises not to fight again, and if he does, and is
+caught at it, he gets shot?"
+
+"Oh, yes, I understand all that now. I was only tellin' you how as I
+didn't know fust off."
+
+"Well, now that we're 'talking fair and square,' as you say, I want to
+say that I think you ought to go to state prison for a long term for
+shooting Ed, and I intended at first to send you there. Perhaps I may do
+so yet. But now, if Ed will forgive you for shooting him--I'll ask him
+presently--I'm going to put you on parole, just because of your sick
+wife and your little girl. You have been in our camp for several weeks
+now. You know what we are here for. You know that we are not here to
+bother your friends or to interfere with them in any way."
+
+"Oh, any fool could see that!" exclaimed the man.
+
+"Very well, then. I am going to make you sign a parole and then send you
+home, but mind, if you violate your parole I'll go down the mountain and
+bring enough soldiers up here to capture the last one of your gang and
+send all of you to prison. I know where some of your stills are, and I
+can find all the others. So you had better keep your parole, and your
+friends had better let us alone. Are you ready to sign the parole?"
+
+The man rose from the chair on which he was sitting and threw his arms
+about Tom.
+
+His expressions of gratitude were rude in the extreme, but at least
+they were genuine, and he finished in tears as he exclaimed:
+
+"Oh, thank goodness I can go back now an' look after the wife an' little
+one, an' you kin bet your bottom dollar ef the other fellers makes any
+trouble fer you fellers, Bill Jones'll be here to help you agin 'em. I'm
+a goin' to explain things to 'em. I'm agoin' to give it to 'em straight,
+an' then ef they make trouble fer you, I'll be with you."
+
+Tom drew up the parole and Jones signed it with extraordinary pride in
+his ability to write his own name in clumsy printing letters, with the
+"J" turned backwards. But strong man as he was, the tears kept coming
+into his eyes as he said over and over again:
+
+"You're mighty good to me, Tom! All you fellers is mighty good to me.
+An' I'm agoin' to teach that little gal o' mine when she says her 'now I
+lay me' to wind it up with 'God bless Tom an' the other fellers.'"
+
+With that he wiped away his tears with the back of his hand for lack of
+a handkerchief.
+
+The next morning the mountaineer insisted upon departing in spite of the
+Doctor's assurance that he was not yet well enough to make the journey.
+
+"I must, Doctor," he said. "You see, I don't know what's happened to my
+wife an' my little gal while I've been gone."
+
+"Very well," answered the Doctor, "only I want to add a promise to your
+parole. I want you to promise me that if your wounds give you trouble
+you'll either come here yourself, or if you can't do that, you'll send
+for me to go to you and dress them." Then seeing that the man was about
+saying something emotional the Doctor quickly added:
+
+"You see, I'm a Doctor, and it hurts my pride to have a case that I
+attend go bad. So if you have any trouble with your hurts you are to
+come to me or send for me at once."
+
+Then after such rude adieus as the mountaineer could make, he started
+off up the mountain, the Doctor accompanying him a part of the way, upon
+pretense of wanting to see whether or not he was really fit to walk and
+carry his gun, which had of course been restored to him. But the Doctor
+had another purpose in view. Just before parting with the mountaineer he
+took a twenty dollar bill from his pocket and pressed it into the man's
+hand.
+
+"There!" he said. "Perhaps that will keep meat and bread in your cabin
+till the blackberries get ripe," and with that he suddenly turned on his
+heel and rapidly strode back toward the camp, giving the man no chance
+to refuse the gift or to thank him for it.
+
+But while the Doctor had taken every possible precaution to prevent any
+of his comrades from seeing what he did, the sentry on the platform saw
+and reported the facts. So when the Doctor returned to camp and set to
+work with his axe, the boys were quietly discussing a little plan of
+their own, talking in low tones, as they worked.
+
+That night at supper Jack opened the subject, saying:
+
+"Doctor, we shall be very sorry to part with you, but you have forfeited
+your right to remain in our camp. You have violated your parole."
+
+"Why, how? What can you mean?" asked the Doctor in bewilderment.
+
+"Why, you agreed to be one of us boys, and to 'share and share alike'
+with us in work and in everything else. Now, this morning you gave that
+mountaineer some money out of your own pocket, basely trying to conceal
+the fact from us. Even yet we don't know the amount of your gift. Now,
+we have unanimously decided not to submit to any such proceeding."
+
+"But my dear Jack," interrupted the Doctor--
+
+"But my dear Doctor," broke in Jack, "hear me out. What we have decided
+is to require you to tell us the amount of your benefaction to that
+man, so that we may owe you our share of it until we go down the
+mountain in the spring and collect our money. We are sharing and sharing
+alike in every thing or nothing, so out with it! How much money did you
+give the man?"
+
+"But Jack, permit me to explain," said the Doctor. "You see, if I gave
+that fellow any money, it was of my own impulse and without any
+consultation with you. It was a bit of personal almsgiving in which I
+have no right to let you share. I did it solely to relieve my own mind,
+not yours. It wasn't a company transaction at all, and besides I could
+well afford it inasmuch as by coming up here with you boys and sharing
+your camp life this winter I have cut off nearly the whole of my
+personal expenses and am actually saving money."
+
+"Now listen!" said Jack. "We all wanted to give that poor fellow some
+money with which to feed his wife and little girl 'till blackberries get
+ripe' next summer, and we should have done so if any of us had had any
+money. So in relieving your own mind you have relieved ours just as
+much. We all shared alike in the cost of fitting out this expedition. We
+have all shared alike in the building of our house and in all the other
+camp work. We have all shared alike in guard duty, in danger and in
+everything else, and we're going to do so to the end of the chapter. So
+we're going to share alike in this gratuity of yours, our shares to be
+paid to you as soon as we collect our money down below. So you must tell
+us how much you gave the man, or else our whole partnership and
+comradeship will be at an end. Come, Doctor, tell us all about it!"
+
+"Well," said the Doctor, "I don't think it fair to let you boys share in
+what was a purely personal bit of almsgiving, done without any sort of
+consultation with any of you, but as you insist I will say that I gave
+the man a twenty dollar bill."
+
+"All right," said Tom. "That gives us a chance to impose upon you. It is
+three dollars and thirty-three and a third cents apiece for us. We'll
+never pay that third of a cent, doctor, and so you'll be out a cent and
+two-thirds besides your own share in the gift. That will help to buy
+another doll for 'the little gal,' and I suppose you won't mind the
+expense."
+
+"No," said the Doctor, "but what can be done to relieve these people's
+wretchedness and lift them up?"
+
+Not one of the boys could answer the question. Perhaps there was no
+answer. There often is none to questions of that kind.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+_A Stress of Circumstances_
+
+
+The next few weeks brought nothing of adventure to the boys. Their work
+went on wonderfully well. They sent down the mountain innumerable ties
+and all the cordwood that the trees yielded after the ties were cut.
+They sent down also a large number of great timbers for use in bridge
+building and the like, but nothing occurred to justify the name of their
+camp--Camp Venture.
+
+Their firelight conversations were briefer and less spirited than
+before, because they were working so strenuously now that they were
+over-weary when supper was done, and they went to bed at least an hour
+earlier than they had done before. The earlier novelty of camping had at
+last worn out and with it the excitement that tends to keep people
+awake.
+
+Nevertheless they constituted a happy company, all the more so because
+their work was producing larger results even than they had anticipated.
+They were sending down the mountain more ties, more cordwood and many
+more of the high-priced bridge timbers than they had expected to send.
+
+Looking over the accounts one evening in February, when the snow was
+beginning to melt, Jack said:
+
+"Boys, we've already accomplished more than we expected to do during the
+whole winter and spring. If we keep it up at the same rate we shall earn
+quite twice the money we expected to make. So Camp Venture is clearly a
+success. It is getting so well along in the year now that we need not
+fear deep snows or avalanches, or anything of that sort to bother us or
+interfere with our work."
+
+"Nevertheless," said the Doctor, returning from an examination of his
+scientific instruments, "we're in for a snow storm to-night. It is
+already beginning and so far as my instruments are to be trusted, it is
+likely to be very heavy, with high winds."
+
+The boys all went out and took a look at the sky. There was as yet no
+wind of any consequence, but the snow, in fine, dry, meal-like flakes,
+was coming down in a way that promised a heavy fall.
+
+About nine o'clock the boys went to bed--all but Harry Ridsdale, who
+stayed outside as the sentry. About ten o'clock the wind rose to a gale
+and the roaring of it awakened the Doctor, who instantly arose and with
+a brand from the fireplace to serve as a torch, went out to consult his
+instruments. When he returned his stamping and brushing off of snow
+aroused the others, and the howling of the tempest brought them all into
+a very wide-awake condition.
+
+"I say, boys," said the Doctor, throwing the brand he had carried into
+the fire again, "this is an awful night. The snow is coming down in
+blankets, the wind is blowing at a rate which is between a whole gale
+and a hurricane, and of course the snow is drifting terribly."
+
+"All right," said Jack. Then he went to the door and called,--"Come in
+here, Harry! We shall have no use for pickets to-night."
+
+In answer to some questions he said:
+
+"No mountaineer is going to prowl about the hills in such a storm as
+this. If he did he would be smothered in a snowdrift before he got a
+hundred yards from his cabin door. We're perfectly safe for this night
+without a sentry, so we'll all crawl into our bunks and go to sleep."
+
+The soundness of Jack's opinion was obvious enough, and so no more
+sentries were posted that night. The fire was reinforced with some big
+logs and all Camp Venture ventured for once to go to sleep.
+
+The hours passed on. The wind howled more and more fiercely, and but for
+the solidity of its thick log walls the house would have shaken in a way
+to wake the heaviest sleeper. As it was the boys slept on undisturbed.
+Finally the fire burned low, so that it gave very little light in the
+cabin. Little Tom waked and feeling no need for further sleep he got up
+and piled on some additional logs. Then he went back to bed, but somehow
+his eyes would not close again. The other boys also waked up, and, turn
+over as they might, could not go to sleep again. Finally Harry, seeing
+that all were awake, called out:
+
+"I say, fellows, let's get up and have some breakfast. I for one am
+hungry."
+
+"So am I," answered Jack, springing out of bed.
+
+"So say we all of us," responded Tom. "By the way, what time is it?"
+
+Harry fumbled among the Doctor's belongings and looked at that
+gentleman's watch.
+
+"Doctor, you forgot to wind your watch last night. It has run down at a
+quarter past nine."
+
+"No, I didn't," answered the Doctor, leaping out of bed, where he had
+lazily lingered for a time. "I certainly wound it before I went to
+bed."
+
+With that he went across the cabin, took the watch, looked at it, and
+then put it to his ear.
+
+"It's running all right," he presently said, whereupon the other two
+members of the company who had watches brought them out.
+
+All pointed to a quarter past nine.
+
+Just then Jack opened the door and something like half a ton of snow
+fell into the house, but no light came with it.
+
+"Boys!" he cried, "we're utterly snowed in. It is a quarter past nine in
+the morning, but the house is completely buried in snow! You see there
+is no light coming in even through the loosely laid roof, while the
+Doctor's windows are as black as midnight. Yet by looking up the chimney
+you can see daylight plainly. The fire has kept that open."
+
+"Can there have been twenty odd feet of snowfall in a single night?"
+asked Harry in astonishment.
+
+"No, certainly not," answered the Doctor. "We're caught in a snowdrift,
+that's all. You see with the fearful gale that has been blowing all
+night the snow has drifted greatly and now that I think of it, our house
+is peculiarly well situated to be caught in a drift."
+
+"How so, Doctor?"
+
+"Why, the wind has been from the north, northwest, or very nearly north.
+Our house stands on a plateau on the northerly side of the mountain.
+Less than a hundred feet south of it, rises a high cliff. That, of
+course, catches all the snow that comes on a north, northwest wind. Then
+again the house itself is an obstruction, catching and holding all the
+snow that strikes it. The snow storm has been a tremendous one, probably
+a three-foot fall, and we are caught under all of it that ought to have
+been scattered over several miles of mountainside."
+
+"Let's postpone the explanations, fellows," broke in Tom, who always
+devoted himself to the practical, "and give our attention for the
+present to the problem of What to Do Now. That is after all the thing to
+think about in every case of emergency, and this is a case of emergency
+if ever there was one."
+
+"How do you mean, Tom?" asked Jim Chenowith.
+
+"Why, in the first place, we have less than a quarter of a cord of wood
+in the cabin, and, after such a storm, it is likely to turn very cold.
+So we must first of all dig a passageway to one of our wood piles, or
+else we must freeze to death. We can't get to the spring, of course, and
+if we did, it would be frozen up. But we can get all the water we need
+by melting snow. The worst of our problems is that of a food supply."
+
+"That's so," said Jack, in something like consternation. "We haven't a
+pound of fresh meat on hand and I remember that you, Tom, intended to go
+out with your gun to-day to get some. We have eaten up all our hams and
+bacon, and we haven't anything left except the coffee, two small pieces
+of salt pork, some corn meal and the beans."
+
+"That means," said Tom, "that we've got to dig our way out of here in a
+hurry, and we haven't a shovel in the camp."
+
+"No," said Jack, "but we've got a pile of leftover clapboards over there
+in the corner, and we can soon make some snow shovels. Let's get to work
+at that."
+
+After a breakfast on corn pones--for the pork must be saved for use with
+the beans--the boys set to work to manufacture rude shovels that would
+do as implements with which to handle snow. For handles they used such
+round sticks as they found in their meagre supply of fire wood.
+
+In half an hour the whole company of boys were armed for an attack upon
+the snowdrift. In the meantime Tom had thought out methods.
+
+"First of all," he explained, "we must attack the snow directly in front
+of the door, and work our way to the top of the drift. We must shovel
+that snow into the house, because we haven't any where else to put it.
+We'll put on all the kettles we have and reduce as much as we can of the
+housed snow to water for use in drinking, cooking, washing and so forth.
+When we break through to the top, we can shovel the snow to the right
+and left till we open a passageway to the wood pile."
+
+"It's going to be mighty hard work," said Ed, "for the snow is so soft
+that we'll sink up to our waists in it."
+
+"Yes," answered Harry, "but light snow like that will be easier to
+handle than if it had settled and frozen."
+
+With that the boys set to work to break a passage from the door to the
+top of the snowdrift. When they had accomplished that they found, to
+their sorrow, that it was still snowing heavily, a fact which threatened
+to undo much of their work after it was done. Still the snow was dry and
+light, and standing up to their waists in it, they shovelled it to right
+and left, making a passageway through it that led towards their nearest
+wood supply. They did not pause for a midday meal, and yet when night
+came they had not reached the wood pile, while the snow continued to
+fall as heavily as ever. Fortunately the high wind had gone down, so
+that no more great drifts were blown into their trench.
+
+They had not tried to dig to the ground in making their passageway. They
+had simply created an upward incline from the door of their house to the
+top of the drift, and then dug a sort of inclined trench towards the
+wood pile.
+
+"Now I say, fellows," said Jack, as they left off work to get such
+supper as they could, "we've got to keep this thing up all night. We
+have barely wood enough left to get supper and breakfast with, and we
+simply _must_ get to that wood pile by morning. Of course we can't all
+work all night; we must have some sleep; so I propose that we divide the
+company into three shifts of two boys each, one shift to keep up the
+work of shovelling while the others sleep. We'll let each shift work for
+an hour and then wake up the next shift to take its place. That will let
+every fellow have two hours' sleep between his one hour spells of work."
+
+The plan seemed in all respects the best that could be devised. Three
+sticks of wood were all that now remained in the cabin and it was
+decided not to burn any of these during the night, but to save them for
+use in cooking breakfast in the morning. Breakfast, it was agreed,
+should consist of a kettle of corn meal mush, with two slices of salt
+pork and a pint of coffee to each member of the party. The boys would
+have foregone the pork, saving it for a worse emergency, but the Doctor
+advised against that course.
+
+"With so much work to do," he said, "we shall need the strength that
+comes from meat."
+
+"And besides," said Tom, "this snow will pack down pretty soon and
+freeze over with a crust hard enough to bear a man. As soon as that
+happens I am going out to get some game."
+
+The night's work was awkwardly pursued, owing to the darkness, which was
+rendered intense by the continued and very heavy snow fall. But while
+they had not reached the wood pile by daylight, they were nearing it and
+in fact believed themselves to be almost over it--for they had made
+their trench a shallow one, in order to hasten their advance. So, when
+the working shift was called to breakfast, Harry reported:
+
+"We're almost over the wood pile. After breakfast, when we all get to
+work, we'll soon make a sloping path down to it. As it is still snowing,
+without a sign of quitting, I move that when we reach the wood, we all
+set to work to bring a houseful of it in here, against emergencies."
+
+"That's our best plan," said the Doctor. "If we are destined to live on
+starvation rations and it should turn very cold, as is likely, we must
+have artificial heat to replace that which a full supply of food would
+make. A starving man practically freezes to death. So the first thing is
+to bring into our cabin as large a supply of wood as it will hold.
+Luckily we have plenty of it. There are twenty cords at least in that
+first pile."
+
+With that the boys set to work on their scant breakfast of coffee, mush
+and salt pork.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+_In Perilous Plight_
+
+
+After breakfast the boys began again the snow digging for their wood
+pile. They had somewhat miscalculated its locality, and so when they
+reached the ground with their descending path, the wood pile was not
+there. Nor could they easily correct their reckoning until little Tom
+came to the rescue with his keen eyes and his alert intelligence.
+Climbing to the top of the snowdrift and standing, hips deep in the soft
+snow, he studied the trees round about, or so much of them as protruded
+above the snow. It was Tom's excellent habit to observe things closely,
+even when there was no apparent occasion to observe them at all, and he
+had observed that one of the trees between which the wood had been
+ranked up had a peculiar knot on it about thirty feet from the ground,
+caused by some injury received while yet it was young. So he looked for
+that tree. The snow had so changed the aspect of the landscape that all
+its recognizable features had disappeared, but Tom remembered that
+peculiar knot and eagerly looked out for it. Presently he discovered it,
+in spite of the fact that a mass of snow that had collected on top of it
+seriously impaired its proportions. Instantly he called out directions
+to the boys to carry their pathway south toward the tree in question.
+
+"But we're already south of the wood pile," said Harry. "Your plan will
+take us directly away from it. It is north of here, I tell you."
+
+"All right," answered Tom. "I know where the wood pile is, and if I am
+wrong I'll do all the rest of the digging myself. Only if you'll dig in
+the direction I tell you, you'll come to it in about forty feet."
+
+So confused were the geographical perceptions of all the boys, and so
+confident were they that Tom was wrong, that they made earnest protest
+against digging in the direction indicated by him. But his insistence
+was so resolute, and their faith in his sagacity was so strong, that
+after making their protest they yielded and pushed the snow excavation
+in the direction he had indicated. An hour's digging brought as its
+reward the discovery of the wood pile, and instantly every fellow set to
+work to carry wood into the house over the very imperfect pathway, which
+was being every hour rendered less and less passable by the continuing
+snow fall. By working hard, however, they managed to fill all the spare
+space in the house with wood and to pile five or six cords more around
+the doorway.
+
+As they used about half a cord a day in ordinary winter weather, and
+from a cord and a half to two cords a day when the thermometer sank low,
+this was not a large supply. But at least it would ward off the present
+danger of freezing, and now that the way was open to the wood pile, and
+could be kept open by a little shovelling now and then, they could get
+more from time to time, as they might need it.
+
+It was past nightfall when this work was completed. The boys had not
+stopped for a midday dinner, but Ed, with the foresight of an
+accomplished cook, had put a kettle of beans on to boil about midday,
+with just enough pork in it to give the beans a relish, and when night
+came he dished up the meal.
+
+"There's no bread, boys," he said, "because we can't afford two dishes
+at one meal now. But you remember the Doctor told us that beans are
+bread as well as meat, and so that's all I have provided."
+
+After supper the boys were very tired from their hard day's work, and
+yet they were disposed to talk, and at any rate it would not do to go
+to bed until their supper of boiled pork and beans should have had time
+to digest.
+
+"If this snow continues," said Ed, "we fellows will pretty soon have to
+take our beans without the pork. I have a little of that bacon dripping
+left and I'll use that while it lasts. But unless we get some sort of
+supplies within three days we shall be out of meal."
+
+"Are we so near the end as that?" asked Jack.
+
+"Yes. We have nothing left now except two small pieces of salt pork,
+about twenty pounds of corn meal, and the beans. The pork and the meal
+won't last us more than two or three days, and as for the beans, well,
+we have less than half a peck of them left."
+
+This announcement was received with something like consternation.
+
+"We're nearing the starving point," said Jack. "We must recognize the
+fact and put ourselves at once upon starvation diet. I move that the
+Doctor take charge of such provisions as are left to us, with full
+power, to dole them out in the best way to keep life in us till the
+conditions change."
+
+"Good!" cried all the boys in chorus, and so the motion was carried.
+
+"If worse comes to worst," said Tom, "I'll take my gun, break my way out
+of here, and kill something fit to eat, at whatever risk. The game of
+every sort is starving now as well as we are. The turkeys, deer, rabbits
+and all the rest of them will be out on the mountains hunting for
+something to eat on those spots that the wind has blown clear of snow.
+It will be curious if I don't get some of them."
+
+"We'll permit nothing of the kind," said Jack, "till the snow stops and
+freezing weather makes a crust upon it. To go out now would simply mean
+suicide. You wouldn't live to get out of this snowdrift, and if you did,
+you'd perish in the next one, Tom."
+
+"Probably," answered Tom, in a meditative voice. "But I'd rather die
+that way, in an effort to save the whole company than stay here and
+starve like a rat in a hole."
+
+"But," broke in the Doctor, "we are not yet starving. We are hungry, of
+course, having had an insufficient supply of food to-day. And we'll be
+hungrier to-morrow, and still hungrier next day. But as I reckon it we
+have food enough, at least to keep life in our bodies for three or four
+days to come if we hoard it carefully and eat only so much as is
+necessary to sustain life. By that time the weather will have changed in
+some way, and we shall have found some means of supplying ourselves."
+
+So it was decided that Tom should not court death by attempting to go
+out upon the mountain under existing conditions.
+
+"By the way, Doctor," asked Ed, "what are your weather predictions?"
+
+"I can't make any," answered the Doctor. "It is still snowing hard; the
+barometer is low; the wind, which amounts to nothing, has shifted to the
+south-west--a bad quarter, suggesting more snow--and so far as I can see
+there is no promise of severe cold weather, which is what we most want
+now."
+
+In this melancholy plight the boys went to bed, and, thanks to their
+high health and extreme weariness, they slept soundly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+_An Enemy to the Rescue_
+
+
+The plan had been to set to work next morning to dig the house out of
+the snow; that is to say, to dig away a space around the cabin. But the
+Doctor forbade it.
+
+"The more force we expend in work," he said, "the more food we must
+have, and as we have pretty nearly no food now, we absolutely mustn't
+expend any force unnecessarily. We must simply rest to-day, doing no
+more shoveling than is necessary to open a little larger area around the
+door, and to keep our path to the wood pile open."
+
+That day, the next and the next were passed in idleness and with growing
+hunger. The snow ceased for a time on the second day, but the severe
+cold weather which alone could release the boys from their terrible
+plight, did not come. On the third day, the snow began to fall again in
+a pitiless and discouraging way, and by that time the food supply had
+run so low that the Doctor's dole of it was too small even to ward off
+the severe pangs of hunger.
+
+Tom said that night: "Boys, I don't care what the consequences are, I'm
+going to break out of this to-morrow morning or perish in the attempt.
+I'd rather die in a snow bank, fighting for a chance, than sit here and
+slowly starve to death. My strength is already waning, and before it
+goes altogether I'm going to make an effort to get some food. If I wait
+longer I sha'n't have either the strength or the courage to go at all."
+
+This time nobody interposed an objection, but foreseeing Tom's need, and
+knowing that he would accept nothing not shared equally by the others,
+the Doctor deliberately dealt out a larger supply of beans than usual
+that night. The meal was all gone. The pork had been eaten up, and after
+the Doctor gave out this supper, which it would take till eleven or
+twelve o'clock at night to cook, there was left only about two quarts of
+beans in the camp, and absolutely not an ounce of food of any other
+kind.
+
+In ordinary circumstances, if the boys had been thus shut up in their
+cabin and deprived of physical activity, they would have held long talks
+and learned much. Especially they would have beset the Doctor with
+questions, the answers to which would have interested them. But now they
+were too hungry for material food, too starved of body and far too
+depressed in mind to care for conversation of any kind. They simply sat
+still and starved, in gloomy silence, and under the terrible oppression
+of hopelessness and helplessness. All but Little Tom. His courage
+survived, and as he sat before the fire waiting for the beans to cook,
+he was resolutely planning ways and means by which, if possible, to make
+the morrow's expedition successful. The chances, he knew, were a hundred
+to one against him, and he was trying, by the exercise of a careful
+foresight, to bring that one chance in a hundred within his grasp.
+
+Presently he took off his boots and drove the heaviest nails there were
+in the camp into their heels, letting the heads protrude more than a
+quarter of an inch below the surface.
+
+"What's that for, Tom?" asked Jack, in listless fashion.
+
+"To keep me from slipping," Tom answered, "in climbing over rocks with
+snow or ice on them."
+
+"But you're not really going to try this thing to-morrow, are you? It
+will be madness to attempt it."
+
+"Probably," answered Tom. "But madness or sanity I'm going to make the
+attempt. I don't see anything particularly sane in staying here in camp
+and trusting to a quart or two of beans to keep life in six already
+starved boys. I'd rather die trying than sitting still. So I'm going to
+start at daylight."
+
+There was no use in arguing, particularly as the argument was manifestly
+all on Tom's side. So all the boys remained silent.
+
+"I'm going to take two guns," said Tom, presently, "the rifle and a shot
+gun, so as to lose no chance of any game, big or little. I'll pretty
+certainly lose one of the guns before I get back if I ever get back at
+all."
+
+Nobody said anything in reply. Tom's remark had been addressed to nobody
+in particular. Indeed it was rather a reflection out loud than a remark.
+
+Then Tom proceeded to get his ammunition belt ready. The rifle was
+already loaded in its magazine, with fourteen cartridges. For the shot
+gun, Tom put into his belt, twenty cartridges loaded with nine buckshot
+each, and twenty that carried turkey shot--these last for game smaller
+than deer.
+
+"I'll kill anything I see," he said, presently, "from a skunk to a big
+buck deer. We are hungry enough now to eat any sort of meat that may
+come to our hand."
+
+Just then a noise was heard on the snow-covered roof--a noise as of
+scratching and slipping. Nobody heard it but Tom, but his senses were
+already in that condition of alertness which the morrow's work would
+require for its success. So, without saying anything to his comrades,
+Tom took the rifle, opened the door, and went out to see what the matter
+might be. He reflected as he did so, that it was probably only some
+slipping of the snow and ice upon the clapboards, but at any rate he
+wanted to see for himself the cause of it.
+
+A few minutes later the boys inside the hut were startled by two cracks
+of a rifle and a heavy fall, just in front of the door. They seized
+their guns and rushed out, stumbling over something at the door as they
+did so.
+
+"Look out there!" called Tom, eagerly; "don't risk a blow from his claws
+yet. He may have life in him still. Let me give him one more bullet to
+make sure."
+
+With that Tom advanced and fired once more into the carcass of the large
+black bear that he had already killed.
+
+"It's pretty hard, isn't it?" said Tom.
+
+"What is?" asked the Doctor.
+
+"Why, to shoot a friend that had come to our rescue as that fellow did."
+
+"I don't understand."
+
+"Oh, yes you do, or at least you ought to," answered Tom, in whom the
+long continued, but now released, nervous strain, had wrought an
+irritable mood. "Don't you see that fellow came here just in time to
+rescue us from starvation--for I had hardly a hope of getting back with
+any game from to-morrow's expedition--and he brought a huge supply of
+bear's meat with him, under his skin. By the way, boys, skin him
+carefully, as his hide will be a valuable addition to my collection of
+pelts. I have the painter's coat, a deer's hide, the skins of several
+raccoons and opossums, thirty or forty squirrel and hare skins, and now
+this bear's thick overcoat will greatly increase the value of my
+collection. Skin him carefully, but quickly, for we're going to have a
+dinner of bear beef before we go to bed, and we'll eat bear beef to our
+hearts' content till the weather releases us from our prison. I'm not
+going out for game to-morrow."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+_All Night Work_
+
+
+The bear was dragged into the cabin. Jack picked out a bent stick of
+round wood, and with an axe quickly sharpened its ends into points,
+making of it a "gambrel" stick, about two and a half feet long.
+Inserting its sharpened ends under the big tendons of the animal's hind
+legs, he had him ready to hang up for dressing. Meantime, another of the
+boys had driven another stick in between two of the upper logs of the
+cabin, letting its end protrude a foot or two into the cabin. Four of
+the boys seized the bear, which weighed not much less than two hundred
+pounds, and after some exertion succeeded in hanging it, head downwards,
+upon this stick. Then, with sharp knives, they set to work to skin it.
+
+"Oh stop!" cried Ed. "I know a better plan than that. If you wait to
+skin the bear, we sha'n't get any meat to eat before morning. Treat him
+as a butcher treats a deer or calf. Cut him open, and give me the
+heart, liver and kidneys to cook, and you can skin him afterwards just
+as well as before. In the meantime I'll be getting supper."
+
+The boys were much too nearly famished to dispute over any suggestion
+that promised to hurry meal time, so they did at once what Ed had bidden
+them do. They ripped the animal open, removed the viscera, detached the
+heart, liver and kidneys, and delivered them into Ed's hands.
+
+Ed washed them and cut them into small bits, discarding the gristle-like
+linings of the heart. Then he put the whole mass into the kettle in
+which the beans were cooking, adding a goodly piece of the bear's fat
+and a pint or two of water.
+
+"It'll be a new dish," he muttered to himself--"'bear giblets and
+beans'. But if I'm not mistaken nobody in this company will hesitate to
+eat of it."
+
+"I say, fellows," he called out presently, "save every ounce of that
+fat! We'll need it for cooking purposes if ever we get anything besides
+bear beef to cook."
+
+"By the way, Tom," said Jack, as he worked at the task of skinning the
+bear, "how did this fellow come to be prowling around our cabin?"
+
+"He was hungry, like the rest of us," answered Tom. "The snow has cut
+off his customary sources of supply, so he set out, precisely as I
+intended to do in the morning, to find something to eat. Bears always do
+that when the snow is heavy. They have often gone down, in hard winters,
+to the Piedmont region--sometimes as far as Amelia or Powhatan county.
+They are searching for something to eat--corn in a crib if they can get
+at it, or pork in a barrel, or a robust boy if they can't get anything
+better. This fellow was hunting for anything he could find, and,
+unluckily for him, he found me, with my rifle. What a splendid gun that
+is, by the way, Doctor! Every shot I fired at the big beast went right
+through him and hurtled off into the air beyond."
+
+"That's the nitro powder," said the Doctor.
+
+"By which you mean--what?" asked Tom.
+
+"Why, nitro powder is smokeless powder. It is mainly composed of
+nitro-glycerine, and it has an explosive force many times greater than
+that of ordinary gunpowder. That is what gives to the guns that are
+loaded with it so much greater a range than ordinary guns have. You see,
+it starts the bullet with a vastly greater velocity than that of a
+bullet propelled by the explosion of ordinary gunpowder, and so the
+missile goes very much faster, with very much more force, and in a much
+straighter line, and the gun is more accurate and greatly deadlier in
+its aim."
+
+"Well, now I want to say," interrupted Ed, "that I've got a supper ready
+which will go to the spot with a much surer aim than any bullet ever did
+in the world."
+
+The boys responded instantly, as a matter of course. They were literally
+starving, or so nearly so, that they afterwards confessed that they had
+had great difficulty in resisting the temptation, while skinning the
+bear, to cut off mouthfuls of the meat and consume it raw.
+
+There was, of course, no criticism, therefore, upon Ed's new dish of
+"bear giblets and beans," and not until the last morsel of it was
+consumed, did any boy in the party relinquish his assiduous attention to
+it.
+
+"Now," said Jack, "we can go to work again. To-morrow, we'll dig the
+house out of the snowdrift any how."
+
+"Yes," said Tom, "and as I needn't go hunting now, I'll help in that.
+The snow has settled a good deal by its own weight now and it will
+settle a good deal more before morning."
+
+"Why?" asked Ed.
+
+"Because it is raining," said Tom, "and nothing settles snow like a
+drizzling rain."
+
+"It is now two o'clock," said Jack, "and I for one am going to bed."
+
+"Better sit up for half an hour longer," said the Doctor.
+
+"Why?" asked Jack.
+
+"Because our stomachs are full. They have been seriously weakened by
+several days of starvation, and are apt to do their work rather badly
+for a time. Let's give them a chance."
+
+"But, Doctor," said Jack, "I have noticed that all the animals lie down
+and sleep as soon as they have fed heartily. Why isn't it a good thing
+for men to do the same thing? Men are after all, animals on one side of
+their nature."
+
+"Yes, I know," said the Doctor, "and I have known physicians to argue in
+that way in favor of late suppers. But experience hardly bears out the
+argument. A man may sleep well on a heavy meal, but often he gets up
+with a bad taste in his mouth and with a morbid craving for food, which
+means that he hasn't properly assimilated the food that he has already
+eaten."
+
+"What do you mean by 'assimilating' food?" asked Tom, adding: "I'm
+afraid you'll think me very ignorant."
+
+"Not at all," replied the Doctor. "Most people don't understand that.
+You see, there are two distinct processes by which we turn food to
+account in building up our bodies, making strength and heat, and
+generally carrying on the processes of life. One of those processes is
+digestion, and the other assimilation. Digestion simply reduces the food
+which we have eaten to a condition in which it can be assimilated. By
+assimilation certain organs of the body take up the food thus prepared
+for them, convert it into blood and send it through the system to
+nourish it. In the passage of the blood through the arteries and veins,
+it leaves deposits of muscle here, fat there, bone in another place, and
+so on. This is a very rude statement of the matter, but it is sufficient
+to show you what I mean, at least in a general way. Very well. It does a
+man no good whatever to digest his food if he doesn't assimilate it. No
+matter how perfectly the stomach does its work, the body is not
+nourished unless the organs charged with the function of assimilating
+the digested food do theirs also. Once, in a hospital, I saw a little
+baby die of actual starvation, although it had an abundance of food, and
+digested it perfectly. It simply could not assimilate."
+
+"But what has that to do with our going to bed at two o'clock in the
+morning?" asked Jack, who was disposed to be a trifle cross as the
+result of the long starvation and strain.
+
+"Only this," answered the Doctor, "that unless we give our weakened
+stomachs a little chance to digest our food properly before we go to
+sleep, the process of assimilation will be very imperfectly performed
+and we shall not be as perfectly nourished as we need to be. Still, I
+think we might safely go to bed now," added the Doctor, "as the half
+hour is gone, and it is now two thirty"--looking at his watch.
+
+With that the exhausted company prepared for bed. Jim Chenowith was the
+first to approach the bunks, under which the earthen floor was a little
+lower than in the rest of the cabin. As he did so, having slipped off
+his boots, Jim called out:
+
+"Hello! What's this? I say, fellows, we have a creek here under our
+beds!"
+
+A hasty examination confirmed his statement. There was a vigorous stream
+of water running directly under the bunks, and worse still, as an
+exploration with torches soon revealed, the water was not only running
+in under the lower logs of the hut, but was also pouring through every
+opening it could find in the chinking of the walls above, and streaming
+into the bunks.
+
+The Doctor hastily went outside to study conditions and, returning,
+said:
+
+"There's a terrific rain on, boys, and the thermometer stands at fifty.
+So the snow is melting rapidly, and the two things together--the rain
+and the melting snowdrift--are flooding us."
+
+Tired and sleepy as Jack was, he rose instantly to the occasion.
+
+"There's no sleep for us to-night, boys!" he said. "We must go to work
+at once and dig the house out of the snowdrift. Get some fatwood torches
+ready and let's go to work."
+
+The boys responded quickly, and presently all of them except Ed, whom
+the Doctor forbade to do any further work that involved strenuous
+physical exertion, were engaged in shoveling the snow away from the
+house and opening a passageway around it fully eight feet wide.
+
+By daylight this was accomplished. It put an end to the inflow of water
+through the chinking of the upper logs; but, as Tom expressed it, there
+was still "a young river" flowing into the house, from the bottom of the
+snow bank, underneath the lower logs of the hut. Not only was all the
+warm rain flowing through the snow bank, but in its passage it was
+dissolving a great deal of the snow, and so the volume of water flowing
+out at the bottom and running into the house was quite double that which
+the rain itself would have supplied.
+
+"We ought to have made a bank of earth around the lower part of the
+cabin," said the Doctor, after studying the situation for a time.
+
+"True," said Jack, "but we had no tools with which to do it. Neither
+have we any now. So I don't see what is to be done."
+
+"I do!" said Tom, the alert of mind. "I do, and it is perfectly simple."
+
+"What's your idea, Tom?" asked Jack.
+
+"Why, to make the snow protect us against itself."
+
+"But how?"
+
+"Why, by building a little snow bank between the big snow bank and the
+house, hammering it into solid ice, with our mauls, and in that way
+making a ditch that will carry off the water around the end of the house
+and down over the cliff."
+
+"That's a superb idea, Tom," said Jack, "and we'll get to work at it at
+once. I'd give the proceeds of all my winter's work for a head half as
+good as yours, Tom."
+
+"Oh, pshaw!" said Tom. "My head isn't of much account. It is only that I
+look straight at things and try to use common sense."
+
+"Yes," said the Doctor, "and that is what we call 'genius' in science.
+It is the men who 'look straight at things and try to use common sense'
+who do the great things in science. Darwin did that, and so did Asa
+Gray, and Edison, and Agassiz, and all the rest of them. Scientific
+genius is nothing in the world but common sense, reinforced by a habit
+of observation."
+
+But there was no further time for talk. The boys quickly built a low
+snow embankment between their house and the great snowdrift, and beat it
+down with their mauls, into a condition of solid ice. With this barrier
+to aid them they succeeded in compelling the water from the rain and the
+melting snow to flow in a sort of ditch around their house, and to cease
+flowing through it.
+
+Inside, however, the condition of things was deplorable. The earthen
+floor under the bunks was a mud hole. The broom straw that constituted
+the beds was soaking wet, and the task of drying it promised to be no
+easy one.
+
+"We've simply got to sleep on hard clapboards for two or three nights,"
+said Ed.
+
+"Well, what of that?" asked Tom, "I've often slept on much harder beds
+than clapboards make."
+
+"For example?" asked Jim.
+
+"Well, I've slept on big rocks for one thing."
+
+"Why did you do that? Why didn't you sleep on the softer ground?"
+
+"Because the softer ground was much too soft, being mud. I've slept on
+two rails placed about eight inches apart, with one end stuck into a
+fence so as to keep me out of the mud, and a pretty good bed rails make.
+Finally, I have slept on the worst bed there is in the world."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"Why, a pile of pebbles. That's the very worst there is, but you can
+sleep on it, if you've got to. Now, let's have some breakfast, Ed, and
+after devouring a proper quantity of bear steak, I'll show you fellows
+how a healthy fellow who has worked all night can sleep on clapboards in
+spite of the daylight that the Doctor's rag windows are letting in, now
+that we've shoveled the snow away from them."
+
+Ed had breakfast already well under way. It was to consist solely of
+bear steak and coffee, for coffee was their one supply which was not
+exhausted, and during the starving time they would hardly have endured
+their hunger but for that resource.
+
+"But," said Jack, as they ate their breakfast, "what are we going to do
+with that bear meat? It won't keep long in this soft weather. By the
+way, Jim, throw another stick on the fire. It's cold."
+
+"So it is," said the Doctor, who had just come in after a consultation
+with his scientific instruments. "The thermometer has sunk twenty
+degrees within the last hour, and stands now at two degrees below
+freezing. It will go much lower, for the barometer is rising and the
+wind has shifted to the northwest. We're in for a trip to the Arctic
+regions without doing any traveling to get there."
+
+"Let's hang the bear out of doors, then," said Jack. "It will freeze
+there."
+
+"Yes, and every carnivorous animal in these woods will come and eat for
+us," said Tom, whose authority on the habits of wild creatures was
+accepted by all the boys as final.
+
+"Besides," said the Doctor, "it isn't necessary. Our bear will freeze
+hanging just where he is, by the door there."
+
+With that he arose, went outside, and brought in a thermometer, which he
+pinned to the bear's carcass.
+
+"We're down to twenty-six degrees outside now," he said, "and it is
+growing steadily colder." Then, after waiting for five minutes, he
+consulted the thermometer that he had hung upon the bear, and announced:
+
+"It stands at thirty-three degrees--fruit-house temperature."
+
+"What do you mean by 'fruit-house temperature?'" asked Tom.
+
+"Why, don't you know? The houses in which fresh fruits of the summer are
+preserved for winter use are kept always at a temperature of
+thirty-three degrees. If the temperature were higher than that, the
+fruits would ferment and decay. If it were a single degree lower they
+would freeze--for thirty-two degrees is the freezing point. But at a
+temperature of thirty-three degrees nothing decays and nothing freezes.
+So they keep the fruit houses always at that temperature, and they keep
+fresh strawberries and peaches and all the rest of the fruits all winter
+in nearly as good condition as when they were picked."
+
+"Well, what do they do with a boy," asked Tom, "who has worked all night
+and is mightily sleepy, except let him go to bed, even if it is the
+usual time for going to work, instead? Good morning, and pleasant dreams
+to all of you."
+
+With that Tom rolled himself up in his blanket and lay down upon the
+clapboard flooring of his bed, taking a stick of wood with him for a
+pillow. The rest immediately followed his example and in spite of
+adverse conditions, they were all presently sound asleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+_A Loan Negotiated_
+
+
+"Zero weather, boys, and below," called the Doctor, who was first to
+wake, about four o'clock that afternoon, and who, before waking the
+others, had gone out to inspect his weather recording instruments. "The
+bear hanging here by the door is frozen hard, and so is all the water in
+the house. So all that want a bath will have to join me in a roll in the
+snow out there."
+
+With that he shed the scant clothing that he had on him and, rushing
+out, plunged into a snow bank. The rest, determined not to be out-done
+in robustness, quickly followed him, and after a vigorous rubbing with
+their coarse towels, they felt like entirely new persons.
+
+"How glad our friends will be," said Tom, "when they hear that each of
+us is 'another fellow.'"
+
+"That's an old joke, Tom," responded Ed.
+
+"Yes, to other people, perhaps, but not to this crew of new people,
+every one of whom has proclaimed himself 'a new man' after that snow
+bath."
+
+"Now, we can accomplish something," said Jack. "The rain and natural
+settling have reduced the depth of snow out there where we're chopping
+to two or three feet, and in this weather the surface of it will be as
+hard as ice itself. So we'll all drive nails in our heels to-night, as
+Tom has done with his, and early to-morrow we'll set to work again with
+the axes."
+
+Ed was already broiling some slices of juicy bear beef, and had a big
+pot of coffee ready for use. As they ate supper, Harry said:
+
+"This bear beef is delicious, of course, but I would give something
+pretty if I had an ash cake or a pone of bread to go with it. It may be
+true that a healthy person can live on meat alone for a good while, but
+it is a good deal more comfortable to have some bread with it."
+
+"And it is more wholesome, too," said the Doctor. "Man was made to eat a
+mixed diet, and it isn't well for him to live too long on meat without
+starchy food, or starchy food without meat. I'm going to observe the
+effects of this exclusively meat diet on all of us very closely."
+
+"Any how," said Jack, "the Indians, when they go on their big hunting
+trips or on the war-path, used to live on meat alone for weeks and
+months at a time. So I don't think we'll starve while our bear lasts,
+and before it is gone we can depend on Tom to provide something else.
+Now that the snow is hard, Tom will go prowling about the mountains
+before many days pass."
+
+"Oh, we shan't starve," said the Doctor. "But it has been a good many
+days now since we had any bread, and we are all beginning to feel the
+need of it. The beans we had with our bear giblet stew were a very
+imperfect substitute for bread, and the quart or so of beans that we
+have left are not to be used at all so long as we keep fairly well. I'm
+saving them for hospital diet. How the Doctors in the hospitals would
+laugh at the suggestion of a bean diet in illness! And yet we may have
+to come to that for lack of any other starchy food."
+
+"What is it you fear, Doctor?" asked Jack.
+
+"Why, I fear that an exclusive diet of meat may result in some sort of
+inflammation or other disturbance of the digestive organs. If that
+happens, even a few beans, boiled without meat, may save a life. At any
+rate, I am going to keep the beans for such an emergency."
+
+All this while Tom was taking no part in the conversation. Tom was
+thinking--"looking straight at things and using common sense."
+Presently, he took his gun and went out to "take a look at the
+situation," he said. On his return, he reported that "everything is
+frozen as hard as a brick, and if the moonshiners ever intend to attack
+us, now is their time. We must put out a sentinel at once. As I want to
+think a little I'll take the first turn, and the rest of you fellows can
+arrange as you like for the other turns."
+
+"One thing I want to suggest," broke in the Doctor. "The cold is
+intense. The thermometer is considerably below zero. It will be cruel to
+keep any boy on guard outside for any prolonged time. So I propose that
+while this weather lasts we run the guard duty in half hour shifts. That
+will give each boy half an hour out there in the cold, and two hours and
+a half in which to sleep and get warm before he has to go on duty
+again."
+
+"It's an excellent idea," said Jack, "and we'll arrange it so."
+
+"All right," said Tom, "only as I am taking the first and best turn,
+I'll stay out for an hour."
+
+The fact was, though Tom did not mention it, that the boy wanted a full
+hour in which to think out some plans that he had vaguely conceived. It
+was always Tom's habit to try to better the conditions in which he was
+placed, instead of accepting them as inevitable. Whenever anything was
+wrong and uncomfortable, Tom began asking himself if there might not be
+some way in which he could make it right and comfortable. He could
+endure hardship with a plucky resolution that often astonished others;
+but he never endured hardship without giving all his energies to the
+task of ridding himself of it if that were possible. It was a familiar
+saying among those who knew him that "Little Tom Ridsdale never will
+admit that he is beaten, and so at last he never is beaten."
+
+As Tom paced up and down the platform, stamping his feet and clapping
+his hands against his sides to keep them from freezing, the Doctor came
+out with a burning brand to consult his weather instruments. When he had
+done, Tom called to him, saying:
+
+"Would you mind coming up here for a minute or two, Doctor?"
+
+"No, certainly not," answered the Doctor. "Do you want to go in and warm
+yourself?"
+
+"No; oh, no," answered Tom, quickly. "I only want to consult you a
+little."
+
+The Doctor mounted the platform, and after some hesitation, Tom asked:
+
+"Do you happen to have any more money in your pockets, Doctor?"
+
+"Yes, of course. I always keep a little money with me."
+
+"Would you mind lending me two dollars in the common interest of the
+company, I giving you an order on our paymaster down below for that
+amount, to be paid to you out of my share when we collect?"
+
+"Yes," answered the Doctor. "I would mind that very much. In fact, I
+positively decline to lend you any money on any such terms, Tom. But if
+you want some money, be it two dollars, or ten, simply as from one
+friend to another, and without any 'orders' on paymasters, you can have
+it."
+
+Tom understood, and he did not contest the point. He pressed the
+Doctor's hand and said:
+
+"Well, then, let me have two dollars, please?"
+
+"Make it five," said the Doctor.
+
+"No," answered Tom. "Two dollars will be quite enough. Somebody in the
+mountains might murder me for five dollars. And, besides, nobody up
+there could change the bill. So, if you will let me have two one dollar
+bills I shall be grateful."
+
+"What are you going to do, Tom? Nothing rash, I hope."
+
+"I don't know yet what I'm going to do," answered Tom. "And please
+don't say anything to the other boys about it. I'll be gone from here
+when they get up in the morning. Maybe I'll bring back some game. You
+see that bear won't last very long with six hearty men eating three
+meals a day off it, with no other food to help fill up."
+
+The Doctor saw that Tom did not want to talk of his plans--it was always
+Tom's way to keep such things to himself--and so he asked no more
+questions, but went to the doorway for light, selected two one dollar
+bills, and returning, placed them in Tom's hand. Then Tom said:
+
+"Now, Doctor, you fellows are not to worry about me if I don't turn up
+when you expect me. I shall probably be away from camp for several
+days--may be a week, or possibly even more than that. Don't worry, in
+any case. Remember that I know how to take care of myself."
+
+The Doctor promised, but it was with much of apprehension in his mind.
+He saw that Tom was looking forward to his projected expedition with a
+good deal less of confident hope than he usually manifested on such
+occasions, and he gravely feared that the boy was planning to take some
+serious, if not even desperate, risk. He knew that Tom was daring to a
+fault, and that when he had formed a purpose he pursued it to its
+ultimate accomplishment or failure, with no regard whatever to the risks
+run, except that prudent forethought and circumspection which might
+enable him to avoid threatened evils.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+_In the High Mountains_
+
+
+Tom's second tour of guard duty ended at four o'clock in the morning,
+and he woke the Doctor to succeed him. Then, without attracting the
+other boys' attention, he rolled his blanket into a compact bundle and
+strapped it high upon his shoulders. He next loaded his cartridge belt
+with twenty buckshot cartridges on one side and twenty cartridges that
+carried turkey shot on the other. He put a box of matches into one
+pocket and two thick slices of bear beef into another. Finally, he took
+one of the empty meal bags, carefully folded it up and thrust it into
+the breast of his hunting shirt.
+
+Thus equipped he sallied out, and bidding the Doctor good morning as he
+passed the picket post, started off up the mountain. He had to pick his
+way very carefully till daylight came, and by that time he had passed
+well over the side of a ridge and was completely out of sight of Camp
+Venture.
+
+Selecting a suitable spot where the wind had swept a rock clear of snow,
+he laid aside his gun and blanket, and set to work to build a little
+fire and cook one slice of his meat for breakfast. The other he reserved
+for a late dinner.
+
+As he moved on after breakfast, he came upon a flock of quails--or
+partridges, as they are more properly called in Virginia. They were
+helplessly huddled under the edge of a stone and were manifestly
+freezing to death. For when Tom, who was too much of a sportsman to
+shoot birds in the covey, tried to flush them, meaning to shoot them on
+wing, they were barely able to flutter about on the ground, and wholly
+incapable of rising in flight.
+
+"I may as well have them," said the boy, "seeing that they'll be frozen
+to death in another half hour." So, after a little scrambling, he caught
+the eleven birds and quickly put them out of their suffering. Drawing
+some twine from a pocket, he strung the birds together and threw them
+over his neck for ease of carrying.
+
+The mountain up here was rugged and uneven, scarred and seamed with
+chasms and deep hollows. Tom devoted all his energies to peering into
+these as if searching for something. At one time, as he was hunting for
+a place from which to get a good view of a small but deep ravine, he
+flushed a flock of wild turkeys, seven or eight in number, and scarcely
+more than twenty feet distant from him. Curiously enough, he let them
+scamper away without so much as taking a shot at them.
+
+That was exceedingly unlike little Tom Ridsdale, and obviously it meant
+something. But what it meant did not appear. But shooting makes a noise
+and attracts attention. Tom did not want to attract attention.
+
+About two o'clock in the afternoon, Tom carefully reconnoitered a spot
+where great blocks of stone had fallen from cliffs above to a ledge
+below lying loosely there and making small caverns. Having satisfied
+himself that neither human habitation nor any human being was within
+miles of this little hiding place, Tom collected some sticks and built a
+little fire in one of the crevices between the great blocks of stone.
+Here, he cooked and ate his remaining piece of bear beef. Then he opened
+his blanket, rolled himself in it, and disposed himself to sleep, in a
+half sitting, half lying posture with his head and shoulders resting
+against the rock.
+
+"I must get a little sleep now," he said to himself, "as I didn't get
+any too much last night, and, of course, can't take any at all to-night.
+For if I slept without a fire in this weather, I'd freeze to death,
+and it would never do to build a fire up here at night, when it could be
+seen for miles away."
+
+Healthy boy that he was, he fell almost immediately into slumber, and it
+was nightfall when he woke. He took the risk of throwing two or three
+small sticks on his well-hidden fire, in order to broil one of his
+partridges for his supper. That done, he repacked his blanket, took up
+his gun, and set out again on his search for that something for which he
+had been looking all day.
+
+All night long Tom toiled about, up and down hills, over rocks and
+cliffs, through snow that was now beginning to soften as the weather was
+growing milder, but the search resulted in nothing. When morning came,
+the well-nigh exhausted boy sought out what seemed a safe spot for the
+purpose, created a little fire, cooked three partridges and ate them,
+seasoning them with a little salt which he always, on his hunting trips,
+carried in a little India rubber tobacco bag. Then he stretched himself
+out for a sleep, no longer fearing to freeze, as the weather had become
+very much warmer than before.
+
+It was four o'clock in the afternoon when Tom awoke. As he did so, he
+felt a hand pulling at that part of his blanket in which his head was
+wrapped--for all huntsmen and all soldiers, when they sleep in the
+open, even in the warmest weather, find it necessary to wrap up their
+heads.
+
+[Illustration: HE FELT A HAND PULLING AT HIS BLANKET.]
+
+"Well, law's sakes!" exclaimed the mountaineer, who, rifle in hand, was
+bending over him, "Ef it ain't Little Tom! Well, I'm glad I didn't
+shoot, as I was fust off about to! Why, Tom, I wouldn't have shot you
+fer another of the Doctor's twenty dollar bills! No, not fer a pocket
+full of 'em! You don't know what you done fer me an' fer my little gal
+when you pay-rolled me"--the man always pronounced "parole" "pay-roll."
+"You see, I got home jest in time to save the little gal from starvin'.
+Her mother was dead in the cabin--you 'member I tole you she was
+consumptive like--well, she got to bleedin' one day at the nose an'
+mouth an' jist quit livin' like. So the little gal was left all alone
+there, an' there wan't nothin' whatsomever in the place to eat an' of
+course a little gal only six year old didn't know what to do. So fur two
+days before I got there she hadn't had a mouthful. Well, I had a little
+left from what you fellers had giv' me to eat when I left camp, an' I
+fust off fed her on that. It made her sick like, 'cause she hadn't been
+used to eatin' as you mout say, an' maybe I give her too much at oncet.
+But she quick got over that, an' I had that twenty dollar bill! You jest
+bet I hustled off down into the holler to a still an' brought some o'
+the ground up corn an' rye an' a gallon of the 'lasses that they uses
+with it to make whiskey out'n an' took it home fer the little gal to
+eat."
+
+"I am very sorry," said Tom, "to hear of your wife's death, but very
+glad you got home in time to save the little girl."
+
+"Well, as to my ole woman, of course I can't help mournin', cause any
+how she was always a better wife than a no 'count feller like me
+deserves to have. But you see it wan't unexpected, like. We'd both on us
+seed it a comin' for a year or two, an' always comin' a little nigher,
+so it didn't seem so onnateral like as it would ef she'd been strong an'
+healthy an' laughin' like, as she used to be before I went away to
+prison."
+
+With that the man buried his face in his hands and sobbed. After all,
+the well-to-do, the refined, the cultivated people of this world have no
+monopoly of love or of tender sensibilities.
+
+Tom took the man's hand and pressed it warmly. Then by way of turning
+the conversation he said:
+
+"I suppose you're wondering what I am doing up here in the high
+mountains?"
+
+"Well, yes--it's risky of you, like. You see, I've done all the talkin'
+I could to persuade our people, like, that you fellers ain't here to
+interfere with 'em, an' lately they've let you alone. But still it
+ain't safe fer you, an' my earnest advice to you still is to git down
+out'n these mountings. I'm agoin' to keep on a talkin' in your favor an'
+a doin' all I kin fer to make it safe fer you to stay, but it won't
+never be real safe. You see, there's them up here in the high mountings
+what's suspicious like. They don't want to take no risks. They're always
+a lookin' out fer tricks, an' they won't believe but what you fellers
+mout be up to some trick. Anyhow they say 'men that ain't up in the
+mountings can't tell what's a goin' on up in the mountings,' an' some of
+'em says, says they, 'men that's dead don't tell nothin' to the revenue
+officers.'"
+
+"Nevertheless we're not going to be driven out, as you know," said Tom.
+"So now let's get to business."
+
+"All right, Tom. Ef there's anythin' in this world I kin do fer you
+without hangin' fer it, I'll do it."
+
+"Well," said Tom, "I came up here at risk of my life to look for you. I
+thought I might find your cabin or more probably find you standing guard
+over some still somewhere, and so I've been looking out for stills."
+
+"Now, that's curious," said the man, "very curious. Fer that's edzactly
+what you found me a doin'. You see, they's a still near here an' it's
+about as snugly tucked away as any still ever was in all these
+mountings. You'd never find it in the world, though you ain't at this
+minute more'n two hundred yards away from it. Still the folks what runs
+it don't feel overly safe in spite of their hidin' of the still. So
+they've give me a job like to climb about over the cliffs an' look out
+fer spies. That's how I come to find you, Tom."
+
+"Well, I'm glad you did find me," said Tom, "for in all probability I
+never should have found you, and I stood a good chance of getting myself
+shot in trying. You said just now that you would do anything you could
+for me."
+
+"Yes, an' I will!" answered the man, with emphasis. "Jest you try me,
+Tom, an' see ef I don't."
+
+"Very well," said Tom. "I believe you. Now, what I want isn't much. We
+boys down there in Camp Venture ran out of something to eat the other
+day, and we nearly starved for a time. Finally, by good luck, we got a
+bear, and we have more than half of it left, and of course, now that the
+snow storm has passed away, I can get more game as we need it. But we
+haven't had any bread for more than a week, and we're hungry. So I have
+come out here to look for you, to see if you can't get me a bag of
+ground-up corn or rye from one of the stills. I have money with me with
+which to pay for it."
+
+"But you can't pay fer it, Tom," said the man solemnly. "They ain't any
+body around the still now, 'cause it's knocked off runnin' fer the next
+week er so, but they's plenty of ground corn an' rye there, an' I'll
+bring you all you kin carry of it, ef you'll wait here fer fifteen
+minutes, an' not a cent to pay."
+
+"But it doesn't belong to you?" said Tom.
+
+"No, in course not. I don't own no still. I wish I was rich enough."
+
+"Then of course I can't let you give me the meal. I must pay full price
+for it or I'll go without it."
+
+"But say, Tom, that stuff ain't never measured up or weighed up, an'
+nobody'd ever miss a bagful or two. Why, I carry a small bagful of it to
+my cabin every mornin', jest as a sort o' safeguard like fer the little
+gal till blackberry time comes. I'll bring you a bagful an' I tell you
+it shan't cost you a cent."
+
+"And I tell you," said Tom, "that I won't take an ounce of it on any
+such terms. That meal belongs to other people. I want some of it--just
+as much as I can carry to Camp Venture with me--but I must pay for every
+ounce of it or I won't take any of it. I never steal, and I don't
+intend to let you steal for me."
+
+"Oh, it ain't stealin' like," answered the man; "you see people never
+care fer what they lose ef they don't know that they loses it."
+
+"I don't suppose I can make you understand," said Tom, realizing the
+utter inability of the mountaineer's mind to grasp an ethical principle,
+even of the simplest kind, "but I tell you plainly that I want this
+bagful of corn meal if you'll let me pay honestly for it, and otherwise
+I don't want it at all, and won't take it. I would rather see every boy
+in Camp Venture starve than do a dishonest thing."
+
+"Well, you see, you people from down the mounting draw these things a
+good deal finer than us folks up here in the mountings kin. I'm a member
+of the church an' I tries to behave accordin'. You never heard me swear
+an' you never will. You've done me the greatest favor any body ever done
+me, an' like an honest man I want to repay it a little, but you won't
+let me."
+
+Tom saw that there was no use in trying to enlighten the mountaineer's
+perverted ethical sense and so he gave up the effort and simply said:
+
+"Will you let me have the meal and let me pay for it, or will you not?"
+
+"In course I will," said the mountaineer. "How many bags is you got?"
+
+"Only this one," said Tom. "I couldn't carry more than that. It will
+hold a hundred pounds of meal."
+
+"Yes, but I kin carry some," said the man, "and I'm a goin' to. I tell
+you you done me the biggest turn any body ever done me, when you put me
+on pay-roll, an' I'm bound to get even with you ef I kin. So I'm a goin'
+to fill your bag an' one that I've got down there of my own, an' I'm a
+goin' to tote one of 'em while you tote the other. I know easier paths
+than you do about these mountings an' I'm a goin' to show 'em to you. In
+some places we kin slide the meal bags down a incline fer a quarter of a
+mile at a time, jest on the ice, without no totin' at all. So we'll git
+two big bags o' meal to your camp betwixt this an' mornin'."
+
+"But why not wait for daylight?" asked Tom.
+
+"'Cause then the fellers would lynch me fer carryin' food to the enemy.
+You see it won't do fer me even to go into yer camp. I'll tote my bag to
+the top o' that bluff like, that rises this side o' the camp. Then I'll
+git out quick an' afterwards you kin slip the bag over the bluff like
+an' I'll git into no trouble."
+
+With that the mountaineer took Tom's bag and disappeared over a sort of
+cliff. Ten minutes later he returned with the bag full of a rude meal,
+made by grinding corn in a big coffee mill of the kind that grocers use.
+
+"Now you jest stay here fer ten minutes or so an' I'll be back with the
+other sack. It's a good deal bigger'n this 'un, but I kin tote a good
+deal more'n you kin, an' you'll need all the meal you kin git."
+
+"Wait a minute," said Tom. "How much am I to pay for this meal? I have
+only two dollars with me and perhaps it will not be enough."
+
+"Well, you see, Tom, I done tole you you needn't pay nothin' fer it, but
+you wouldn't have it that way on no account. So I reckon I'll charge you
+the same price I pay when I buy that sort o' meal from the still. That's
+a dollar fer them two bags."
+
+"That's very cheap," said Tom. "Are you sure it's a proper price?"
+
+"Sartin' sure," answered the man. "You see it's a mighty poor sort o'
+meal--jest soft mounting corn ground up like in a coffee mill to make
+whiskey out'n. You'll have to wet it up mouty soft like to make it stick
+together fer bread, an' I'll tell you a trick about that. You jest wet
+it up with boilin' hot water. That sort o' cooks it like. Make it very
+wet an' don't mind even ef a little o' the water stan's on top o' the
+dough in the pan. That'll cook away an' your bread'll be all the better
+fer it. But a dollar is a high price fer it."
+
+By the time the second bag of meal came it was high time for the pair to
+start if they were to reach Camp Venture before daylight. But the
+mountaineer knew all the short cuts, and better still, all the easy
+cuts--paths that gave a minimum of up-hill work while presenting other
+advantages of importance. At one point, for example, he led Tom to a
+spot where there was a steep shelving rock, completely coated with hard
+ice.
+
+"Now," he said, "You an' me couldn't go down that slide without breakin'
+every bone we've got. But we kin slip our meal bags down it 'thout no
+hurt to nobody. Then I'll show you a way round it, so's we kin git the
+meal agin."
+
+With that he placed his meal bag in position, gave it a little push, and
+instantly it disappeared down the hill in the darkness. Tom did the same
+with his bag, and then, striding off to the right, the mountaineer led
+the way by a difficult but practicable path around the rock to a point
+quite a quarter of a mile below, where the two found their bags of meal
+safely reposing in a snow bank.
+
+This was repeated at several points on the journey, while at other
+points where the bags could not be thus slidden down, because of an
+insufficient incline, it was easy for the two to drag them as they
+walked and this they did. As the way was almost entirely down hill,
+there was very little of what the mountaineer called "toting" to be
+done.
+
+About three o'clock in the morning the two reached the brow of that
+cliff under which the boys had made their first temporary encampment,
+and which constituted the mountainside limit of Camp Venture. There they
+parted, the mountaineer protesting his eager desire to hurry back and
+"look arter the little gal."
+
+"Wait a minute," said Tom. "I've paid you for this meal, but I haven't
+paid you for carrying it down the mountain or for the risk you've taken
+in doing that."
+
+"I don't want no pay, Tom," protested the man with eagerness. "I hain't
+fergot that you put me on pay-roll jest in the nick o' time."
+
+"That's all right," said Tom. "But I took two dollars with me and I
+expected to pay all of it for the meal. Now I want you to take the
+remaining dollar to the 'little gal' as a present from Tom. There, don't
+stop to say anything or you'll be late in getting back," added Tom, as
+he pressed the dollar bill into the man's hands.
+
+"Well, all I'll stop to say, Little Tom," said the mountaineer, "is
+this: Ef you git out'n meal agin, you come to the same place I found you
+in. I'll keep a look out fer you there every day. An' ef they's war made
+on you it won't be long before I'm takin' a hand on your side with my
+rifle, an' it don't make no difference whatsomever who it is that's a
+fightin' of you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+_A Difficulty_
+
+
+Little Tom was now in a quandary. He was on the bluff overlooking and
+south of the camp, but he did not know how to get into the camp. To walk
+in would be dangerous, of course. The sentinel might mistake him for an
+enemy and shoot at him. A high wind was blowing from the direction of
+Camp Venture, so that no call of Tom's could be heard there. It was a
+little after three o'clock in the morning, very dark, very cold, and Tom
+was very tired with his labor in bringing the meal down the mountain.
+
+Finally an idea dawned in his mind.
+
+"If I can't go to Camp Venture I can at any rate bring Camp Venture to
+me," he said to himself. With that he collected some of the dry broom
+straw that protruded above the snow and such sticks and other
+combustibles as he could find, and set to work to build a fire.
+
+"When the sentinel sees a fire here," he said to himself, "he'll call
+the other boys, and they'll all get their guns and come out here to see
+what's the matter. I'll stand up in the full glare of the light and on
+the camp side of the fire, so that they can recognize me."
+
+His plan worked to perfection. It was not five minutes after he got a
+good blaze going before the whole company surrounded him.
+
+"What is it, Tom?" they cried. "Why did you build a fire here?"
+
+"Wait!" said Tom. "There are two bags of corn meal down there just under
+the bluff. Some of you go and carry them to the house. I'm fearfully
+tired and cold."
+
+The boys quickly saw how true this was, and they plied the poor,
+exhausted fellow with no more questions. He strode away to the hut,
+entered it, threw down his remaining partridges, set his gun in its
+customary place and stood for a few minutes with his back to the big
+fire, warming himself. Presently, when the boys all came in with the
+bags of meal, Jack, seeing the look of almost helpless exhaustion in
+Tom's face, himself removed the blanket from the boy's shoulders, untied
+it and spread it out upon the bunkful of broom straw, for by this time
+Ed had got all their bedding dry again.
+
+Meantime the Doctor went to a kettle that sat near the fire, placed it
+upon some very hot coals, and a minute later dipped up a tin cup of its
+contents.
+
+"Here, Tom, drink this," he said. "It'll do you good and give you
+strength."
+
+It was a soup that Ed had made--or a broth rather--from the bones and
+scraps of their bear dinners, and to Tom's exhausted system it seemed
+wonderfully refreshing. Meantime Harry asked:
+
+"Are your feet frozen, Tom?"
+
+"No," answered the boy. "They are scarcely at all cold. You see, I've
+been using them too vigorously for that. But they are dreadfully sore
+and tired."
+
+With that Harry filled their one foot tub with hot water and directing
+Tom to sit down Harry himself removed the boy's boots and socks, felt of
+his feet to make sure that they were not frosted, and placed them in the
+hot water. The Doctor applauded the performance and when it was over,
+and Tom's whole body was warm again, the boys rolled him up, not in his
+own blanket alone, but in all the other blankets there were in the camp
+and tumbled him into his bunk.
+
+"There now!" said Jack, "sleep till you wake of your own accord. We'll
+all keep as still as mice."
+
+"No, don't," said Tom. "I shall sleep better if you go on talking as
+usual. Then I'll know when I half wake that I'm here in camp and I'll go
+to sleep again easily." Then, after the boys thought him asleep Tom
+turned over and said, with much solicitude in his voice:
+
+"Boys, I'm sorry I broke up your sleep so early this morning, but I
+couldn't very well help myself."
+
+"Never you mind about that," said Jim Chenowith. "You're on duty
+now,--sleep duty,--and if you don't shut up and go to sleep I'll pour
+buckets of cold water over you. We're not suffering for sleep just
+because we were waked up an hour or so earlier than usual."
+
+Tom was too tired to argue or to resist. He turned over on his side and
+a minute later he was asleep.
+
+Meantime the boys busied themselves with breakfast. Ed was still the
+head cook, partly because he knew more about cooking than any body else
+did, and partly because the Doctor still refused to let him work with an
+axe. But all the boys helped him with this meal, as they always did when
+they were in the house at the time of the preparation of meals.
+
+"How long will it be, Doctor, before Tom will wake up hungry?" asked Ed
+solicitously.
+
+"Not more than two hours at farthest," answered the Doctor. "But why?"
+
+"Well, I want to have something ready for him when he wakes--something
+hot and appetizing."
+
+And Ed accomplished his purpose. He gave the other boys their breakfast
+of broiled bear's meat and ash cakes and then he set to work on Tom's
+breakfast. He dressed two of the quails and laid them aside. Then he
+mixed some of the meal and made pones of it, baking them in a skillet.
+When Tom began to stir restlessly Ed raked out a fine bed of clean coals
+and placed the two quails upon them to broil. They required very close
+and constant attention, of course, to prevent burning, and just as Ed
+was finally taking them off the fire Tom sat up in his bunk and asked:
+
+"Hello, Ed! what's up? You've got something there that smells mighty
+good to a hungry fellow like me. What is it?"
+
+"I'll answer your questions one at a time," answered Ed. "'What's up?'
+Why, you are, of course. 'What is it'--that I'm cooking? You just get
+out of bed and see."
+
+Tom obeyed. Creeping stiffly out of bed he seized the foot tub that had
+stood there for two hours or more and felt of the water. It was by this
+time sharply cold. Tom stripped off his clothing, soused his head into
+the water and then taking a sponge, sluiced his whole body with the
+nearly freezing liquid. A rapid rub down followed, and Tom called out:
+
+"Now, Ed, bring on your breakfast as soon as you can. I'm nearly
+starved."
+
+With that he slipped again into his clothing and a minute later was
+devouring a quail and a big pone of very coarse corn bread which Ed had
+buttered with the scant remains of the ante-Christmas bacon drippings.
+
+"Where are the other fellows?" asked Tom, as he ate.
+
+"Out chopping," answered Ed.
+
+"Did they have bacon dripping butter on their bread this morning?"
+
+"Indeed they didn't. That was saved, by unanimous vote, for you. For but
+for you there wouldn't have been any bread in Camp Venture to butter
+with anything."
+
+"Oh, well," said Tom, "but you see it isn't fair. You ought to have
+divided the bacon fat--"
+
+"Now look here, Tom," Ed broke in, "if you'll find a single boy in this
+company who is growling about the breakfast he got this morning--the
+best part of it due to your exertions in getting us the meal,--I'll
+agree to eat that boy and all his complaints. I tell you this bacon fat
+was saved for you by special request of every fellow in the camp, and
+that's all there is about it. I foresaw that you'd want to divide it up,
+so I put it on your bread myself instead of leaving that for you to do.
+You see you can't help eating it now."
+
+"Ed, you fellows are the very best and kindliest that ever were in this
+world," said Tom, with so much of emotion that he did not venture to say
+any more.
+
+"But I say, Tom," said Ed, eager to turn the course of the talk, "where
+and how did you get this meal?"
+
+"Oh, that's a long story," answered Tom, "and the other fellows will
+want to hear it, and really I can't tell it twice. Besides, now that
+I've had my breakfast I'm going out to do my share of the chopping. I'll
+tell you all about it while we sit around the fire to-night."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+_The Doctor's Talk_
+
+
+Tom went at once to his chopping, for being, as the Doctor said, "a
+healthy young animal," his sleep, his bath and his breakfast had
+completely cured him of his exhaustion.
+
+At noon the boys made a hasty dinner, as was their custom when chopping,
+for the days were still short and they liked to utilize as many of the
+daylight hours as they could.
+
+They had contracted to deliver a specified number of ties by the first
+of April or sooner, and they had already completed that part of their
+task; but their contract permitted them to send down as many more ties,
+doubling the number if they could; while, as for cordwood and bridge
+timbers, there was no limit set upon their deliveries. They were anxious
+to cut all they could and thus to make their winter's work as profitable
+as possible, and so they were not disposed to waste any part of a day so
+fine as this one was.
+
+While they were chopping in the afternoon, just as a big tree on which
+the Doctor was at work began swaying to its fall, a large raccoon which
+had been hiding in the hollow of one of its upper limbs leaped to the
+ground. The Doctor, who had become almost as "quick on trigger" as Tom
+himself, seized a shotgun and fired. The animal fell instantly, riddled
+with turkey shot, and a minute later the Doctor held it up by the tail,
+saying:
+
+"Here's a supper for us, boys! It'll be a change from bear beef, any
+how, and you are to have the skin, Tom."
+
+The boys shouted for joy, for they were growing exceedingly weary of
+bear meat by this time, and there are few things more appetizing than a
+fat raccoon. So the Doctor carried his game to the house, where Ed
+proceeded at once to dress it for supper.
+
+It was not until after supper that Tom related the story of his mountain
+adventure, and as he was an expert mimic, he succeeded in so presenting
+the mountaineer's part in the conversation as to cause a deal of
+laughter, in which Tom himself joined heartily, although his own memory
+of his difficult journey was anything but ludicrous.
+
+The weather had grown exceedingly cold again and the logs were piled
+high on the fire. As the boys basked in the heat that was radiated into
+the room, some one said: "What a pity it is to waste all the heat that
+is going off up the chimney! It would run an engine."
+
+"So it would," said the Doctor, "but that is what all the world is
+constantly doing. The wood that we have burned since supper would supply
+a French or Italian house with fire for a month at least."
+
+"But how?" asked Jack. "Surely wood burns up as fast in France or Italy
+as it does here."
+
+"Of course. But the French and Italians--especially the Italians--have
+very little wood, and they use it very sparingly. When they make an open
+fire it is made of sticks about eight or ten inches long, very small and
+usually consisting of round wood. They rarely have a split stick,
+because they never cut down a tree, or if they do they use every part of
+it that is bigger than your wrist for some kind of lumber useful in the
+arts."
+
+"But if they don't cut down trees," asked Harry, "how do they get any
+wood at all?"
+
+"They have very few trees," answered the Doctor, "and instead of cutting
+them down they trim off the branches from time to time and make fire
+wood of them, utilizing every particle, even down to the smallest twigs,
+which they cut into eight inch lengths and tie up in bundles for use in
+boiling their soup kettles. In some parts of Southern California,"
+continued the Doctor, "they get their fire wood in the same way, though
+they do not have to bother with the little twigs, as tree growth is
+enormously rapid in that winter-less climate. At San Bernardino I have
+seen many houses standing in large grounds, with a row of cottonwood
+trees all around at the edge of the sidewalk. I have often seen these
+trees with every limb cut off close to the stem of the tree--not more
+than a few feet from it at farthest. In that way the owner gets his fire
+wood--he doesn't need much of it--for three years to come. The trees
+thus pollarded quickly put out a host of new branches and as these grow
+rapidly in a climate that has no winter, they are ready to be cut again
+three years later."
+
+"But if trees grow so rapidly there," asked Tom, "how is it that there
+are no woodlands there?"
+
+"Because it is a rainless region. It is a desert simply for a lack of
+water, and when men build reservoirs up in the mountains and bring water
+down in irrigating ditches that desert literally blossoms like a rose.
+The soil is as rich as any down in our valleys and creek low grounds
+here, and as there is no winter every living thing grows all the year
+round. At Riverside, for example, you find a luxuriance of growth
+unmatched anywhere in these mountains. Eucalyptus trees border all the
+roads, towering to great heights. Back of them are orange and lemon
+groves and still further back vast vineyards in which the stumps of the
+vines--for they are cut back to a stump every year, to make them
+bear--are from four to six inches in diameter, so that they need no
+stakes to support them as vines do here. Often also there are rows of
+luxuriant pepper trees flourishing in the middle of the road. In short,
+you can nowhere on earth except in swamps, find a more luxuriant riot of
+vegetation than at Riverside. Yet until men made reservoirs and ditches
+and brought water down there from the mountains the ground that now
+supports all this splendid growth was as bare as the palm of your hand,
+and when you drive out of Riverside in any direction, you come instantly
+to an absolute desert, without even a weed growing on it, the moment you
+pass beyond the line of irrigating ditches."
+
+"Is there much land of that sort?" asked Jack, "land that is fertile I
+mean in itself, but is desert because of a lack of water?"
+
+"Millions of acres of it, though much of it has already been redeemed by
+irrigation. General Sherman once said that when he first crossed the
+San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys he could have bought the whole of
+them for twenty-five cents, and in fact would not have given a penny for
+both. Yet to-day those valleys are the most productive wheat fields in
+the world, not even excepting Minnesota and the Dakotas. In a single
+year they have been known to furnish fifty million bushels of wheat for
+export, after feeding the Pacific coast fat."
+
+"But is there always water to be had for irrigating purposes?" asked
+Jack, who was becoming intensely interested.
+
+"Practically, yes," the Doctor answered. "That is a country of vast
+mountain ranges, all the way from the Rockies to the sea, with great
+valleys and plains lying between. It is almost always raining or snowing
+in the mountains, and indeed the tops of the higher ranges are nearly
+always snow clad, even in summer. I remember once crossing the Utah
+desert, which lies between the Rocky mountains proper and the Wassach
+range. There is no sand or gravel there, but only a singularly rich
+soil, barren for lack of rain alone. During the entire trip across we
+were never for one minute out of sight of either a snow storm or a rain
+storm some where in the mountains that surround the desert. Obviously
+enough water falls in the mountains to make of that desert the very
+garden spot of America when ever men take measures to store the water
+and bring it down to the desert lands below. The Mormons, who have made
+a rich farming region in this way out of the desert west of the Wassach
+range, have already begun doing this on the eastern side in a limited
+way. At Pleasant Valley they have brought water down from the mountains
+and made gardens that are a delight to the eye and mind. They grow there
+the finest black Hamburg grapes in the world. But neither that nor any
+other of the great deserts can be redeemed entirely until either the
+government or some great company able to spend money by scores of
+millions shall undertake the work in a systematic way, selling water
+rights with every farm. Of course no farmer can provide a water supply
+for himself from mountains twenty miles away, but if a great company or
+the government would catch and store the water and sell the right to use
+it to each farmer, as is done in parts of Southern California, the major
+part of what used to be called 'the great American desert' would soon
+become the great American garden. Of course the alkali deserts of Nevada
+and worse still, the arid, sandy, gravelly, soilless plains of Arizona
+and New Mexico can never be reclaimed in that way. But the regions that
+are barren only because they get no rain, can be redeemed and very
+certainly will be when this country becomes so crowded with population
+that every acre of arable land will be needed."
+
+"But isn't this country pretty badly crowded already?" asked Tom.
+
+"Crowded? No," answered the Doctor. "It is very sparsely settled
+instead. This country has a population of only twenty people to the
+square mile, while Belgium has 529 and England 540 to the square mile.
+Long before we fill up to any such extent as that all our arid lands
+that are fit for cultivation will be watered from the mountains, and
+regions where now even a cactus cannot grow will produce wheat, corn,
+cattle and fruits in lavish abundance. But I say, boys, we've talked
+till after eleven o'clock. This will never do; let's get to bed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+_Some Features of the Situation_
+
+
+Every morning Tom "prowled," as he put it, all around the camp, "just to
+see how things are," he said.
+
+Two mornings after the talk reported in the last chapter Tom found, out
+under the bluff, a big bag of rye meal or rather of rye coarsely ground
+for whiskey making purposes. He dragged it over the hard snow to camp
+and opened it. In its mouth he found a piece of paper and written upon
+it in rude letters was the following:
+
+    U Pade 2 Mutch
+    Fer the Mele. Heares
+    A nother bag to Mak it
+    SKWAR. Dont gim
+    me Awa.
+
+    BILL JONES.
+
+Tom called all the boys into conference before deciding what to do with
+this present. He said to them:
+
+"Bill's ideas of morality are somewhat confused. In his eagerness to
+render me some return for my act in letting him go back to his 'little
+gal' on parole, he wanted to give me the meal I brought to camp the
+other morning. It never occurred to him that as the meal didn't belong
+to him, he had no right to give it to me, and all I could say to him was
+utterly futile as an effort to make him take a moral or rational view of
+the case. Now I am seriously afraid our friend Bill stole this rye meal.
+That would perfectly fit in with his ideas of morality, gratitude and
+all that sort of thing. Still we don't know that he did steal it. After
+all I did pay him a double price for the meal we got, and possibly he
+has applied part of the surplus payment to the purchase of this
+additional supply from his criminal friends the distillers. After all I
+have no means of knowing that he ever paid the original owners of that
+first meal any part of the money that I gave him for it. He couldn't see
+at the time why he shouldn't steal it for me, and so he may have stolen
+this."
+
+"Well," said the Doctor, "you honestly paid him for the former supply of
+meal, insisting that you wouldn't take it at all unless you paid for
+it. He understands that perfectly. He has a sufficient sense of honesty
+now to bring you an additional bag on the ground that you paid an
+excessive price for the former supply and that he wants to make it
+'skwar.' I don't see how we can go behind that, especially as we cannot
+possibly return the meal either to him or to its owners if he stole it.
+Our only option is to eat the stuff or take it back out there to the
+foot of the bluff and leave it there to rot."
+
+After some further discussion it was decided to eat the rye meal as
+practically the only thing that could be done with it.
+
+One week later another bag of meal--corn meal this time--was found out
+under the bluff, but with it came no explanation of any kind. Thus the
+bread supply in Camp Venture was made secure for a time at least, and
+for a meat supply the guns did all that was necessary--especially Tom's
+gun, for Tom spent many of his hours wandering over the mountains in
+search of game, and Tom rarely sought game in vain.
+
+It was coming on to be March now, and the weather had greatly moderated.
+The snow was melting off the mountains and the spring rains were falling
+freely.
+
+"Our meal will run out before long," said the Doctor one night, "but
+the time is near at hand when we can send a boy down the mountain to
+bring up a pack mule with some supplies."
+
+"Indeed you can't," said Tom.
+
+"But why not?" asked the Doctor.
+
+"Simply because there are some mountain torrents in the way, that no
+human being could pass, even if he had one of your big steamships to
+help him in the crossing."
+
+"But I saw no mountain torrents on our way up," said the Doctor.
+
+"Certainly not," answered Tom, "for they weren't mountain torrents then,
+but the dry beds of streams. But now it is different. It would be as
+impossible now for us to 'git down out'n the mountings' as to fly to the
+moon--unless we went down over the cliffs there, following the chute.
+And of course we couldn't bring a pack mule up that way. No, we've got
+to stick it out and live on what we can get till our work is done, and
+then--as the spring is coming on and the way is blocked by the torrents
+of which I spoke,--we've got to make our way over the cliffs down there
+by the chute, for we simply cannot get down the mountain by the way we
+came."
+
+"How do you know this, Tom?" asked Harry.
+
+"Why, I've tried it. You see any road down the mountain that furnishes
+an easy way is sure to be crossed by creeks that are dry in the summer
+and fall, but raging whirlpools when spring melts the snow and sends
+millions of gallons of water every minute down the steep inclines. I
+count myself a strong swimmer. But I could no more swim across one of
+those sluiceways than I could climb up a sunbeam to the rainbow. I tell
+you we can get nothing from down below now, and I tell you that we can't
+ourselves go down the mountain by the way by which we came up, for two
+or three months to come."
+
+"What are we to do, then, Tom?" asked the Doctor.
+
+"Well, first, we're to feed ourselves as best we can till we've finished
+our work; and then we're to go down the mountain on its steep side along
+the chute. That will involve a great deal of toil and some danger. We
+shall have to let ourselves down over cliffs by hanging on to bushes,
+with the certainty that if the bushes give way we shall be dashed to
+pieces on the rocks below. But that's the only way we can get down the
+mountain unless we are willing to wait for summer."
+
+"Well, the question is not an immediately pressing one," said Jack.
+"We've got a lot of work ahead of us yet, and we've got plenty of game
+and plenty of bread stuffs in camp."
+
+"Plenty of game, yes," said the Doctor. "But as for bread stuffs, I
+don't think we have more than a peck or so left."
+
+The next morning Tom, in his "prowlings" found two big bags of corn and
+rye meal lying there under the bluff. "It's a case of bread cast upon
+the waters returning to us after many days," said Tom.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+_The Capture of Camp Venture_
+
+
+Tom had miscalculated the weather, misled as every body is apt to be by
+the calendar. As he had not at all anticipated, the softness of early
+March presently gave way to a severe cold wave, which not only put an
+end to the spring rains, but stopped the melting of the snow upon the
+mountains and dried up those torrents that had alone blocked the way
+down the mountain since the great snowdrift barriers had disappeared.
+
+"I take it all back, fellows," he said, one night. "I didn't look for
+such weather as this in March. But any how any fellow in the party can
+go down the mountain now. Whether he ever gets back again or not is a
+question not easily determined. A very little thaw would make that
+impossible."
+
+"My view," said the Doctor, "is that we'd better not risk it. This cold
+weather simply cannot last long at this season of the year, and we can't
+spare any boy from our company. We have two bags of meal in
+camp--enough to last us three or four weeks--and of course Tom's gun
+will provide us with meat. It seems to me it would be exceedingly unwise
+to send any one of our number down the mountain and not only unwise but
+wholly unnecessary. What do you think, boys?"
+
+Every boy in the party shared the Doctor's opinion, and so it was
+decided not to send one of the company down the mountain at this time,
+although the weather conditions were especially favorable for the moment
+at least. They proved also to be favorable to something else.
+
+Just before daylight the next morning Jim, who was on guard, quitted his
+post and came hurriedly into the house. He waked his comrades, saying:
+
+"Get up quickly, boys, and get your guns. The moonshiners have
+completely surrounded Camp Venture."
+
+Ten seconds later all the boys were out on the platform, fully armed. It
+was still too dark to see men even at a short distance, but low voices
+could be heard in every direction round the camp. The boys themselves
+consulted only in whispers.
+
+Jack took command, of course.
+
+"Don't shoot, boys, even if they shoot at us," he said. "They can do
+little damage that way, as we have this wooden barrier to stop their
+bullets. What we've got to look out for is a rush, and we must reserve
+our fire to repel that with."
+
+"Hadn't some of us better go to the rear of the house?" asked Harry.
+"They may rush us from that direction."
+
+"No," answered Jack. "There's no opening to the house on that side; and
+we have no barrier there to fight behind. If they attack from that
+direction we must fight from inside the house. Suppose you go in Harry
+and knock out three or four pieces of chinking about breast high, so as
+to give us a port hole to fire through. Keep a keen look out through the
+crack, and if they advance from that direction call us at once. But
+don't any of you shoot, front or rear, till they make a rush."
+
+As he spoke, two or three shots came from the enemy in front, the
+bullets burying themselves harmlessly in the wooden barrier well below
+the feet of the boys, as they stood on the platform, for the barrier
+could not be seen in the darkness, and the men shooting aimed at about
+where they thought a man's breast would be if he stood upon the ground.
+
+The temptation to return the fire was almost irresistible, particularly
+to Tom, who had his magazine rifle in hand. But Jack resolutely
+insisted upon reserving fire in order to be ready to repel a charge
+whenever it should come.
+
+The light was now growing stronger and here and there it was possible to
+make out one of the enemy, crouching behind a rock or in some little
+depression of the ground. Enough of them could be seen by this time to
+show clearly that they outnumbered the garrison of Camp Venture more
+than four or five to one. Somebody remarked upon this fact, whereupon
+Jack replied, still speaking in a whisper:
+
+"That's true! But if they make the rush that I'm expecting they won't
+outnumber us much by the time they get here."
+
+As the light grew still stronger, Tom set his gun down, ejaculating
+"Well, well, well."
+
+"What is it, Tom?" asked the Doctor.
+
+"Why, those aren't moonshiners, but revenue officers and soldiers!"
+
+A little further scrutiny convinced the boys that Tom's keen eyes had
+seen aright. The bullets were still pattering now and then against the
+wooden parapet, but evidently the enemy was not yet ready to make the
+charge which alone could give him possession of the fortress.
+
+Tom felt in his pocket, drew out a handkerchief and tied it to the end
+of his gun. Then he descended the little ladder to the ground.
+
+"What are you going to do Tom?" asked Jack.
+
+"Why, I'm going out under a flag of truce to explain to those fellows
+what a stupid blunder they've made. They've mistaken Camp Venture for an
+illicit distillery, as if anybody would set up a still in such an open
+place as this."
+
+"But wait, Tom! It is still so dark that they may not see your flag of
+truce. They may all fire at you at once. Wait till broad daylight
+comes."
+
+"Yes," answered Tom, "and in the meantime those fellows may make their
+charge,--they're forming for it now,--and in that case we'll have to
+shoot half of them. No, I'm going out with my flag of truce now, and
+I'll simply have to take the chances of getting shot."
+
+With that he passed around the end of the barrier and sallied forth,
+holding his flag of truce above him and calling as he went "Truce!
+Truce! A flag of truce! I bear a flag of truce! Don't shoot!"
+
+Nevertheless several bullets from improved army rifles passed
+uncomfortably close to him--one of them cutting a hole through the top
+of one of his boots--before the officer in command of the assailing
+party could be made to understand the nature of Tom's mission. At last
+he understood it and calling to Tom to halt where he stood, which was
+about midway between the two forces--the lieutenant who commanded the
+troops, hoisted another white handkerchief and went out to meet the boy.
+
+To him Tom explained the nature and purpose of Camp Venture and invited
+him and his party to come in and inspect the place for themselves.
+
+The lieutenant looked at him incredulously at first, and then laughed.
+
+"That's a good one on us!" he said presently, "if what you say is true."
+
+"I never tell lies!" said Tom, in resentment.
+
+"I don't believe you do," said the officer. "You don't look it, anyhow.
+But of course we mustn't take any risk of being caught in a trap. So
+I'll send a squad of my men with you to inspect. Here, Sergeant Malby;
+take a detail of four men and go with this young man to the camp yonder.
+In the meantime, my boy, I'll detain that magazine rifle of yours, if
+you please, till I satisfy myself."
+
+Tom handed over his gun and led the sergeant and his squad into Camp
+Venture. As daylight had now fully come, the soldiers had little trouble
+in satisfying themselves that there was no still there, and that the
+company consisted only of five boys and the Doctor. The sergeant so
+reported to the lieutenant and that officer was disposed to be
+satisfied. Not so the three revenue agents, however.
+
+"It's a fishy story these fellows tell," said the chief of them, "and I
+for one don't intend to be drawn into a trap. There may be no still and
+only a small company of boys in that cabin, but who knows how many
+stills there may be hidden around here, or how many moonshiners may be
+hiding about us, ready to massacre us?"
+
+"All right," said the lieutenant, in some disgust at the revenue
+officer's timidity. "I'll settle all that. Stay here, men, and wait for
+orders."
+
+With that he strode off alone to the cabin and entered it. He there
+explained the situation to the boys and said:
+
+"I'm afraid I shall have to ask you fellows to go out there and stack
+your arms, considering yourselves under arrest till our timid friends of
+revenue officers can make a tour of inspection all about your camp under
+the armed escort of my men. They were so sure that they had surprised a
+still here that they can't get over the notion. So we must humor them."
+
+The boys readily consented to the plan. They marched out to a point
+designated by the lieutenant and there stacked their arms, over which
+the lieutenant summoned two of his men to stand guard. Then he bade the
+revenue officers come on, and under escort of his file of soldiers they
+minutely scrutinized the entire camp. The felled trees not yet chopped
+into shape for sending down the mountain; the large quantity of ties and
+cordwood that were piled near the chute; the multitude of stumps from
+which timber had been recently cut; the great piles of brush left over
+from the chopping; and finally the chute itself, now nearly worn out
+with use--all these attested the character of the camp and indicated an
+industry on the part of its occupants, such as no company of moonshiners
+ever displayed.
+
+At last the Lieutenant said to the chief revenue officer, with some show
+of impatience:
+
+"Aren't you satisfied, yet? Why don't you look under these boys' finger
+nails? How do you know they haven't some stills secreted there?"
+
+"Yes, I'm satisfied with all but one thing," answered the agent of the
+excise.
+
+"What's that?" asked Jack. "Whatever it is, I'll try to satisfy you
+concerning it."
+
+"Why, I don't understand, if you aren't engaged in any crooked business,
+what you built that fortification for. If you didn't feel the need of
+resisting the government agents, what need had you for a barrier like
+that to shoot behind?"
+
+"We built that to protect ourselves against moonshiners," answered Jack.
+
+"But why should moonshiners disturb you?" asked the still incredulous
+revenue agent.
+
+"Because they believed when we first came up here that we were spies of
+the internal revenue and most of them still believe it. They began by
+ordering us to quit the mountains and when we wouldn't they sent men to
+shoot at us. One of our party is still suffering from a bullet wound
+received at their hands. When we found that we must defend ourselves we
+erected that barrier to help us. Now that you have come up here we'll
+need it you may be sure."
+
+"Why?" asked the revenue officer.
+
+"Because they'll never believe now that we didn't send for you and bring
+you here. They'll make ceaseless war on us now."
+
+Meanwhile the Lieutenant was examining the fortification. Presently he
+turned to Jack and said:
+
+"Will you allow me to suggest an improvement in your defensive work?"
+
+"Certainly," answered Jack. "We shall be very glad."
+
+"Well the top of your parapet is level. Whenever you shoot over it you
+must expose your head, neck and shoulders above it. Now if you raise it
+by ten or twelve inches and then cut embrasures or notches in the top of
+it to shoot through you can put up a fight with far less exposure of
+your persons."
+
+The suggestion was so obviously a good one that Jack determined on the
+instant to adopt it.
+
+"I'll do that, Lieutenant, as soon as you release us from arrest and let
+us have our guns again."
+
+"Oh, I forgot that," answered the Lieutenant. "Here sentinel," to the
+man who had been posted outside, "tell Sergeant Malby to send those guns
+back to the house, and to withdraw you from duty here. Young men, you
+are released from arrest."
+
+Then turning to the chief revenue officer, for whose timid lack of
+sagacity he had obviously the profoundest contempt, he asked:
+
+"What's your program now?"
+
+"Well I'm going to clear this whole mountain of stills."
+
+"How long do you reckon it will take?" asked the Lieutenant.
+
+"Well a week or two weeks perhaps."
+
+"And what provisions have you made for your commissariat for such a
+length of time?"
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Why, I have forty men here and I'm under your orders, to do whatever
+you say, but every one of my forty men has a mouth to feed, and under
+my orders I brought only three days' rations in the haversacks. If you
+intend to keep us up here for a week or two, ought you not to have made
+some provision for a food supply?"
+
+"Why didn't you look after that?" asked the revenue officer.
+
+"Because it was none of my business. I'm a soldier. I obey orders. My
+orders were to take three days' cooked rations and march my men up here
+to support the revenue officers in whatever they undertook."
+
+"That's always the way," said the revenue man. "The troops always fail
+us at the critical moment. That's why our efforts to break up
+moonshining always come to nothing."
+
+"Pardon me, sir," answered the officer rising in his wrath. "I'll
+trouble you to take that back. The troops under my command have not
+failed you and they will not. We have nothing to do with collecting the
+revenue. That's your business. Ours is merely to fight anybody that
+resists you. That duty we are ready to do just so long as you may
+desire. We'll force a way for you to any part of these mountains that
+you may desire to visit and we'll keep it up for a year if you wish. But
+in the meantime somebody must provide my men with food!"
+
+"If that's the way you look at the matter," said the revenue officer,
+"we might as well go down the mountain at once."
+
+"It isn't a question of how I look at the matter," answered the
+lieutenant, impatiently. "I tell you I'm ready and my men are ready for
+any service you may assign to us. But I tell you also that we must have
+something to eat, and it is your duty to arrange it."
+
+"But how can I?"
+
+"Would it be impertinent in me to suggest," asked the lieutenant, "that
+you ought to have thought of that before you began your raid? If you had
+said to the commandant that your expedition was likely to occupy a week
+or two he would have ordered the commissary to furnish me with two or
+three weeks' provisions and the quarter-master to supply enough stout
+pack mules to carry them. As it was, you represented this as a two days'
+trip and he ordered me to carry three days' rations in the haversacks."
+
+"Well, we'd better retreat at once," answered the revenue officer.
+
+"But why? It isn't even yet too late to repair your blunder. Why can't
+you send one of your men down the mountain at once to bring up a train
+of pack mules loaded with provisions? He can be back here in less than
+two days if he hurries."
+
+"But I don't know--" began the man.
+
+"I don't care what you know or don't know," answered the young West
+Pointer. "I simply tell you that as soon as my men run out of rations
+I'll march them down the hill again. It is my duty to see that they
+don't starve."
+
+"But if I send a man down the mountain," answered the revenue agent,
+"some moonshiner might shoot him on the way."
+
+"Very probably," answered the lieutenant. "That's a risk that men
+engaged in the revenue service are bound to take, I suppose. But if you
+request it, I will send a squad of four soldiers to guard your man on
+the way down and to protect the pack train on its way back."
+
+Manifestly the revenue officer was anxious to "git down out'n the
+mountings," but he feared the report which in that case the angry and
+disgusted lieutenant would probably make, even more than he feared the
+moonshiners. Still he hesitated to detail one of his men to go down the
+mountain under escort of a corporal and three men.
+
+This matter being still unsettled, the lieutenant said:
+
+"Now, what next?"
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"Why, what is your next move?"
+
+"Well, I suppose we must remain here till the provisions come, if we
+decide to send for them," answered the man.
+
+The lieutenant shrugged his shoulders, and for the moment remained
+silent. Presently he said:
+
+"Of course that's for you to determine. But for myself I can't see why
+you should deliberately waste two days giving the moonshiners time in
+which to rip out their stills and bury them where even your sagacity
+will never find them. I don't see why you shouldn't utilize the time of
+waiting for supplies in finding and capturing stills. However that is
+none of my business. Will you tell me where you wish to make your
+headquarters, so that I may pitch my camp accordingly?"
+
+At that moment bullets began pattering in the camp and the lieutenant
+instantly leaped to his feet and hurried to the platform of the parapet.
+Using his field glass he presently located the points from which the
+firing came. Then calmly but quickly he descended and called to Sergeant
+Malby:
+
+"Form the men in open order out there under the bluff."
+
+Then he strode away hurriedly to the bluff and hastily examined it,
+selecting the points at which it was easiest of ascent. With a few
+quietly given orders, he mounted to the top of the rock, and in half a
+minute more his men, crouching down to shield themselves from the fire,
+were in line of battle by his side.
+
+"I'm going to see that," said Tom, seizing his rifle and hurrying to the
+line of troops. "It's better than a game of chess."
+
+By this time, under the lieutenant's calmly uttered instructions--for
+there seemed to be no suggestion of excitement in his voice or
+manner--two small squads had been thrown forward from the right and left
+of the line, and were rapidly creeping up the mountain, with the evident
+purpose of getting to the rear of the moonshiners. Meantime the
+lieutenant stood up with his glass to his eyes, minutely observing the
+progress of his flanking parties. By his orders his men all lay down,
+taking advantage of every rock and inequality of the ground for
+protection, and delivering a steady fire all the time.
+
+Presently the lieutenant lowered his glass and turning, saw little Tom
+standing erect by his side.
+
+"This will never do, my boy!" he exclaimed. "Lie down quick or one of
+those mountaineers will pick you off with his rifle."
+
+[Illustration: "LIE DOWN; QUICK!"]
+
+"I can stand up as long as you can, Lieutenant," answered Tom, "even if
+I am not a soldier."
+
+"But it is my duty to stand just now," said the lieutenant. "I must
+direct this operation and strike from here the moment my flanking
+parties reach proper positions."
+
+"And it is my pleasure to stand," answered Tom, "to see how you do it."
+
+The lieutenant again brought his glass to his eyes. Then he lowered it
+and looked earnestly at Tom, who still stood erect by his side, paying
+no heed to the rain of bullets about him.
+
+"Why aren't you at West Point?" he asked. "You're the sort we want in
+the army."
+
+Then, without waiting for an answer, the lieutenant again looked through
+his glass and seeing that his flanking parties had gained the positions
+desired in rear of the mountaineers, he ordered the whole line to
+advance as rapidly as possible. At the same time the flanking parties
+closed in upon the rear of the mountaineers, and five minutes later the
+action ended in the surrender of all the moonshiners.
+
+Tom saw it all, but when it was over he discovered a pain in his left
+ear, and, feeling, found that a small-bore bullet had passed through
+what he called the flap of it, boring a hole as round as if it had been
+punched with a railroad conductor's instrument.
+
+The captured mountaineers were brought at once to Camp Venture. Two of
+them were dead and three severely wounded. To these last and to two of
+the lieutenant's men who had also received bullets in their bodies, the
+Doctor ministered assiduously. The unwounded mountaineers were placed in
+a hastily constructed "guard house," built just under the bluff.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+_A Puzzling Situation_
+
+
+No sooner was the action over and the wounded men attended to than the
+lieutenant again talked with the revenue officer. That person was more
+halting and irresolute than ever. He had hidden, in a crouching position
+behind the barrier during the fight, and Jack, seeing him thus screened,
+had said to him:
+
+"Perhaps you now begin to understand why we needed our protective work;"
+but the man made no answer. The lieutenant said to him after the mélee:
+
+"Now that I have two of my own men and three of the mountaineers
+severely wounded, I cannot march down the mountain. I shall stay here
+and answer any duty call you may make upon me. But I must have food for
+my men and for your prisoners. Are you going to provide it or are you
+not?"
+
+The man who was not only irresolute but an arrant coward as well,
+hesitated. He pleaded for "time to think."
+
+"But while you are thinking," answered the soldier, "we'll all starve.
+Are you ready to send one of your men down the mountain under escort or
+are you not? Yes or no, and I'll act accordingly."
+
+"Well, you see, this fuss will bring all the moonshiners in the
+mountains down upon us," answered the man, "and really, Lieutenant, I
+don't think it would be prudent just now, to weaken your force by
+detaching any of your men. We might all be butchered here at any
+moment."
+
+The military officer was exasperated almost beyond endurance by the
+manifest cowardice and obstinacy of the revenue agent. He was on the
+point of breaking out into denunciation, but he restrained himself and
+called to a sentinel instead. When the sentinel came he said to him:
+
+"Tell Sergeant Malby to report to me," and when the sergeant touched his
+hat and stood "at attention," the lieutenant said:
+
+"Go at once and make out a requisition for one month's supplies for all
+the troops and all the prisoners, and for pack mules enough to bring the
+stuff up the mountain. Order Corporal Jenkins to report to me with a
+detail of four men, equipped for active work, immediately."
+
+Then borrowing writing materials from the boys, he wrote a hurried note
+to his commandant below, relating the events that had occurred and
+setting forth the circumstances in which he was placed. By the time that
+this was done, the sergeant returned with the requisition ready for
+signature, and the corporal reported with his squad. With a few hurried
+instructions to the corporal, the lieutenant sent him down the mountain,
+specially charging him to hurry both going and coming. "You see we've
+got all these prisoners to feed--seven of them, not counting the
+wounded--as well as ourselves. We'll all be starving in another
+twenty-four hours. So make all haste."
+
+Then the lieutenant sought out the boys, who had gone to work at their
+chopping--all of them except the Doctor, who was still busy over the
+wounded men,--for Ed was now well enough to do a little work each day,
+under orders to avoid severe strains and heavy lifting.
+
+When the officer sought out Jack and asked him for a conference, Jack
+called the other boys about him, explaining:
+
+"Our camp is sort of a republic, Lieutenant, in which all have an equal
+voice, while each does the thing that he can do better than anybody else
+can. So with your permission I will call all the boys together for our
+talk."
+
+The lieutenant assented and all sat down on the logs that were lying
+about.
+
+"We're in a rather awkward position," said the military man. "That
+revenue agent asked our commandant for some soldiers to protect him in
+raiding a still up here. He gave us the impression that it would take
+one day to come up here and do the work, and one day for our return. So
+I was ordered to take half a company, with three days' cooked rations,
+and accompany the revenue officers. They knew just where your camp was,
+and they thought they knew that it was the still they wanted.
+
+"Now the irresolute--Well never mind that. The revenue agent insists
+upon staying in the mountains for an indefinite time, and now that two
+of my men and three of our prisoners are severely wounded and in the
+hands of your good young Doctor, I am not reluctant to stay. But we must
+have food, and that sublimated idiot has provided none and is afraid
+even to send after any. So I have myself sent a squad down the mountain
+with a requisition. They will return just as quickly as possible, but I
+don't see how it will be possible for them to get back under two, or
+more--probably three days. So I want to ask you to lend us some
+provisions, which I will return the moment the caravan gets here."
+
+"But we have no provisions!" said Jack, in consternation. "Our total
+supply consists of less than two bags of meal and perhaps half a dozen
+squirrels and rabbits. That wouldn't go far among so many."
+
+"I'll tell you what," broke in Tom. "If the lieutenant will lend me two
+men to help carry, I'll go foraging and see what I can bring in in the
+way of game."
+
+Jack explained to the military man that Tom had been from the first the
+camp's reliance for meat supplies, and that incidentally he had secured
+all the meal that was then in camp.
+
+"Excellent!" exclaimed the lieutenant. "We have more bread than anything
+else, and we needn't borrow any of your meal. But if your brother--by
+the way, it was you who stood by me in the fight out there this morning,
+wasn't it? Are you much hurt?"
+
+"Oh, no," answered Tom. "One of those moonshiners thought I ought to
+wear earrings, and so he pierced my left ear with a bullet, that's all,"
+said Tom, whose ear the Doctor had carefully disinfected and bandaged.
+
+"But why aren't you at West Point?" again asked the officer. "I never
+saw a cooler hand or a boy that the army so clearly needed. Why aren't
+you at West Point?"
+
+"Because I can't get an appointment," said Tom.
+
+"Why can't you get an appointment?"
+
+"Because I have no political influence. You see my father, while he
+lived, was very active in politics, and he belonged to a party just the
+opposite of the one our present Congressman belongs to."
+
+"Would you like to go?" asked the lieutenant.
+
+"Very much, indeed," answered Tom. "I want just the sort of education
+they give there."
+
+"Could you stand the entrance examinations--say a year hence?"
+
+"Yes. I could stand them now. I went all over that ground when I first
+tried to get an appointment."
+
+"Well now," broke in Jack, "this isn't getting meat. Tom, go hunting
+immediately, and keep on going hunting till the famine in this camp is
+over. I haven't a doubt the lieutenant will lend you the men you want to
+help carry game."
+
+"Certainly!" answered the lieutenant, beckoning to a sentinel to come to
+him.
+
+"Tell Sergeant Malby to send me two strong men instantly."
+
+Tom took two guns with him, requiring one of the soldiers to carry the
+rifle, while he carried the shot gun, double loaded, for big or little
+game. It was now about noon, and the hunting party did not return till
+after dark. When they did they brought with them as the spoil of our
+young Nimrod's guns, a half grown bear, a deer weighing perhaps a
+hundred and fifty pounds, three wild turkeys and a big string of hares
+and squirrels. Besides these Tom was laboriously dragging by a string a
+big wild boar.
+
+"That boar's a disputed bird," he said. "This soldier, Johnson, and I
+fired at him at the same instant. He set out to rip Johnson open with
+his tusks, like a vest with no buttons on it, and Johnson fired to
+protect himself. At the same moment I fired a charge of buckshot into
+the beast. Johnson's bullet struck him in the neck, just about where I
+fondly imagine the jugular vein or something else of that sort to be,
+while my nine buckshot striking him just behind the left fore leg, went
+through him about where his heart ought to be if it's in the right
+place. Anyhow the animal gave up the ghost in an astonishing hurry, and
+possibly the Doctor might find out, by a post mortem examination, which
+shot killed him. But in my humble opinion the time necessary for that
+can be better spent in preparing the gentleman for the table. I move
+that we roast him whole and invite the soldiers to dine with us! He's
+big enough to go round."
+
+It did not take long to carry that motion or to begin carrying it into
+effect. The lieutenant ordered the company cook to assist Ed in
+preparing the wild boar and roasting him. Ed carefully saved the
+"giblets" for future use, a proceeding which gave the company cook a
+totally new economic suggestion in the use of animals killed for food.
+Then the two required the other soldiers to build a great fire
+out-of-doors, and to erect a pole frame work near it, from which they
+hung the boar to roast. Ed gave the cook still another good suggestion
+by thrusting a dripping pan under the hog and catching all he could of
+the fat that fell from the animal.
+
+"What do you do that for?" asked the company cook.
+
+"For two reasons," answered Ed. "First, because I want all this fat to
+cook with and to use as butter hereafter. You've no idea how far it goes
+when people are on short rations. Secondly, because if all this fat fell
+upon these glowing coals it would blaze up and our hog would be scorched
+and burned. You are a company cook and I never was anything of the sort.
+But I honestly believe I could teach you some things about cooking."
+
+"Of course you could," said the soldier. "And perhaps I could teach you
+some also. I could show you how to bake bread on a barrel head, or even
+on a ramrod, only we don't have ramrods since these new-fangled
+breech-loading guns came into use."
+
+Two or three hours later, at ten o'clock, the big porker was roasted "to
+a turn," and Jack, recognizing the necessity of maintaining military
+distinctions in all that related to association in military life,
+invited the lieutenant to take the night dinner with him and his
+companions inside the house, leaving the soldiers to dine out of doors,
+in accordance with their custom. So Jack asked Ed to cut off a ham and
+some other choice parts of the wild boar and send them into the hut.
+There the boys and the lieutenant dined together, with the three revenue
+officers for additional guests.
+
+The lieutenant had no very kindly feelings for the chief revenue
+officer, because he had discovered him to be a coward, and a brave man
+never likes to touch elbows with a coward, at dinner or any where else.
+On the other hand the chief revenue officer had no very kindly feelings
+for the lieutenant, because he knew that the lieutenant had found him
+out for the coward and incapable that he was, and it is not in human
+nature for any man to feel kindly toward another who has found him out
+to that extent.
+
+Nevertheless the dinner passed off pleasantly enough until the
+lieutenant, at its end, asked of the revenue agent:
+
+"Are you going to raid any stills to-night?"
+
+"No!" angrily answered the officer. "Why do you keep on asking me that
+question?"
+
+"Only that I may make my dispositions accordingly," calmly answered the
+lieutenant. "You forget that I am here in an entirely subordinate
+capacity. I am under no orders to raid stills. I am here only to support
+you in any raids you may make. You represent the civil arm, I the
+military, and the military arm is always subordinate to the civil. It is
+not for me to suggest that you might successfully raid half a dozen
+stills to-night. It is my duty simply to offer my services and those of
+my men in aid of any plans you may have formed. And, as it is my duty to
+consult the comfort of my men, so far as that is possible, I naturally
+ask whether you want them on marching duty to-night or whether I may
+order them to make themselves as comfortable as they can in bivouac. As
+I now understand that you do not contemplate any active operations
+to-night, I will make my dispositions accordingly. Sentinel!"
+
+This last was a summons to the soldier who always stands guard just
+outside the door of any house or tent in which a commanding officer may
+be. The sentinel entered immediately and saluted.
+
+"Call the corporal of the guard," commanded the lieutenant, "and bid
+him report to me for instructions."
+
+In half a minute the corporal came. The only instructions he received
+were these:
+
+"Bid the sergeant report to me here." Thus in military life is
+everything done "decently and in order." The sentinel could not have
+summoned the sergeant without quitting his post; but he could summon the
+corporal by a simple guard call, and the corporal could go to the
+sergeant and summon him to the lieutenant's presence. When he appeared
+and deferentially saluted, the lieutenant said to him:
+
+"We shall remain where we are till further orders. Dispose the men in
+the best way you can to make them comfortable and let them build
+camp-fires. Throw out six pickets up the mountain on the south, one
+below here on the north, one on the east and one on the west. Send the
+men on the south as far up the mountain as where the enemy was
+encountered this morning. Then charge the sentries who are guarding our
+prisoners to be on the alert and serve as camp guards as well. They are
+to listen for shots from any of the pickets and report to me as soon as
+one is heard from any direction. I shall sleep under the bluff, near the
+spring. The watchword is 'alert;' the countersign 'attention.'"
+
+"But, lieutenant," said Jack, when the sergeant had taken his leave,
+"why will you not accept our hospitality? Why will you not sleep here in
+our house? We have five wounded men here, it is true, but there is one
+spare bunk and you are more than welcome to it."
+
+"I am very grateful, I am sure," said the lieutenant, "but it is the
+rule of my life that whenever I am in command and my men have to sleep
+in the open, I also sleep in the open. I have lived up to that rule even
+in a blizzard on the plains. Besides, this--well, this revenue
+officer--has done just enough to provoke the moonshiners and their
+friends, and not half enough to intimidate them. That is why I ordered
+our pickets thrown so far out to-night. There is a half sunken road
+running across the ridge up there. They had it for a breastwork this
+morning. I mean to have it next time. But what I was going to say is
+this: A man sleeping in a house sleeps soundly; a man sleeping in the
+open sleeps very lightly. As it is my purpose to visit all my pickets at
+least three times to-night, I want to sleep very lightly; so with all
+thanks for your courteous hospitality, I will sleep out under the bluff
+to-night, and now I must say good night."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+_A Point of Honor_
+
+
+There was no disturbance that night, and the next morning Tom took his
+two soldiers and went hunting again. Tom had a positive genius for
+getting game. This time he brought back no deer, no wild boar, and no
+half grown bear; but he and his soldiers were loaded down with turkeys,
+squirrels and hares. There was meat enough in the camp now to last for a
+day or two, but the bread supply was nearly exhausted, inasmuch as the
+boys had divided their meal with the soldiers.
+
+In this situation the lieutenant went to Tom and engaged him in
+conversation.
+
+"Now, I know," he said, "that there are many stills around here. Every
+one of them has a supply of ground up grain, and I want some of it. You
+have hunted all over the mountains, and of course you know where some at
+least of the stills are."
+
+"Yes, I know where several of them are," answered Tom.
+
+"Well, I propose to raid some of them, to get breadstuffs. Will you go
+with my men and point out the stills?"
+
+"No!" answered Tom, with emphasis on the monosyllable.
+
+"But why not?" asked the lieutenant. "Surely you are not afraid."
+
+"Not the least bit," answered Tom. "But I've entered into an honorable
+agreement with the moonshiners and I mean to keep it. I've assured them
+that we boys were not here to spy them out and betray them, and I've
+pledged them my honor that if they let us alone we would let them alone.
+You see this illicit distilling is none of my business, or yours either,
+Lieutenant. It's the business of the revenue officers. Now under our
+honorable agreement these people, who began by ordering us off the
+mountain and followed that up by shooting at us for not going, have let
+us alone for many weeks past, and I am going to keep my promise to let
+them alone in return."
+
+"But they haven't let you alone," answered the lieutenant. "Their
+assault upon the camp--"
+
+"Pardon me," answered Tom. "That was not an assault upon us, but upon
+the revenue officers and their military support. I do not think it
+absolves me from my promise. Besides that, I doubt if you have any right
+to raid stills except under orders of the revenue officers, and they
+are too badly frightened to undertake anything of the kind. You have no
+warrants. Your sole duty and right and privilege is to go with these
+revenue officers and protect them in the execution of their duty."
+
+"That is certainly true," answered the lieutenant after a moment's pause
+for consideration. "I hadn't thought of it in that way."
+
+"And still further," said Tom, "it is very certain that there isn't an
+illicit still now running on this mountain. The moment you fellows
+appeared every still was ripped off its furnace and buried somewhere,
+every mash tub was emptied and sent bowling down the mountain, and every
+scrap of evidence that there had ever been an illicit still there was
+completely destroyed. So, even if you find the buildings in which the
+business was formerly carried on, what right will you have to seize upon
+the meal or anything else you may find there? You might as well raid a
+mill and seize all that you find in it."
+
+"But you know, Tom, and I know, that these people are lawlessly engaged
+in defrauding the revenue."
+
+"Of course," said Tom. "But that doesn't justify you in violating the
+law and robbing them of their meal. If you could catch them in
+defrauding the revenue you might perhaps have a right to confiscate
+their materials, as the law prescribes, though as you're not a revenue
+officer I doubt that. Just now you can't possibly catch them doing
+anything of the kind. Understand me, Lieutenant, I am as much devoted as
+you are to law and order. I know these men to be thieves and upon
+occasion murderers. But neither of us has a right to convict them
+without proof of their guilt."
+
+Tom had never made so long a speech in all his life or one inspired by
+so much of earnestness.
+
+The lieutenant sat silent for a while, thinking the matter over.
+Presently he arose, took Tom's hand and said:
+
+"I believe you are right, Tom. At any rate you are right on the point of
+honor that controls your own course in this matter. We are taught at
+West Point that whenever there is the least or the greatest doubt as to
+a point of honor, it is an honorable man's duty to give honor the
+benefit of the doubt. We'll make no raids except under the warrants of
+the revenue officers. We'll live on meat till the caravan comes up the
+mountain."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+_Corporal Jenkins's March_
+
+
+But the caravan did not come. A thaw had set in, reinforced by a rain,
+and all the mountain streams were torrents again--utterly impassable.
+
+When Tom explained the case the lieutenant said:
+
+"Nevertheless Corporal Jenkins will get here with the supplies. He may
+be much longer in coming than we hoped for, but he will come. He is a
+man of resource and he never gives up."
+
+In the meantime Corporal Jenkins was in a very bad way half way up the
+mountain side. He had passed one torrent while yet it was only half
+full, and now it was so full that he could not even retreat with his
+mule caravan. In front was another torrent that it would have been sheer
+insanity to attempt to cross--a stream fifty feet wide, rushing down
+through a gorge with a violence that carried great stones with it, some
+of them weighing many tons, while the water was almost completely filled
+with a tangled mass of whirling trees that had been torn up by the
+roots by the on rush of the waters.
+
+"We'll have to go back, Corporal," suggested one of the men.
+
+"We can't go back," he replied. "That last stream we crossed is as full
+as this one now. Besides we must get these supplies to camp."
+
+"But how?"
+
+"I don't know how! Shut up and let me think the thing out."
+
+After his thinking the corporal ordered the caravan to leave the trail
+and work its way up the mountain in the space between the two streams.
+It was a difficult and sometimes a perilous ascent. There were cliffs in
+the way around and over which a passage was partly found and partly
+forced by great labor. At some places the pathway was so steep that no
+mule could carry his load up it. Here the corporal divided the loads and
+led the mules up with only one-fourth or one-fifth of the burden upon
+each. Then unloading that he took the animals back again and placed
+another portion of their load upon their backs, repeating the journey as
+often as might be necessary. As he had twenty mules in his pack train it
+sometimes took half a day to get over thirty or forty yards of distance
+in this tedious and toilsome fashion. But at any rate there was
+progress made.
+
+Often, too, there were great detours to be made in order to get around
+obstacles that could not be overcome. Thus day after day was consumed in
+the tedious climb up the mountain. The corporal knew how anxiously his
+commanding officer was awaiting his coming, but he could not hurry it
+more than he was already doing.
+
+"What's your plan, Corporal?" asked one of the men when a bivouac was
+made one evening.
+
+"Simple enough," answered the corporal. "When you've served in the
+mountains as long as I have, you'll know that every mountain torrent has
+a beginning somewhere up towards the top of the mountain. I'm simply
+following this one up to find its head waters and go around them."
+
+The raging stream had grown much smaller now, as the caravan neared its
+place of beginning, and the next morning the corporal found a place at
+which he thought it safe to attempt a crossing. It was perilous work,
+but after an hour or two of struggle all the mules and all the men were
+got safely to the farther side.
+
+The corporal knew that he was much higher up the mountain than the site
+of Camp Venture. But it was no part of his plan to descend until he had
+passed the head waters of all other streams and reached a point directly
+south of the camp and above it. So he proceeded westward around the
+mountain.
+
+Without knowing what the trusty corporal's plans or proceedings would
+be, the lieutenant felt that he was likely to have difficulty in
+locating the camp. So he ordered a brush fire kept burning night and
+day, so that the smoke of it by day and the light of it by night might
+be seen from a great distance.
+
+Finally, exactly ten days from the time of the corporal's departure, his
+caravan was seen slowly and toilsomely descending the mountain toward
+the camp.
+
+A great shout of gladness went up from all the men, who had tasted
+nothing but meat for a week past, and Tom, seizing his rifle started up
+the hill at a rapid pace to show the corporal the easiest way down the
+steep mountain side.
+
+When the corporal reached camp the lieutenant complimented him highly
+upon his skill and success in overcoming difficulties, and declared his
+purpose to make a commendatory report of his conduct of the expedition.
+
+"But how did you happen to come to us from up the mountain instead of
+from down the mountain?" asked the lieutenant, while eagerly devouring
+an ash cake.
+
+"Why," said the corporal, "when I found my road up the mountain blocked
+by an impassable torrent, I remembered some of my old soldier
+experiences and I turned them around. I remembered that when we camp on
+hills and set out in search of water the rule is to keep always going
+down hill, because that's the way water runs. If you keep on doing that
+you'll come to water after awhile. So, turning that around, I said to
+myself, 'all this water comes from up the mountain. The only way to get
+past it is to go clear up to where it comes from.' That's what I did,
+and then I marched straight around the high mountain till I saw your
+brush fire last night about midnight. I wanted to come right on, but
+both the men and the mules were exhausted by a terrific day's work and
+besides it was too dark to see the difficult way; so I bivouacked for
+the night and started down the hill between daylight and sunrise. There,
+Lieutenant, that's the whole story, and it isn't much of a story, at
+that."
+
+"Well, I don't know," said the lieutenant, meditatively. "It's enough of
+a story at any rate to make a sergeant out of Corporal Jenkins, if my
+recommendations carry any weight at headquarters. Corporal, you have
+conducted this affair in a masterly manner, with zeal, skill and
+discretion. My report will mention these facts."
+
+"Thank you, Lieutenant," was all that the soldier could say. But it was
+quite enough.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+_The Lieutenant's Wrath_
+
+
+The lieutenant's faith in Tom's sportsmanship was so great that in
+making his requisition for thirty days' rations for his men and his
+prisoners he had asked to have all the meat rations, except a dozen
+sides of bacon, commuted into rations of flour, meal, maccaroni, rice,
+potatoes and other starchy foods. His first care, after the mules were
+unloaded, was to replenish the leader of Camp Venture with such
+provisions as these in return for the drafts he had been compelled to
+make upon their supplies. "And besides," he said, "Camp Venture is just
+now my hospital, with five wounded men in it, to every one of whom ten
+days' rations are overdue."
+
+Thus at last the boys were abundantly supplied with starchy food and for
+the rest Tom's gun never failed to provide a sufficient supply of meat.
+
+Now that five of the six bunks in Camp Venture were occupied by wounded
+men, the boys made for themselves the best beds they could, on the
+earthen floor. At first it was proposed that the Doctor should occupy
+the one bunk not devoted to the use of a wounded man, but the Doctor
+dismissed the suggestion with scorn. Next it was suggested that Ed
+should still consider himself an invalid and accept the hospitality of
+the bunk.
+
+"But I'm no longer an invalid," answered Ed, almost angrily. "I'm well
+enough now to chop down trees, and take cold baths. A pretty sort of
+sick fellow I am!"
+
+Finally it was agreed that the several boys should occupy the bunk in
+succession, one each night, and lots were drawn for the order in which
+they should occupy it. As the soldiers now kept guard it was no longer
+necessary for the boys to keep a sentinel awake.
+
+The lieutenant's second care after provisioning the boys, was to make
+another appeal to the revenue officer, or rather to place that person
+again in his rightful position of responsibility.
+
+"I have provisioned my force," he said. "Are you contemplating any
+further operations in the mountains? If so I shall be glad to place
+myself and my men at your disposal. We can march at a moment's notice."
+
+"I don't know," said the officer, "whether further operations just now
+would yield results commensurate with the risk. What do you think,
+Lieutenant?"
+
+"Oh, it is not my business to think," answered the military man, "at
+least not on questions of that kind. I have been ordered up here to give
+military support to any operations that you may undertake against the
+illicit distillers. Beyond giving such military support I have no
+functions whatever."
+
+"But what do you think, Lieutenant?"
+
+"I tell you I am not thinking. I am simply waiting for orders."
+
+"But surely you have some opinion. Won't you give me the benefit of it?"
+
+"Yes," answered the lieutenant. "I have an opinion--several of them, in
+fact--and as you insist, I will give you the benefit of them. It is my
+opinion that you have conducted your affairs like an imbecile. You were
+sent up here to break up the illicit stills and you haven't found one of
+them yet and never will. You found this camp of wood chopping boys and
+made me capture it for you. Then the moonshiners took the offensive,
+while you were pottering around here trying to find a still where a mere
+glance would have convinced an intelligent man that there was none. Very
+well, I captured the moonshiners while you were hiding behind the Camp
+Venture barricade. They are our prisoners, no thanks to you. I think
+now, as I told you at the time, that then, if ever, was your time to
+search out the stills and capture them. You would not do it, and it is
+my conviction that by this time every still in the mountain is so
+securely hidden that a fine tooth comb couldn't find one of them or any
+tangible evidence that one of them was ever in existence. You've got the
+materials for a report, of course,--a report showing so many prisoners
+captured--but I fancy you'll find it difficult to show either that _you_
+captured them or that you had any authority to capture them. I captured
+them and I had a right to do so, because they attacked a body of regular
+troops engaged in doing their duty. In other words, they levied war upon
+the United States and were caught in the act. The charge of treason
+cannot be sustained against them, probably; if not they are guilty of
+rioting, assault and battery and all that sort of thing. But what charge
+can _you_ bring against them? You may say that they are moonshiners, but
+you can't offer a particle of proof of that, simply because you would
+not follow up this affair by hunting out the stills. There, you have a
+few of my leading 'opinions,' and as you don't seem to relish them,
+perhaps I needn't give you any more."
+
+The revenue agent was dejected beyond measure. For a time he sat still
+with a flushed and angry face. Then, as he realized the situation in
+which he had placed himself by his foolishness and indecision, he turned
+pale. Finally he appealed again to the lieutenant:
+
+"Won't you advise me what to do now at any rate?" he asked.
+
+"I'll advise you as to nothing. When the time to act came I volunteered
+some advice and you rejected it. I now simply notify you that my force
+will be held ready to march at a moment's warning to any point where you
+may feel the need of military support in the discharge of your duty."
+
+"But, Lieutenant--"
+
+"I tell you I have said all I am going to say," broke in the military
+man, angered quite as much by the man's imbecility as by his obvious
+cowardice. "I await any requisition you may make upon me for military
+support, and I will instantly respond to every such requisition. As to
+advice, I have none to offer. When we go back down the mountain, you
+doubtless will make your report. I will make mine also. Good night,
+sir."
+
+And with that the lieutenant strode away to his camp fire out under the
+bluff, gave his orders for the night and went to sleep with a clear
+conscience.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+_A Homing Prospect_
+
+
+The revenue officers and the soldiers remained at Camp Venture, the
+Doctor caring for the wounded men who were rapidly recovering as the
+days went by. Meantime the boys were nearing the end of their winter's
+work and were looking forward rather eagerly to a home-going in the near
+future. Tom continued to hunt for game, and his diligence in that
+direction provided a sufficient supply of meat, while the lieutenant's
+stores furnished enough bread stuffs for all.
+
+The chief revenue officer announced his purpose to take his party down
+the mountain as soon as the streams should be passable, and Jack
+announced his intention of taking his party down as soon as they should
+have finished the work they had laid out for themselves.
+
+"I shan't wait for the streams to get out of the way," he said. "We'll
+go down the mountain not by the road, but over the cliffs as Tom did
+that night we were so scared about him. There are no streams to cross
+there. That's perfectly feasible, isn't it, Tom?"
+
+"Oh, yes," answered Tom, "particularly as we shall have the Doctor along
+to patch up any broken legs or arms that we may get in dropping down
+over precipices."
+
+"Is there serious danger of that?" asked Jim.
+
+"Yes, if you are careless; no, if you are careful," answered Tom. "In
+fact, my experience teaches me that that's usually the case. The man who
+doesn't look out for himself usually meets with what he calls
+'accidents' and blames Luck, or Fortune or Providence with mishaps which
+a little intelligent care on his own part would have averted. In fact I
+don't believe there is any such thing as accident, strictly speaking."
+
+"How about that perforated ear of yours, Tom?" asked Ed.
+
+"Oh, that illustrates my point. That wasn't an accident at all. I might
+have stayed here in the house that morning, and I'd have been perfectly
+safe. You see, I had no business out there on the line. The work to be
+done there belonged exclusively to the soldiers. But, with my curiosity
+to see how such things were managed I went out there and then like a
+young idiot I stood up by the lieutenant, when all the soldiers were
+lying down. If I hadn't done that I wouldn't have got my ear pierced.
+No, there's no such thing as accident in a world that is governed by
+law."
+
+"But Tom," asked Jim Chenowith, "suppose you are on a railroad train and
+it runs off the track and you are considerably done up. Isn't that an
+accident?"
+
+"No. The train would never have run off the track if everybody had done
+his duty. But somebody laid the rails carelessly, or some engineer
+failed to discover that a stone was loose on the cliff above and about
+to drop down on the track, or somebody else failed somewhere; otherwise
+the train would never have run off the track. I tell you I don't believe
+there is any such thing as accident, in the strict sense of the word.
+This world is governed by law. Causes produce their effects as certainly
+as the multiplication table gives its results. The trouble is we don't
+take enough care of the causes."
+
+"But sometimes we don't know enough to do that," said Jack.
+
+"Well, ignorance is the cause in that case. I don't say that one is
+always to blame for the evils that befall him. I only say that they
+don't befall him by 'accident,' and that with due care we can avoid most
+of them. That is particularly true in letting yourself down over a
+precipice by holding on to bushes. Some bushes hold on tenaciously and
+some give way with the smallest pull. The thing to do is never to let go
+of the secure one till you have tried the next one and satisfied
+yourself of its stability--or better still, never to trust yourself to
+one bush except while making an instantaneous change, but hold by two
+always. But I say, Jack, how near are we to the end of our job?"
+
+"Well," said Jack, taking out his memorandum book and studying the
+entries in it, "we have only about sixty more ties to send down. We have
+already sent a great deal more cord wood than we agreed to, but as to
+that the railroad people said 'the more the better,' and so with bridge
+timbers. We did not agree to furnish any particular number of them and I
+fancy the railroad people didn't expect us to send more than two or
+three, while in fact we have sent down twenty-nine and have six more
+nearly ready to send. My plan is to cut the remaining ties which we are
+permitted to furnish under our contract, send down the bridge timbers
+that we have ready or nearly so, cut up all the remains of the felled
+timber into cord wood and send that down, and then go down ourselves.
+Even if the trail were open, which it isn't likely to be for some weeks
+to come, I should favor going down over the cliffs instead, because that
+will land us near where we want to be, while if we went down by the
+trail we should have to walk fifteen miles to get there."
+
+The camp was early astir next morning, for now that the thought of going
+home had come to them, the boys were eager to hasten the time for it.
+
+"By working hard," said Jack, "we can turn out ten or twelve ties a day,
+or under favorable conditions twenty. At three o'clock to-day we'll
+begin working the chutes and as I reckon it we'll be ready to start down
+a little before the first of April, and that was the date set. The
+weather is fine now and growing finer every day."
+
+"Yes," answered Harry, "and the days are growing long enough to enable
+us to do full days' work."
+
+Under the new inspiration the axes were briskly used that day until
+three o'clock. Then all hands were called to help roll the big bridge
+timbers into place and send them down the mountain. Four of them were
+sent off, the others not being quite ready yet. But the handling of
+these big timbers was slow work and so night fell before any of the ties
+or cordwood could be sent down the chute. There were twenty-one ties
+ready and about thirty cords of wood. But these must wait until three
+o'clock the next day, and by that time the number of ties and the
+quantity of cord wood would be considerably increased.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+_In the Hands of the Enemy_
+
+
+Weary as they were with their over-energetic day's work, the boys went
+to bed early that night--all of them but Tom. That tireless Nimrod had
+found a bear's den the day before and was minded to go out and watch for
+the bear that inhabited it. "Your bear is a night prowler," he said,
+"and if I can catch this one going out of his den or into it to-night,
+I'll bring home a supply of meat. We're a trifle short of that commodity
+just now."
+
+Several of the boys wanted to go with Tom, and the lieutenant, who had
+dined with them that evening, wanted to send two soldiers as his
+assistants.
+
+"No," said Tom, "I don't want anybody with me. We'd inevitably talk, and
+then we'd never see a bear. I'll go alone."
+
+With that he took his rifle and went out into the darkness, while the
+rest of the boys went to bed and to sleep.
+
+As he neared the bear den which he had discovered during the day and
+identified by tracks, Tom moved very cautiously, making no noise, and,
+secreting himself between two rock masses, lay down to await
+developments.
+
+Hour after hour passed, and there were none. Still Tom maintained an
+attitude of alert attention.
+
+Presently a great light appeared over a spur of the mountain, in the
+direction of Camp Venture.
+
+"There's something the matter over there," said Tom to himself, "but
+with all those soldiers there they don't need me half as much as they
+need a bear."
+
+Just at that moment--it was about three o'clock in the morning--Tom
+heard a crackling of sticks near at hand, and a moment later a great
+black bear came waddling and lumbering along on his way to the den.
+
+With that instinct of humorous perception which was strong in Tom, he
+could not help likening the belated beast to a convivial gentleman
+returning from his club in the small hours.
+
+Then it occurred to him that convivial gentlemen under such
+circumstances are sometimes "held up" at their own door ways, a fact
+which still further heightened the resemblance between the two cases. It
+next occurred to Tom that should his shot prove ineffective or
+imperfectly effective, the bear might get the better of him, as
+convivial gentlemen sometimes do with footpads. For, from the point at
+which Tom was lying, there was no avenue of escape except directly in
+the path of the bear, and a wounded bear is about as ugly an enemy to
+encounter as it is possible to find anywhere.
+
+"Moral:" said Tom to himself, "Don't shoot till you've got a bead on a
+vital point. Fortunately this rifle has an 'initial velocity' as they
+call it, which will send a bullet through the thickest skull that any
+animal in the world wears as a breastwork to his brains."
+
+Of course Tom would have preferred to shoot at the animal's heart, but
+there was no chance to do that, for at that moment the great beast
+discovered his huntsman and presented his full front to him at a
+distance of less than ten feet. Another second and the bear would make
+mince meat of the boy. So Tom taking a hasty aim fired at the animal's
+forehead, and the bullet did its work so well that the beast fell
+instantly dead.
+
+After waiting for a minute or so to see if any scratching capacity
+remained in his game, Tom went to the bear and after inspecting it
+muttered: "I've shot Ursa Major himself," for the bear was of unusual
+bulk, greatly the largest Tom had ever seen. "I wonder what the stars
+will look like now that the constellation of the Great Bear is done
+for."
+
+The beast was much too heavy for Tom to carry or even drag to the camp.
+So he instantly set out in search of assistance. His plan was to go to
+the camp and secure three or four soldiers to assist him in transporting
+his game. But he had not gone far on his campward journey before
+he was "held up" by three mountaineers. Fortunately one of the
+party--apparently its leader--was his own particular mountaineer, the
+one whom he had set free and who had so generously repaid his favor with
+gifts of corn and rye meal.
+
+"Now set down, little Tom," said the man; "we wants a little talk with
+you."
+
+"All right," said Tom, "I'm ready."
+
+"Well you see, you done tole me an' I done tole the other folks as how
+you boys had nothin' whatsomever to do with the revenue officers or the
+soldiers."
+
+"That's all right," said Tom. "We haven't had anything to do with them,
+we haven't spied upon you fellows or molested you in any way."
+
+"But there's a big gang o' soldiers an' revenue officers in your camp."
+
+"Yes, I know that," said Tom. "But are we talking fair and square as we
+did before?"
+
+"Yes, fa'r an' squar'," answered the man.
+
+"Very well then, I'll tell you about this matter. We boys don't like
+your illegal occupation up here in the mountains, but it is none of our
+business. We have never spied out your stills and certainly we have
+given no information to the revenue officers."
+
+"What did they come up here for then?" asked one of the mountaineer's
+companions.
+
+"They came up to capture us. They had seen the lights of Camp Venture
+and had located us. So they thought they had a still sure, and they came
+up here to capture it. The first thing they did was to surround us and
+fire at us in the dark. I explained matters to them and they searched
+our camp all over. Then they decided to camp there till they could get
+some provisions from down below, and while they were waiting, they asked
+me to tell them where the stills were so that they might raid them for
+meal. I knew where some stills were of course, for I've seen a lot since
+I came up here, but I refused to tell them."
+
+"Is that honest Injun, Tom?"
+
+"Yes," answered the boy. "I never tell lies. But you must understand me
+clearly. I haven't the smallest respect for you moonshiners or for your
+business. Under ordinary circumstances I should not hesitate to tell the
+revenue officers where a still was if I happened to know. But I made a
+bargain with you, Bill Jones. I told you truly that we had come up here
+to cut railroad ties and not to interfere with you or your criminal
+business. I told you that if you'd let us alone we'd let you alone. We
+could have sent a message down the mountain by our chute any day which
+would have brought the soldiers and the revenue people up at once but we
+didn't. I had promised you and I have kept my promise."
+
+"Yes," answered Bill Jones, "an' you let me off in a state prison case,
+jest in time to save my little gal from starvin' to death! I'll never
+forgit it, an' I tell you fellers you mustn't hurt little Tom. Ef you
+do, I'll stand on his side an' they'll be some ugly work done before
+you're through with it."
+
+"Well," said one of the men, "he tells a mighty nice, slick story like,
+an' maybe it's true. But they's jest one question I'd like to ask him
+afore we close the conversation like."
+
+"Ask me any question you please," said Tom, "and I'll answer it truly. I
+have nothing to conceal, and I never tell lies."
+
+"Well," said the man after discharging a quid of tobacco from further
+service and biting off a new one to take its place, "what I want to know
+is what you'se been doin', out here in the mounting all night like."
+
+"That's easy," said Tom. "I've been killing a bear."
+
+"Where?" asked the man.
+
+"About a quarter of a mile back. You see we're getting short of meat
+down there in camp, with all these soldiers quartered upon us."
+
+"Then ef you done got a bear whar is it?" asked the man.
+
+"It is back there, as I tell you, about a quarter of a mile."
+
+"Why didn't you bring it with you?" asked the man.
+
+"Simply because it is too heavy. It is the biggest bear I ever saw. I
+was on my way to camp, when you stopped me, to get some fellows to come
+out here and help me drag it."
+
+"Will you show it to us?" asked the man, still incredulously. "Seein's
+believin' you know."
+
+"Certainly," said Tom. "The little old moon is rising now, and you can
+get a good look at the bear that I've sat up all night to kill."
+
+He led the way back and at sight of the bear even the incredulous one of
+the party was satisfied.
+
+"Now," spoke up Bill Jones, "we've got jest one thing to do. Ef this bar
+is left here it'll be half et up by varmints afore men can be brought
+from the camp to carry it in. Fellers we've got to carry it in fer
+Little Tom--him what let me go jist in time to save my little gal from
+starvin' when her mother was lyin dead in the cabin an' fer two days the
+little gal hadn't so much as a bite to eat. We'll drag the bar to the
+camp fer Little Tom!"
+
+One of the men offered an objection: "We'll git arrested ef we do," he
+said.
+
+"For what?" asked Tom.
+
+"Why fer moonshining of course."
+
+"But you haven't been caught moonshining. Nobody in camp can accuse you
+of that or any other crime. Anyhow if you fellows will help me to camp
+with this bear I pledge you my honor that I'll stand by you and see to
+it that you're not arrested."
+
+"That's 'nuff sed," said Bill Jones. "Little Tom never goes back on his
+word, an' he knows how to manage things. We'll take the bar to camp."
+
+The men assented but with hesitation and obvious reluctance. Seeing
+their hesitation Bill Jones spoke again:
+
+"Now I tell you, you needn't worry the least little bit. I know whereof
+I speak, as the Bible says, when I tell you that you kin bet all you've
+got on Little Tom Ridsdale. When he says a thing he means it an' when he
+means it he'll do it ef all the eggs in the basket gits broke."
+
+"Thank you Bill," said Tom. "Anyhow I'll see that you fellows get safely
+out of our camp or else I'll go with you with my rifle in my hand."
+
+The men seemed satisfied. Seizing the bear they dragged it campwards as
+the daylight began to grow strong. Before Camp Venture was reached the
+sun was well above the horizon, and as they approached Tom gained some
+notion of what had happened there and of what the blaze of the night
+before had signified. But well outside the camp his mountaineers dropped
+the bear and bade Tom good bye.
+
+Not a vestige of the house in which the boys had lived all winter
+remained. Only the smoke of a still smoldering fire marked the place
+where it had been.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+_The End of Camp Venture_
+
+
+During the night of Tom's bear hunt, the boys slept soundly, wearied as
+they were by an especially hard day's work. About three o'clock a
+soldier from out under the bluff rushed in crying:
+
+"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Your chimney's on fire!"
+
+Then came the Lieutenant with a squad of soldiers to remove the wounded
+men from the hut. This was a work of some difficulty although all the
+men were now "making satisfactory recovery" as the Doctor phrased it.
+The Doctor took charge at this point because he knew as no one else did
+the exact nature and condition of each man's wound, and it was his care
+to see that none should be improperly handled or in any way injured in
+the removal. Yet the house burned so rapidly that there was very little
+time for care and the excited soldiers had to be sharply restrained by
+the Lieutenant to make them comply with every direction of the Doctor
+in their handling of the wounded men.
+
+Meantime the boys removed from the house everything of value, including
+even the "piano," which they would need every day for the sharpening of
+their axes.
+
+What had happened was this: the upper part of the chimney, as the reader
+will remember, had been built of sticks, laid in a crib, and daubed all
+over with mud. The sticks were green, full of sap and almost
+incombustible when placed in position, and besides that the mud daubing
+protected them. But little by little the mud had dried and fallen away.
+While the heat of a fire that was maintained night and day for many
+months had seasoned the sticks first and then dried and parched them to
+the condition of tinder, capable of being ignited by the merest spark.
+
+That night the spark did its work. The chimney sticks caught fire and
+burned with fierce violence. The clapboards forming the roof and the
+resinous pine timbers that held them in place, had also been roasted
+into an exceedingly combustible condition, and by the time that the fire
+was discovered the house was obviously doomed. That was the origin of
+the light that Tom had seen in the direction of Camp Venture while
+waiting for his bear.
+
+When he now entered the camp he found the boys getting breakfast by an
+out door fire, built near the mouth of the chute.
+
+"Poor old Camp Venture!" he exclaimed. "How did it happen boys?"
+
+They hastily explained especially answering Tom's eager questions as to
+the condition of the wounded men.
+
+"They are quite comfortable," said the Doctor. "All possible care was
+taken in removing them from the burning house, and my examination
+discovers no trace of damage done to any of them. But where have you
+been and what have you brought back with you?" for Tom had no game in
+possession.
+
+"I've been to the home and headquarters of Ursa Major, and I've killed
+him," answered Tom. "I want to borrow the Lieutenant's glass to-night to
+see how the heavens look without the constellation of the Great Bear."
+
+"What do you mean, Tom?" asked the boys eagerly.
+
+"Why simply that I have killed the biggest black bear I ever saw or
+heard of in these mountains."
+
+"Where is it?" eagerly asked Jack, who had a great longing for fresh
+meat for breakfast that morning.
+
+"It's out there just beyond the picket lines, and some of you must go
+after it. You see the mountaineers who 'held me up' and then made
+friends with me, agreed to bring it to camp under my solemn promise of
+safe conduct. Bill Jones was at the head of them. But as they drew near
+the camp and saw the pickets, their courage failed them and even my
+invitation to come and breakfast with us, could not entice them within
+the picket lines.
+
+"'We don't want to take no risks,' they said, 'an' you kin bring out
+some fellers to git the bar, so ef you don't mind, we'll leave it right
+here an' say good mornin'.' And with that they scurried off up the
+mountain."
+
+Jack, Harry, Ed and Jim volunteered to go out after the bear, and with
+no little difficulty they at last got him to camp, where they proceeded
+to dress him. Tom, in the meantime, ate such breakfast as there was on
+hand, and, rolling himself in his blanket, stretched his tired limbs
+before the fire and fell at once into slumber. The other boys left him
+asleep when they went to their work, but considerably before noon he
+joined them with his axe.
+
+That night a "council of war," as they called it, was held.
+
+"Now that our house is burned up," said Jack, "we may as well begin to
+get ready for our descent of the mountain. Of course, we could sleep out
+of doors in this spring weather, but there is no use in doing it longer
+than we must. We sent the last two bridge timbers down the chute to-day.
+We have only twenty more ties to get ready and if we work hard we can do
+that to-morrow and next day. That will leave us nothing more to do
+except to work up the waste into cordwood and send it down. My
+calculation is that we can leave here one week from to-morrow morning if
+we are reasonably industrious. Tom's bear and the other game he'll get,
+will keep us in meat for that time, and if the Doctor can leave his
+patients a week hence, we'll go."
+
+"Oh, as to that," said the Doctor, "I could leave them now. They need
+nothing now but nursing, and it won't be very long after we leave before
+the road will be open for the lieutenant to send them all down the
+mountain."
+
+Thus with glad thoughts of a speedy homing, the boys rolled themselves
+in their blankets and stretched themselves out to sleep by the fire and
+under the stars.
+
+"By the way, Tom," said Jim, just as Tom was sinking into slumber, "you
+forgot to look for that hole in the sky that you made last night."
+
+"Well, you'd better make a hole in your talk pretty quick, Jim, if you
+don't want a bucket of water poured over you," said Jack. "Lie awake as
+long as you like, but keep quiet and let the rest of us sleep."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+_A Start Down the Mountain_
+
+
+Just a week later the boys were ready to quit Camp Venture and proceed
+down the mountain, or as Tom, quoting the mountaineers, put it, they
+prepared to "git down out'n the mountings."
+
+They had fully accomplished their mission. They had done a great
+winter's work. They had sent down the mountain every tie they were
+permitted by their contract to furnish; they had sent down many noble
+bridge timbers and greatly more cordwood than they had expected to cut.
+Their work was done, except that before going home they must go to the
+headquarters of the railroad contractors, at the foot of the mountain,
+adjust their accounts and collect the money due them.
+
+As the best mountain climber among them, the one who had met and
+overcome more mountain difficulties in his time than any other, and the
+one who best knew how to "look straight at things and use common
+sense," Tom was chosen to direct the perilous descent over the cliffs.
+
+The boys were all heavily loaded, of course. Each had his axe, his
+blanket, his extra clothing and four days' rations to carry. Each also
+had his gun and there was one extra gun--the rifle that Tom had captured
+from the mountaineer--to be carried. "For," said Tom, "while we have no
+use for the gun, I've agreed to deliver it to its owner whenever he
+chooses to call for it at my mother's house, and I tell you, boys, a
+man's first obligation in this world is to keep every promise that he
+makes no matter what it costs. I'd take that fellow's rifle down the
+mountain if I had to leave my own behind in order to do it."
+
+"You are right, Tom," said the Doctor, "and boys, I propose that we take
+charge of that gun and carry it turn and turn about for Tom, for he is
+otherwise the worst over-loaded fellow in the party."
+
+For Tom had his skins to carry--the panther's hide, three big bear
+skins, several deer hides, and a large number of pelts from raccoons,
+opossums, hares, squirrels and other small game.
+
+"In fact," said the Doctor, "I move that we throw Tom down, take away
+his load, and divide it equally among the entire party."
+
+"That's it. That's the way to manage it!" cried the boys in chorus. But
+Tom would hear of nothing of the kind. "You fellows may help me with the
+mountaineer's rifle, if you choose, but I'll manage my bundle of skins
+for myself. Thank you, all the same. After all, our luggage isn't going
+to bother us half so much, going down the mountain this way as it would
+if we went down by the regular trail."
+
+"Why not, Tom?" asked Jack.
+
+"Well, I'll show you after awhile," said Tom. "And in the meantime,
+Doctor, I'm going to take all your delicate and expensive scientific
+instruments, and myself pack them so that they will endure the journey
+without injury. If carried as you have them, there wouldn't be one of
+them that wouldn't lie like a moonshiner by the time we 'git out'n the
+mountings.' Let me have them, please."
+
+The Doctor, curious to see what the boy was going to do, turned his
+instruments over to him and carefully observed his proceedings. Tom
+began by selecting a number of the smaller skins, which, instead of
+drying, he had "tanned" with brains, corn meal-rubbing and other devices
+known to him as a hunter. These were as limp and soft as so many pieces
+of muslin, but greatly tougher. With them Tom carefully wrapped each
+instrument separately, securely tying up each with string, which the
+boy seemed always to have hidden somewhere about his person in unlimited
+quantity and variety of sizes and kinds.
+
+"That's a trick I learned in hunting," he said, when questioned. "You
+can never have too much string with you."
+
+Next he packed these bundles together, interposing dried and stiff hides
+between the several parcels, and again securely tied them together. Then
+he took the hide of his "Ursa Major," which was still "green" and limp,
+and which, as the boys suggested, "smelt uncommonly bad," and rolled the
+whole bundle in that, "skinny side out," binding it securely with stout
+twine. Finally he wrapped the stiff dried hide of the first bear he had
+killed, and the equally stiff panther's hide over all, as a sort of
+"goods box," he said, and, with a piece of red keel, he playfully marked
+on the panther's skin, "Glass! Handle with care."
+
+"But now who is going to carry all this load?" asked Jack.
+
+"Tom and I," said the Doctor, quickly. "The skins are Tom's and the
+instruments are mine. So we'll take some more of Tom's string and rig up
+some handles by which he and I can carry the bundle."
+
+"You see," said Tom, "we may possibly have to drop it over a cliff now
+and then, and I've tried to do it up so as to stand that without
+breaking the instruments. But I think we can manage to avoid that. At
+any rate, we'll try. Now, come on, boys."
+
+They had already taken leave of the lieutenant, and with four days'
+rations in their haversacks--for the lieutenant had supplied them with
+those military conveniences--haversacks--they began the descent of the
+mountain by that difficult way that Tom had followed on the night when
+he inspected the stills.
+
+It was nine o'clock when they started. They made their way with
+comparative ease for nearly an hour. Then they came upon a bluff of
+formidable proportions and difficulty. Here Tom's experience and
+generalship came into play for the first time.
+
+"All lay off your loads," he said. "Now, Harry, you are a discreet
+fellow and a good climber. Strip yourself of everything that can
+possibly embarrass you, and go down over the bluff. Remember what I have
+told you about bushes. Some of them cling tenaciously, while some of
+them give way in their roots at the first serious pull. Never trust one
+of them, but hold on by two always, and support yourself by your feet on
+every projection of rock you can find, so as not to overtax the bushes.
+When you are holding by two bushes, never let go of one to catch
+another lower down till you have satisfied yourself of the security of
+the other one by which you are holding on, and then grab the new one as
+quickly as you can. Make your way to the foot of the cliff, and we'll
+then let all our baggage and arms down to you with twine. You are to
+receive it all, untie the twine and let us pull it up again for the next
+bundle. When all our luggage is down, we'll climb down ourselves. There
+isn't any serious difficulty about it if we're careful. As I told you
+boys awhile ago, there isn't any such thing as accident. It is all a
+question of carefulness."
+
+Harry did his part well in making the descent of this first precipice
+and the work of lowering the arms and luggage, including every boy's
+haversack--for it was imperative that in the bush climb down the cliff,
+no boy should carry a single ounce of unnecessary weight--occupied full
+two hours' time.
+
+The Doctor was the last to go over the edge of the precipice, and he
+alone met with mishap. Jack, with his heavy weight, had preceded him,
+and the bushes, already weakened by the strain the other boys had given
+them, were some of them almost torn out by the roots from the rock
+crevices in which they grew. So when the Doctor was about half way
+down, one of them gave way suddenly, leaving the Doctor's right hand
+with no support and swinging him around in very perilous fashion. But
+the Doctor had by this time become a good deal of an athlete, and
+instantly realizing his danger, he swung himself around on his toes,
+which rested in a crevice of the cliff, and grasped with his right hand
+a sharp edge of rock which protruded some inches from the face of the
+cliff. It was a perilous hold, as the boys, looking on from below,
+clearly saw, and one that obviously could not be long maintained. But
+the Doctor had his wits about him, and after a moment's pause, he
+grasped another bush which held securely, and five minutes later he was
+on the ledge below.
+
+Here it was decided to halt for the midday meal. A fire was built; the
+game which had been brought--or at least so much of it as was needed for
+this meal--was broiled upon live coals, and a pot of coffee was
+made--for of that sustaining article the original supply had not yet
+been quite exhausted.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+_Down the Mountain_
+
+
+By this time the boys were excessively tired. Climbing down over bluffs
+is weary work. So after dinner they stretched themselves out for a nap
+with their bundles under their heads in lieu of pillows.
+
+An hour later they roused themselves and set out again upon their
+toilsome journey, carrying their packs as best they could, and
+scrambling through underbrush and over fragments of rock that had fallen
+from the cliffs and hills above and now seriously obstructed the
+passage.
+
+At last they came to the shelving rock, mentioned in a preceding
+chapter. This was a perfectly bare stretch of rock, extending down the
+hill for nearly a quarter of a mile, at an angle which made walking upon
+it impracticable.
+
+"Now, fellows," said Tom, "get your parcels together and slide them down
+the hill. The thick woods and bush tangle at the bottom of this rocky
+incline will bring them to a halt. Then I'll go down alone and find out
+if the way is practicable. If I get down in safety the rest of you can
+follow, doing precisely as you've seen me do."
+
+"But, Tom, I protest," said the Doctor. "You mustn't take all the risk."
+
+"Oh, you'll have risk enough for your own share," answered Tom, "after
+I've done the trick. It's only that I've done this sort of thing before,
+and can show you fellows how. In the meantime, send the parcels down."
+
+Then one after another, the shoulder packs were started and went
+speedily down the rocky incline and into the woodlands at its foot. The
+guns, of course, were not risked in this fashion, but were securely
+strapped upon the shoulders of those who were to carry them.
+
+When all the luggage had been sent down, Tom began his descent, calling
+to the others:
+
+"Now watch me carefully, boys, and see just how I do it."
+
+He went down, face to the ground, and feet first, sliding, with legs and
+arms spread out, to offer all possible resistance to gravity, and with
+his toes clinging close to the rock to catch every little inequality and
+thus check his speed. Now and then he would encounter an obstruction
+that brought him to a full stop. When that happened, he rested awhile,
+and then resumed his slide. It was hard work, accompanied by no little
+peril, and the boys did not breathe freely till Tom reached the bottom,
+stood up and waved his hat in token of his victory over the difficulty.
+
+Then one by one--for Tom had forbidden any two of them to start down at
+the same time--they all made the descent in the same way, "without
+giving the Doctor a single job to do," said Tom, when all was over. But
+their clothing was very badly damaged in the descent, and the hands and
+knees of some of them were considerably torn.
+
+They were now in a very thick woodland, crowning a gently declining
+hillside, and, after gathering their properties together, they marched
+forward for an hour, descended another bluff, and decided to encamp
+there for the night. The distance to the foot of the mountain was now
+comparatively small, but the surface was badly broken and precipitous,
+and as darkness was not far off, it was deemed better to wait until
+morning before completing the journey.
+
+On the way through the woodlands, the Doctor had surprised and shot a
+turkey, and it must of course be roasted, so the first thing to do was
+to cut some wood and build a fire. For that a spot was selected just
+under a slate rock bank that formed a cliff near where they had decided
+to camp. The water which oozed out at the bottom of this slate rock
+bank on its western border, and formed a convenient pool there, did not
+prove to be good. It tasted of various minerals, iron and sulphur among
+them, and was distinctly unpalatable. Fortunately, Jim discovered a
+spring at a little distance, however, which was found to be good.
+Springs were everywhere on this steep face of the mountain, bearing to
+the surface the water from the snows that fell in the higher lands
+above, sank into the ground, and percolating through rock fissures,
+found its way to daylight again wherever a crack or seam in the rock
+permitted.
+
+So the coffee pot was soon ready for the fire where the turkey was
+already roasting, and by the time that night fell, the supper of roast
+turkey, hot biscuit and steaming coffee, was ready, and the weary boys
+were looking rather eagerly forward to the time when the meal should be
+so far past as to permit them to lie down again to sleep.
+
+As they ate they chatted, of course. The home-going had begun, and
+indeed its most serious difficulties had already been overcome. Their
+enthusiasm was again aroused and they again felt interest in whatever
+subject might come up for discussion. But first of all, they made Jack
+figure up their winter's earnings--exclusive, of course, of Tom's
+skins--and they were very well satisfied indeed with the results of his
+figuring. Their outfit in the autumn had cost them very little, and
+since then they had been at no expense whatever except that they owed
+the Doctor their several small shares of the money he had given to Bill
+Jones and of the two dollars he had advanced to Tom for the purchase of
+meal on the mountain; for, of course, they all insisted upon sharing
+that expense, and Tom had no reasonable ground for refusing.
+
+An hour after supper all lay down to sleep, after replenishing the fire
+under the slate rock bank, for there was no danger from moonshiners down
+here so near the foot of the mountain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+_Old King Coal_
+
+
+It was nearly morning when the boys, wrapped in their blankets, began to
+stir uneasily and kick at their coverings. Every one of them was
+oppressed with heat, but for a time, weary as they were, they did not
+fully come to a consciousness of what it was that disturbed them.
+
+After awhile Jim sat up, stripping off his blanket and giving vent to
+his feeling in the half word, half whistle, "Whew!" He looked about him
+for an instant, and then hastily jumping up, called to his half-awake
+companions:
+
+"I say, fellows, wake up, quick. The slate rock bank is afire!"
+
+It was true enough. As the boys shook off the cobwebs of their dreams,
+they discovered what it was that had been overheating them in their
+sleep. The whole bank under which they had built their fire was ablaze
+and throwing out an intense heat.
+
+The Doctor was the first to grasp the situation.
+
+"Drag the fire away from the bank as quickly as you can, boys!" he
+cried. "Fortunately the wood is nearly burned out."
+
+That done, the cliff continued to blaze and sputter and the Doctor, who
+had seized authority and taken control of affairs, called for water.
+
+"Bring it in your hats, boys, or anything else that will hold water, but
+bring it quick!"
+
+The boys obeyed with alacrity, and when the water came, the Doctor made
+them cast it only upon the lower parts of the burning cliff.
+
+"We get a double advantage that way," he explained. "We put out the
+source of the fire, which originates at the bottom, and the steam that
+rises from water thrown there helps to dampen the fire above."
+
+But the burning had made such progress that it required quite two hours
+to put it out. When that was done, daylight having completely come, the
+boys addressed themselves to the work of getting breakfast, by a new
+fire kindled at some distance from the lately burning bank. The Doctor,
+meanwhile, was pottering around the bank, breaking off bits of the
+formation with his little geological hammer, and seriously burning his
+fingers in efforts to examine them critically.
+
+Finally he seized his axe and with an entirely reckless disregard of its
+edge, he began chopping into the bank. Even when breakfast was
+announced, he would not quit his exploration for a time.
+
+"The Doctor seems interested in that cliff," said one of the boys.
+
+"Yes, and he's ruining the edge of his axe upon it," said another. "I
+suppose he has found something of geologic interest there."
+
+Just then the Doctor quitted his work on the bank, removed his hunting
+shirt, tied it up by the neck and filled it full of the blocks he had
+chopped out of the bank. It held about half a bushel. Going to the fire,
+he emptied the mass upon it, and watched for results with eagerness. The
+slate rock, as the boys had called it,--burned slowly and gave out a
+good deal of heat.
+
+Then the Doctor addressed himself to his breakfast, but he ate in
+silence. After he had done, he said to Tom--for he and Tom had become
+special cronies--"Tom, I wish you would take two of the boys with you
+this morning, go down to the railroad camps and buy four or five picks
+and four or five shovels."
+
+"Certainly, Doctor," answered Tom. "But what is it you want with the
+picks and shovels?"
+
+"I want to dig into that bank. I want to find out whether what I suspect
+is true or not."
+
+"What is it you suspect, Doctor?" asked Jack eagerly.
+
+"I suspect that that slate rock bank is the outcrop of one of the very
+richest coal mines in America. I may be wrong, but if you'll go down and
+get the picks and shovels, we'll soon find out."
+
+"But why not all go down and bring back some miners with us?"
+
+"Because we don't want any miners and especially we don't want anybody
+to 'jump our claim'--that is to say, to come here and claim a royalty on
+the plea that he first discovered the mine. Boys, I don't think we'll
+any of us get home as soon as we expected. This is something worth
+staying for, and fortunately we are now within easy reach of supplies."
+
+"But we haven't any money with which to pay for them," said Harry.
+
+"I'll take care of that," said the Doctor. "Do you happen to remember
+that the contractor who is to pay you boys for your ties and cordwood
+and bridge timbers, is named Latrobe?"
+
+"Why, yes, certainly," said Tom. "But I never thought of that. Is he a
+relative of yours?"
+
+"Only my father," answered the Doctor. "I don't think we shall have any
+difficulty in purchasing any supplies we need while guarding this 'slate
+rock' mine."
+
+After further conversation it was arranged that the Doctor should send
+a note by Tom to the elder Latrobe, asking him to send up tools and food
+supplies. He wrote the letter on a leaf or two torn from his note book
+and delivered it into Tom's hands.
+
+"Now, Tom," he said, "as you go down, suppose you study the ground
+carefully and see if you can't pick out a route by which you can bring a
+wagon up. If so, my father will load it with provisions and it will
+carry much more than many pack mules could. On the whole, I think you'd
+better go alone. I suggested taking two others with you, to help carry
+the tools, but you'll bring them in a wagon, or if you can't find a
+wagon path, you'll bring them on pack mules. But find a wagon track if
+you can. Take your time going down. You can't get back much before
+to-morrow night, anyhow, and it is important to secure a wagon way if
+possible."
+
+"All right," said Tom. "But, Doctor, why do you think this is good coal?
+It looks to me like very poor stuff, and certainly it doesn't burn like
+good coal."
+
+"O, that's because it is outcrop, and outcrop coal is always poor stuff.
+It has been so long exposed to the weather that it has lost most of its
+combustible constituents. Sometimes it will not burn at all. But I
+think this the outcrop of a very fine vein of coal, because from its
+location and from what I can discover of its formation by examining
+pieces of it, I think I know the 'measure,' as they call it, to which it
+belongs. If I am right in this, we have here a vein of the very best and
+purest coal in the world for making steam, for direct furnace uses and
+for making coke. But come, we have no leisure now for talking about coal
+or anything else. We want picks and provisions the first thing. So pack
+your haversack, Tom, and hie you away."
+
+"I will on one condition," said Tom.
+
+"What is that?" asked the Doctor.
+
+"That you won't talk about Old King Coal to the other fellows till I get
+back," answered Tom. "I have at least ten thousand questions to ask, and
+I simply won't go for provisions if you're going to answer any of them
+while I am gone."
+
+"I promise, Tom," answered the Doctor, laughing. "I won't even mention
+His Majesty King Coal, till you return and I'll scalp any boy in the
+party who asks me a question on that subject while you are away. Now, be
+off. Take plenty of time. We'll kill a little game now and then, and we
+have enough flour to last us till you get back. The important thing is
+for you to get a wagon load of supplies up here, and you must do it if
+it takes a week."
+
+"I'll do it," answered Tom. "Good by, fellows!" and the boy started off
+down the hill.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+_The Doctor Sings_
+
+
+AS soon as Tom was gone, the Doctor turned to the others and said:
+
+"Come, boys, we must get to work."
+
+"What have we got to do?" asked Jack.
+
+"Why build the new Camp Venture, to be sure. Don't you understand that
+we're to stay here perhaps for a month, and must protect ourselves
+against the spring rains? We must build a shelter before Tom gets back."
+
+"But, Doctor," interrupted Harry, "why should we stay here for a month?"
+
+"Why, don't you understand," said the Doctor, "that we have discovered,
+right here on your mother's land, a coal mine that will certainly make
+her comfortable all her life and probably make you boys rich. We've got
+to find out enough about it to enable us to exploit it, and that will
+take a month at least."
+
+"But tell us about the coal," said Jack.
+
+The Doctor replied by singing:
+
+    "Old King Coal
+    Was a jolly old soul,
+    And a jolly old soul was he;
+    He called for his pipe and he called for his bowl,
+    And he called for his fiddlers three.
+    Every fiddler had a fine fiddle
+    And a very fine fiddle had he,
+
+but," continued the Doctor, "not a man jack of them would tune up for
+Old King Coal till little Tom got back, because they had promised Tom
+not to set the fiddles going in his absence. That's a parable. It gives
+you fair warning that I'm going to keep my promise to our dearest
+comrade, Little Tom, and tell you nothing about this or any other coal
+till he comes back. But I tell you we shall have to stay here for a
+month at least, and that we need some sort of shelter against the heavy
+spring rains. So come, Jack, you are our architect. Tell us what sort of
+house to build."
+
+Jack thought a few minutes, after which he said:
+
+"We shan't need a house; at this time of year all we need is a shelter,
+closed in on three sides and open to the fire in front. We can build it
+of poles and cover it with a thatch of pine branches and other brush
+thick enough to shed the rain."
+
+"But if we have only three sides to our house," said Jim, "how are we
+to keep the ends of the poles in place?"
+
+"Oh, that's easy," said Jack. "We'll insert short bits of pole between
+them, with deep notches cut into them; and we needn't chink or daub at
+all. We ought to be able to build quite all the shelter we need, to-day
+and to-morrow, particularly as we are in a thick grove of young trees,
+just the size that we want for our poles. Get to work, every fellow of
+you, and cut poles with all your might."
+
+Just then a thought occurred to Jack, and he took the Doctor aside for
+consultation.
+
+"Doctor," he said, "It occurs to me that this coal mine, if it is a coal
+mine, is on my mother's land and that therefore it is worth my while and
+Harry's and Tom's to stay here and work up the possibilities of the
+case. It is also worth your while, because you are in fact the
+discoverer of it and my mother will naturally recognize your interest in
+it, especially as we shall look to you to find capitalists to work the
+thing."
+
+"Oh, I'll do that, of course. If I'm right about the mine, I'll have no
+difficulty in finding plenty of capital. The mine is at exactly the
+right place, and as to my interest, I'll take care of that when I come
+to negotiate with the capitalists. I'll see to it that they allow me a
+proper commission for 'bringing the property to their attention,' as
+they phrase it. So don't bother about me."
+
+"No, but I'm bothering about Ed and Jim. If they are to stay here and
+help us for a month or so, they must be paid in some way."
+
+"Of course," answered the Doctor. "I've been so long thinking of our
+party as a unit, whose constituent members 'shared and shared alike,'
+that I had not thought of them as persons not interested in this new
+Camp Venture. Let me think a little!"
+
+He bowed his head upon his hands for a time in meditation. Then he said:
+
+"Of course your mother cannot work this mine herself. It will
+need at least a hundred thousand dollars of capital to make it
+productive--perhaps twice that sum. I know enough of the situation to
+know that I can arrange that without going out of my own family. My
+father and my brothers will put in the entire sum necessary--for I tell
+you there is a vastly valuable property here,--and will allow your
+mother her proper share of the stock for the mine itself. I'll arrange
+all that to her perfect satisfaction before anything is concluded.
+Indeed, I must do that. Otherwise she would naturally make somebody else
+her agent."
+
+"Oh, she'll trust you, Doctor," interrupted Jack.
+
+"It isn't a matter of trust, it's business," answered the Doctor. "But
+on purely business principles we shall be able to arrange for your
+mother to put in the property and my friends to put in the money
+capital. I shall not ask your mother for a cent, for she has been like a
+mother to me ever since I came down here for my health and began
+boarding with her. My own people will allow me out of their share, a
+sufficient interest to compensate me. Now, I undertake also that they or
+I shall allow to Ed and Jim, half a share each in the mine, supposing it
+to be capitalized at a hundred thousand dollars, in return for their
+services while we have to stay here."
+
+"No, Doctor," said Jack, "I will not hear of that. If you'll furnish
+one-half share, I engage that my mother shall furnish the other. That
+will divide the thing equally."
+
+The Doctor, seeing the entire justice of this arrangement, assented to
+it, and the two called Jim and Ed into the conference. When they laid
+the proposition before the pair, it was joyfully accepted. Ed said:
+
+"Even without that, we shouldn't have left the camp. We fellows have had
+so good a time together that I, for one, would have stayed and done my
+share of the work, with or without a financial interest in it."
+
+"So should I," said Jim, enthusiastically. "Now that we are to be
+capitalists and stockholders and all that sort of thing, it will require
+all our self restraint not to grow cocky and refuse to work. Still there
+are a lot of poles to cut for the new shelter, and if you two fellows
+are going to stay here all day and talk, the rest of us must work all
+the harder."
+
+"We're going to work at once, Jim," said the Doctor. "But I want you to
+understand that in my judgment this mine is going to be a great
+property, and that your share in it will go far to make you prosperous
+men."
+
+Then Ed broke down. He had lived a hard life, trying to aid his widowed
+mother by such work as he could do, and this prospect opened to him, of
+a little income independent of his work, overcame him with emotion as he
+thought of the good mother released perhaps from the necessity of hard
+toil for the rest of her life. The simple fact is that as Ed turned away
+to hide his emotion, the tears rolled down his cheeks. But if he sobbed,
+it was not until he had gone down the hill well beyond the ledge of
+broken stones that marked the boundary of the camp.
+
+When night came, the eager boys began again to question the Doctor
+about coal and coal mines. To every question, he replied by singing "Old
+King Coal," and declaring anew his resolute purpose not to talk at all
+on that subject till little Tom's return. But the Doctor was jubilant
+all the same, and he said presently, "His Majesty King Coal is a very
+generous monarch and he is going to make all of us well to do if not
+actually rich." Then he broke out again into the song:
+
+    "Old King Coal
+    Was a jolly old soul,
+    And a jolly old soul was he;
+    He called for his pipe and he called for his bowl,
+    And he called for his fiddlers three."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL
+
+_Tom's Journey_
+
+
+Tom had not gone far on his journey before he discovered that the new
+Camp Venture was in fact situated very nearly at the base of the
+mountain. The headquarters of the railroad people lay a mile or so to
+the west, and perhaps two hundred feet or so lower. But along the foot
+of the hill was accumulated all the debris that had come tumbling down
+the steep for ages--great and small fragments of rock split off the
+cliffs above by the frosts of a multitude of winters and now piled
+haphazard wherever they could find a resting place.
+
+In the midst of such a mass of rocky debris, now thickly overgrown with
+forest trees, Tom at first despaired of finding a practicable wagon
+path. But he toiled diligently at the task, retracing his steps many
+times and little by little tracing out a way, which he marked as he went
+by cutting branches of trees and setting them up as landmarks to show
+him the way when he should return with a wagon load of supplies.
+
+All this occupied so much time that Tom did not reach his destination
+that night, but slept by a little fire on the mountain side.
+
+In the morning there was a drenching, discouraging spring rain falling
+with pitiless persistence, and Tom's clothing and blanket were soaked
+through, and his limbs were stiff with cold. Fortunately his fire had
+not been entirely extinguished by the rain, and when he had replenished
+it with seasoned branches, and steamed himself in its glow for a time,
+his energy returned, and he cooked and ate a scant but refreshing
+breakfast which included the two drumsticks of the Doctor's turkey.
+These had been roasted the night before, but Tom threw them on the coals
+to broil a little. "I prefer a hot breakfast," he said, "particularly on
+a morning like this. How I wish I had a cup of coffee!"
+
+Then gathering up the few things that he carried, he left his camp fire
+and continued his task of picking out a way by which a wagon might be
+dragged up and along the rocky hill. It was high noon when he reached
+the little railroad station where Dr. Latrobe's father had established
+his headquarters as a contractor. Tom was enthusiastically received by
+that gentleman, who was naturally pleased to hear news of his son's
+thoroughly restored health. There was a little tavern already
+established near the station and there Tom was made to dry and warm
+himself. Having assured Mr. Latrobe that he could conduct a loaded wagon
+up the hill to the new Camp Venture, Tom speedily left his occupation of
+warming himself and joined the older gentleman in choosing the materials
+that were to constitute the load. Mr. Latrobe had assigned for the
+purpose a heavy, stoutly built wagon, capable of enduring rough road
+service, and to Tom he said: "I've sent a little way down the line for
+four of the stoutest mules we have, to draw it, and for a driver who is
+used to mountain work. They will be here this evening and in the
+meantime we'll get the wagon loaded, so that you can make an early start
+in the morning." This suited Tom's plans exactly, and he set himself at
+work at once selecting from the contractor's stores, the things most
+desirable for his purpose.
+
+There were ten large sides of bacon; half a barrel of sugar; half a
+barrel of molasses; half a barrel of corned beef; several hundred pounds
+of corn meal and a like quantity of flour in bags; a bushel or two of
+salt, and a good supply of potatoes, turnips, cabbages, canned
+vegetables and fruits with which to break the long monotony of the camp
+diet. Mr. Latrobe insisted upon adding some prunes, dried peaches, dried
+apples, and some other things that he thought the boys would enjoy.
+Finally a large box of coffee already ground and put up in damp-proof
+packages, was placed in the wagon, together with ten pounds of tea.
+
+"You see I've done a great deal of camping, my boy," said the genial
+gentleman, "and I know how much of comfort there is in tea and coffee
+when you're rain soaked."
+
+All these things were packed into the wagon by some of Mr. Latrobe's
+men, and securely lashed into immovability with stout hemp ropes. Over
+them a tarpaulin was spread to protect them from the rain and on top of
+that the picks and shovels were lashed into place.
+
+The wagon was ready and that night Tom slept in a real bed for the first
+time in nearly half a year. But he was up at daybreak and off on his
+journey before the sun's appointed time for rising. Whether or not that
+luminary left his couch when he should, Tom had no means of finding out,
+for it was still heavily raining.
+
+It was a toilsome journey that lay before him and Tom foresaw that it
+could not be accomplished much before nightfall, even should no delaying
+mishap occur, and therefore he disregarded the rain and insisted upon
+the earliest possible start.
+
+It was Tom's function to walk ahead of the wagon, look out for the
+landmarks he had set up, and point the way to the driver who, armed with
+a long black snake whip, rode upon the "near," or left hand, wheel mule.
+But the driver was his own sufficient adviser as to how to overcome such
+obstacles as were met, and Tom was greatly interested to observe the
+skill and good judgment with which the man did this.
+
+"There is science," he said, "in everything, even in driving a wagon
+over a rough mountain where there is no road."
+
+But Tom got no response from the driver, who seemed a taciturn fellow,
+and who in fact never once spoke during the journey except to scold his
+mules with shocking profanity. Even when he decided to halt about noon
+to feed the animals, he said not one word to Tom, but simply stopped the
+wagon, unhitched the mules and gave them their food, hitching them up
+again when he thought it proper to do so and resuming his journey.
+
+"Obviously," thought Tom, "that fellow has been used to driving alone. I
+wonder if he has forgotten how to talk? Or is it that he never thinks?
+Even the weather doesn't inspire him to make a remark, for he hasn't
+once asked my attention to the fact that the rain has ceased and that
+the sun is breaking through the clouds. He certainly can't be classified
+as a companionable personage, but at any rate he knows how to manage
+mules and get a wagon over difficulties, and after all that's what he is
+employed to do. He gets on wonderfully, too, considering the
+difficulties of the road. I suppose it is like the case of the man who
+tied his cravats so beautifully because, as he said, he 'gave his whole
+mind to it.'"
+
+So, silently they proceeded on their way and just before sunset the
+wagon was stopped on the outskirts of the new Camp Venture.
+
+The boys all rushed out to greet Tom and compliment him on his skill and
+success in bringing the supplies over so difficult a route. Tom greeted
+them all in turn, and then said:
+
+"Try your hands, boys, and see if any of you can extract a single
+unnecessary word from that driver. I haven't been able to get anything
+out of him except vituperation for his mules."
+
+The driver meanwhile was stripping his mules of their harness and
+arranging to give them the oats and fodder that he had brought with him
+for their use.
+
+The Doctor filled a tin cup with coffee--for the boys had heard Tom
+coming and made supper ready against his arrival--and carried the
+steaming liquid out to the driver whose clothes were still sopping wet,
+and offered it to him, saying:
+
+"You are very wet and it must have been a hard struggle to get your
+wagon up here. Drink this to warm you and when you get your mules fed,
+come to our fire and have some supper. You must be hungry."
+
+The man took the cup, drank its contents, handed it back to the Doctor
+and muttered the single abbreviated word, "'Bleeged," by which the
+Doctor understood that he meant, "I am obliged to you."
+
+Finally the man having disposed of his mules for the night, came to the
+camp fire for his supper. He received it in silence and proceeded to
+devour it like the hungry man that he was. Still he uttered not a word.
+At last Jim Chenowith tried his hand at drawing him into conversation.
+
+"It must have been pretty tough work to get a wagon up here," he said,
+tentatively. The man said not a word in reply. This exasperated Jim and
+presently he stood up before the wagoner and angrily demanded:
+
+"What's the matter with you? Why don't you answer a civil question?"
+
+To this the man answered, "Hey?" at the same time putting his hand to
+his ear in a futile effort to understand.
+
+"The man is almost stone deaf," said the Doctor. "That is the
+explanation of his silence."
+
+Tom laughed at himself for not having made this discovery, and then
+crept into the bunk prepared for him in the new camp house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI
+
+"_His Majesty, the King_"
+
+
+The Doctor was an advocate of leisurely eating, but he impatiently
+hurried the boys through their breakfast the next morning and set them
+at work upon the bank with picks and shovels. He explained to them as he
+had before explained to Tom, that "outcrop" coal--that is to say, the
+edge of a coal seam exposed by any circumstance and left long exposed,
+deteriorates in quality and value.
+
+"All the combustible parts of this exposed coal have been evaporated,"
+he said, "until now the stuff is worth scarcely more than so much shale.
+But unless my knowledge of geology fails me, there lies behind this
+stuff, some of the very richest coal in Virginia. Our task is to dig in
+here and find out whether we have here a valuable coal mine or nothing
+at all."
+
+"Suppose it is the kind of coal you think, Doctor," said Jack, "what is
+such a mine worth?"
+
+"Nothing and everything. It all depends upon circumstances. A year or
+two ago the finest coal deposit in the world, located where this is
+would have been worth no more than the detritus from the hill that is
+piled up all around here. Such a mine at this place now, is incalculably
+valuable."
+
+"But what makes so vast a difference?" asked Ed.
+
+"The railroad," answered the Doctor. "A year ago this coal would have
+been worthless, simply because there was no market for it anywhere
+within reach. Now the railroad brings the market to the mouth of the
+mine, as it were. But come, let's get to work. If you want me to talk
+about King Coal, I'll do it to-night after supper. Just now we must dig
+for his majesty." Then he grabbed a pick and broke out again singing--
+
+    "Old King Coal
+    Was a jolly old soul," etc.
+
+The boys dug with a will and by nightfall they had dug away three or
+four feet of the face of the cliff. Every now and then the Doctor would
+take a bit of the exposed coal and examine it critically under a strong
+magnifying glass. Every time he did so, he broke out again into the song
+about "Old King Coal." The boys had never seen him so jubilant.
+
+When they quitted the work and began to prepare supper, the Doctor went
+into the shaft they had started, broke out a bushel or two of the
+deepest coal yet reached, and placed it on the fire. He watched it
+intently as it burned, and just as supper was ready he said:
+
+"We've got it, boys, and no mistake. This is a great mine of the very
+best coal in the world for making gas, steam and coke, and as these
+hills are full of iron ore, the mine is precisely where it ought to be.
+When we dig a little further into that bank we shall come to coal that
+can be shovelled into a furnace with iron ore on top of it, and used to
+smelt iron without the trouble or expense of coking. Or we can make as
+good coke of it as there is in the world, and the vein is eight or nine
+feet thick, which means a lot, and it has a perfect rock roof, which
+means a lot more, and the volcanic upheaval which shoved it up here has
+kindly so placed it that it trends upward, so that in mining it we shall
+not have to do any pumping. All we've got to do is to dig trenches on
+each side of our coal car tracks and let the water run out by force of
+gravitation. I tell you boys, we've discovered the most valuable coal
+mine in all this region, and as if to make matters still better, it lies
+just high enough up the mountain to enable us to chute its product down
+to the railroad without any expense whatever for hauling."
+
+"Well now," said Jack, "all that is good news. But we boys don't
+understand the thing the least bit. So you are to explain it to us after
+supper. You are to stop singing 'Old King Coal' and explain to us upon
+what grounds his majesty's authority rests."
+
+"All right," said the Doctor, with truly boyish enthusiasm. "After
+supper I'll tell you all about my liege lord Old King Coal. Meantime
+won't somebody give me another cup of coffee and about a dozen more
+rashers of that paper-thin bacon? I'm hungry."
+
+Jack replenished the Doctor's cup, and Ed cut for him a dozen or twenty
+very thin slices of bacon, leaving him to broil them for himself on the
+end of a stick and devour them as fast as they were broiled. Tom divided
+a pone of corn bread with him and the supper proceeded to its
+conclusion.
+
+"Now then," called Tom, when the tin plates and tin cups had been washed
+and set up on the wall shelf which the Doctor had made for them, "we're
+ready to hear all about 'Old King Coal' and his claims upon our
+allegiance."
+
+"Oh, no you're not," said the Doctor. "It would take me weeks to tell
+you the little I know on that subject and something like a lifetime for
+anybody who knows more to tell you 'all about' King Coal. But I'll tell
+you a little any how."
+
+"First of all tell us why you call it 'King Coal,'" said Ed.
+
+"Because in our age it is king," quickly answered the Doctor. "Without
+it every one of our industries would come to an end; every factory would
+stop; every steamship would be laid up forever; every electric light
+would go out; every railroad would become 'two streaks of rust and a
+right of way'; in short the whole fabric of modern civilization would
+tumble to the ground. You see every age has its key note. When men had
+no better implements than rough stones those people who had most stones
+were the easy conquerors of the rest. When they began to fashion stones
+into arrowheads, axes and the like, the people who lived in stony
+countries had a still greater advantage. When men learned to work
+metals--well you see the way it went. In the pastoral ages the man whose
+land produced most grass was the 'king pin' of his community and owned
+more cattle than anybody else. In the military ages the people who
+fought best were the supreme ones, and the rest were their dependants.
+In ecclesiastical ages the great prelates dominated, and so on through a
+long catalogue. Now ours is an industrial age and coal lies at the very
+root of productive industry. Without it we can't make steam or get
+power enough for any of the vast enterprises of modern civilization. It
+smelts iron out of rocks that would not give it up without King Coal's
+command. It enables us to make steel and to fashion metals to answer our
+requirements in a thousand ways. It runs our steamships, our factories,
+our railroads and pretty much everything else that we depend upon to
+make life easy, to enable us to interchange our products with people at
+a distance and generally to make ourselves comfortable. In short our
+whole civilization depends upon coal. That's why I call coal 'king.' If
+there ever was a monarch in this world whose authority could not be
+questioned without destruction to those revolting against it, that
+monarch is 'Old King Coal.'"
+
+"But if we had no coal, why couldn't we do all these things with wood?"
+asked Jim.
+
+"First, because we haven't enough wood," answered the Doctor. "We are
+using up our supply of wood much too rapidly already, and there coal is
+rendering us another important service. It is enabling us to use iron
+and steel for building materials, and a thousand other purposes for
+which we once used wood, and thus to spare our wood."
+
+"What is your 'secondly,' Doctor?" asked Ed.
+
+"Why secondly, wood cannot do the work."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because it hasn't enough sunshine in it."
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"Why you know, don't you, that all the heat we get out of burning fuel
+of any kind, is simply so much sunshine stored up for us and released by
+burning?"
+
+"I confess I didn't know that," said Tom. "Or at any rate I never
+thought of it. Now that I do think of it, I see how it is with wood. But
+what has sunshine to do with coal, buried as it is deep under rocks and
+earth?"
+
+"Then you don't know what coal is, and where it comes from?" asked the
+Doctor. "Let me explain. There was a period in the world's remote
+history when the earth was much warmer than it is now--almost hot in
+fact. The atmosphere was filled with the gases of carbon, and the rains
+were an almost continuous cataclysm. Human life was impossible in these
+conditions. No man could have breathed such an atmosphere and lived. But
+the conditions were peculiarly favorable to abundant vegetable life.
+There were forests such as we do not dream of now even in tropical
+swamps. Ferns grew to the height of great trees, vines and cane and
+grass and air plants filled up every available inch of space, and they
+all grew in that carbonized atmosphere with a rapidity and luxuriance
+quite impossible now. All this vegetation died of course and fell to the
+ground as all vegetation does and has done from the beginning of time.
+Wherever it fell into water and was thus shielded from the air, and
+wherever it managed to get itself covered with earth or rock, as in that
+highly disturbed volcanic age often happened, it was converted into coal
+by pressure and by losing certain of its volatile elements, just as
+charcoal is made by expelling the volatile parts from wood. So, without
+going any further into details, you see that the coal is preserved
+vegetation which grew many thousands of years ago, and that the heat we
+get from it is simply the sunshine it stored up at a period before ever
+human life existed. What a pity it is that we have to waste so much of
+it!"
+
+"How do you mean, Doctor?" asked Jack.
+
+"Why you see we waste almost all the heat that coal gives us. If we
+could make effective use of it all, the burning of a single pound of
+coal would give us force enough to lift more than eleven and a half
+millions of pounds a foot from the earth; but the most that we actually
+get out of it is force enough to lift one and a half million pounds."
+
+"What? All that from one pound of coal?" asked Jim.
+
+"Yes, all that, and it all means so much sunshine which fell upon the
+earth thousands of years ago. Curious, isn't it?"
+
+"It's simply astounding," said Jack. "But why do we burn coal so
+wastefully, Doctor? Why can't we utilize more of its heat? And what
+becomes of the waste heat?"
+
+"Our methods are imperfect," answered the Doctor. "In a big
+manufacturing city thousands of tons of coal, or what is essentially the
+same thing, go off into the air every day in the shape of black smoke.
+You see the blackness of smoke is nothing but pure carbon or in other
+words coal. Then again think of the heat that goes up every smoke stack
+and is wasted in the air. It would run hundreds of great engines if it
+could be turned to account. And there is all the heat that makes an
+engine room so horribly torrid. Every bit of that is wasted power.
+Little by little, however, we are learning to save the power that coal
+gives us. A high pressure engine, like an ordinary locomotive, besides
+wasting coal, wastes greatly more than half the expansive force of its
+steam. It uses the steam only once and that very imperfectly, and then
+lets it escape into the open air and go to waste. But the big steamships
+and many factories have what they call triple or quadruple expansion
+engines which use the same steam three or four times in propelling the
+machinery, and then condense it into hot water and send it back into the
+boiler, thus saving a vast deal of the heat that would otherwise be
+wasted. Still even they waste most of the heat that their coal
+produces."
+
+"By the way, Doctor," interrupted Tom, "how much coal does it take to
+drive one of the big steamers across the Atlantic?"
+
+"From fifteen hundred to three thousand tons," answered the Doctor, "and
+think what a waste that is when a few hundred tons give force enough to
+do the work if only the force developed could all be used."
+
+"But how do they manage to carry any freight when they must carry such
+an enormous load of coal?" asked Ed.
+
+"That is another serious waste," answered the Doctor. "For every ton of
+coal carried means one ton less of freight. And then, too, think of the
+expense incurred in putting all that coal aboard. And think too of the
+cost of feeding and paying wages to a large company of men to handle it
+after it is on board! For you know besides the stokers who shovel the
+coal into the furnaces, there are the 'coal trimmers' as they are
+called, whose duty it is to keep the coal heap properly distributed in
+the ship. You see a ship is not stiff and rigid like a coal pocket. It
+would never do to begin at one end of a coal heap and use it as it
+comes. That would presently leave one part of the ship with no coal load
+at all, while thousands of tons would burden other parts. No ship that
+ever was built could stand that. It would twist her out of shape, warp
+her seams open and send her to Davy Jones in a very little time. So from
+the moment the stokers begin to shovel coal into the furnaces under a
+steamship's boilers the coal trimmers and coal carriers must busy
+themselves with the night and day work of so shifting the coal as to
+keep its weight properly distributed. But now to come back to what I was
+saying. Little by little we are learning to save some small part of the
+enormous waste in the burning of coal. One example will illustrate. In
+smelting iron--that is melting it out of the ore and separating it from
+the rock stuff,--the waste twenty-five years ago was simply appalling.
+The furnaces were mere pots built of fire clay brick, and filled with
+coal or coke beneath and iron ore on top. A blast of steam or hot air
+was sent into them from below to make the fire burn as hotly as
+possible. Sometimes this blast was strong enough to blow bushels of
+unburned coal or coke out at the top. That however was a mere trifle as
+compared with the other waste. For great flames, nearly hot enough to
+melt iron, poured out of every furnace top and were lost in the air.
+Every bit of that heat represented power that was literally cast to the
+winds. All that has been greatly improved since. The flames and heat
+that escape from the blast furnaces are now very generally harnessed and
+made to do further work. They are used to heat great steam boilers and
+thus create the power that operates rolling mills and gigantic forges,
+and vast machine shops. But we still waste very much more than half the
+heat that coal gives us--often more than nine-tenths of it."
+
+"But, Doctor," said Tom, "If we go on wasting our coal at such a rate,
+won't we use it all up presently? And will not civilization have to stop
+then?"
+
+"There are three answers to that," replied the Doctor: "1st. That we
+shall more and more learn to economize in this matter of heat wasting;
+
+"2nd. That our coal supply in this country seems to be sufficient to
+last for millions of years yet; and
+
+"3rd. That long before it is exhausted the ingenuity of man will
+probably discover means of securing power from some other source than
+coal."
+
+"What, for example?"
+
+"Well, perhaps we shall learn how to utilize terrestrial magnetism
+directly. You know this earth of ours is a gigantic magnet, and
+magnetism is the raw material of electricity, if I may so express it. At
+present we get all the electricity we use out of the earth, but we have
+to do it by burning coal to run dynamos. Perhaps we shall find ways to
+save that expense by drawing the electricity directly from the earth. We
+have already done something closely resembling that, with the result of
+a great saving."
+
+"How was that?"
+
+"Why when the telegraph was first invented it was necessary to double
+the wire lines, putting up two wires every time by way of completing the
+circuit. You know electrical energy will not manifest itself, or as we
+say, the electric current will not flow, unless there is a circuit
+established. Well at first they established the circuit by running two
+parallel wires, one to carry the current one way and the other to bring
+it back. That's a clumsy way to put it, but it will answer my purpose in
+explanation. After a while somebody found out that the earth is a better
+conductor of electricity than any wire could be, and so the circuit was
+established simply by running each end of a single wire into the ground,
+making the earth do the work formerly done by the other wire. That
+simple discovery saved exactly one half the expense of telegraph
+companies for wires."
+
+By this time it was growing late and as the boys had a hard morrow's
+work before them the Doctor ceased talking and all went to their bunks.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII
+
+_In the Service of the King_
+
+
+Very early the next morning the boys, who had caught the Doctor's
+enthusiasm, began again their task of digging through the "out crop"
+coal, which began now to grow softer and more workable, while the coal
+itself grew steadily better in quality.
+
+But about noon, when they had pushed their little shaft about a dozen
+feet into the hill, the Doctor ordered a cessation of the digging.
+
+"We must put in some supports for our roof," he said, "or we shall
+presently be caught in a cave in."
+
+"How are we to do it?" asked Jack.
+
+"Well, I am not a mining engineer," answered the Doctor, "but I've seen
+enough of the work to know how to protect a little shaft like this,
+anyhow. The engineers, when they come, will of course tear out all that
+we do, because they must drive a big shaft into the hill, while all we
+want to do is to push a little gallery three or four feet wide far
+enough in to find the best of the coal. But even in doing that we must
+securely support the roof of our mine. So we'll cut some timber and put
+it in place. Jack, I wish you would choose the trees to be cut."
+
+"All right!" said Jack. "What dimensions are required?"
+
+"First of all," answered the Doctor, "we want from six to ten pieces of
+oak, say four feet six inches long and fully twelve inches in diameter.
+They will serve for roof timbers, and will be enough to carry us thirty
+or forty feet further. Then for perpendicular supports--one at each end
+of each timber--we shall need just twice as many perfectly straight
+oaken sticks eight or nine inches in diameter."
+
+"But why do you want big sticks to go crossways and comparatively little
+ones for the perpendicular supports?" asked Ed. "The perpendicular
+timbers must after all bear the weight."
+
+"Oh, that's simple enough," said Tom, whose perceptive faculties were
+always alert. "You see a stick set up on end, if it is perfectly
+straight and set true, will bear vastly more weight than a stick of
+twice or three times its thickness, if laid crossways. In fact a
+straight eight-inch stick nine feet long, if set on end will support
+nearly as much as another stick nine feet thick--if there were any
+sticks that thick--laid lengthwise."
+
+"That's it," said the Doctor. "We want heavy timbers across the top,
+supported by stout eight- or nine-inch sticks set endwise under them.
+Now, Jack, select the best trees and we'll all get to work as soon as
+dinner is over. We'll get the dinner ready while you choose the timber
+to be cut."
+
+The cutting of the timber was a small task to expert young wood
+choppers; but it was a very difficult task for the six boys to bring the
+timbers to the mine and set them in place. True, only two frames had to
+be set up for the present, but the cross pieces, short as they were,
+were enormously heavy, and it required all the ingenuity as well as all
+the strength the boys could command, to get these two frames up, each
+consisting of one cross piece under the roof and two uprights supporting
+it.
+
+When night came only one of the two frames was in place, and it was
+obvious, as Jack said, that "another half day must be wasted on such
+work" before they could begin mining again. But that evening the Doctor
+dug two bushels of coal out of the farthest end of the shaft, built a
+special fire, placed the coal on it, and carefully covered it with
+earth.
+
+"What are you doing, Doctor?" asked his crony, Tom.
+
+"I'm making a coke oven, Tom," he replied. "I want to see how our coal
+will coke."
+
+"But I don't understand about coke," answered Tom. "Why is it that when
+you burn most of the substance out of coal it will make a hotter fire
+than with all its combustible materials in it?"
+
+"That isn't quite the case, Tom," answered the Doctor. "What we do in
+making coke is chiefly to expel the gas from the coal and to roast out
+the sulphur, which seriously interferes with the making of sufficient
+heat to smelt iron. Some coal gets burnt up in the process; some makes
+an indifferent and nearly worthless coke; while some makes a coke that
+would melt the heart of a miser. Now, as I told you the other night, I
+am convinced as a geologist, that a little further in our mine we shall
+come to coal so free from sulphur that we can smelt iron with it without
+making coke of it at all. But it is always preferable to make coke of
+it, and so I'm trying to see what sort of coke our coal will make. Of
+course we haven't come to the real coal yet, but I can tell a good deal
+by what we have now. We'll let my little coke oven roast all night and
+in the morning I'll know a great deal more than I do now. But if you
+have any question in your mind as to the gas making capacity of this
+coal, I'll remove it at once."
+
+With that he went to the camp fire, seized a blazing brand and applied
+it to the little mound of earth under which he had buried his coal.
+Instantly the whole outside of the mound was aflame.
+
+"That's the gas," said the Doctor. "You see there's plenty of it, even
+in the imperfect coal that we've reached. It will burn out presently and
+meantime its heat will help roast my coal into coke."
+
+After supper the boys again plied the Doctor with questions concerning
+coal. Tom began it by saying:
+
+"You told us the other evening, Doctor, that the value of a bed of coal
+depends upon many things besides its location and its accessibility to
+market. What are those things?"
+
+"Thickness, for one thing," answered the Doctor, "and that is a point in
+which our mine excels. You see coal seams are of every thickness, from
+that of a knife blade to beds 100 feet through. Those last are very
+rare, however. In this country the seams vary from knife blade thickness
+to about nine or ten feet. Now, in working a coal mine the men, of
+course, must have room to stand up in the shaft, so that wherever the
+vein is less than six feet thick a good deal of rock or earth must be
+removed so as to give sufficient height to the mine. It costs as much
+to remove the rock or earth as to handle a like amount of coal, and the
+stuff is worthless. So you see it is greatly more profitable to work a
+thick than a thin vein. Indeed there are very few veins under three or
+four feet thick that it pays to work at all. Our deposit here appears to
+be about nine feet thick, and that means much to us.
+
+"Another condition of value in a coal mine is a good roof. There are
+many rich veins of coal that have only earth or soft shale above them,
+and they are practically worthless because they are unworkable. We
+fortunately have a superb rock roof over our mine."
+
+"But, Doctor," said Tom, "you told us the other night that coal is at
+the basis of modern industrial civilization. Then I suppose that those
+nations which have coal must be the foremost ones in industry and
+consequently in civilization."
+
+"Certainly they are," said the Doctor, as the other boys gathered about
+to hear the talk; "and they will be more and more so as time goes on.
+England has more coal than any other country in Europe and so England is
+by all odds the foremost industrial nation in Europe, though other
+nations there have the advantage of buying English coal in an open
+market. Ever since our modern age of industry and machinery set
+in--that is to say ever since Old King Coal came to his throne--England
+has grown greater and richer, till now she is by all odds the richest
+country in Europe."
+
+"Haven't the other countries there any coal?" asked Ed.
+
+"Yes, but comparatively little. Let me see if I can remember the figures
+approximately. Great Britain's coal fields cover nearly 12,000 square
+miles; France has only 2,000 square miles, Prussia about the same,
+Belgium has only 500 square miles, Austria less than 2,000; Italy none
+at all to speak of, and as for Spain, the Spanish indolence, which puts
+off everything till 'to-morrow' has prevented that country from even
+finding out what coal she has. Russia has vast fields and bids fair to
+take her place ultimately among the great coal producing and industrial
+nations of the earth. But as yet her coal fields are imperfectly
+developed and her coal production is only about one-thirty-fifth as
+great as that of Great Britain."
+
+"What about the United States, Doctor?" asked Tom, who was an aggressive
+patriot.
+
+"Well, we have many times more coal than all Europe combined," answered
+the Doctor. "Great Britain's 12,000 square miles of coal lands sink into
+insignificance in comparison with our 214,000 square miles of measured
+coal fields, our 200,000 or 300,000 square miles in the Rocky Mountain
+states, and our totally unguessed-at coal fields in Oregon and
+Washington. As four or five hundred thousand and probably more, is to
+twelve thousand, so is our known coal area to that which has made Great
+Britain the greatest industrial nation on earth next to our own. And
+some of the British mines are pretty nearly worked out, while we have
+scarcely scratched the surface of ours."
+
+"Then this is likely to become the greatest industrial nation on earth?"
+said Jack.
+
+"It is already that," answered the Doctor. "We are selling our
+manufactured goods--even iron and steel products--in England to-day,
+almost as freely as we are selling our grain and our meat. I tell you,
+boys, there is nothing in this world that can happen to a man that is so
+good as being born an American citizen."
+
+"Amen!" said Tom. "To employ the dialect of my friends among the
+mountaineers, 'them's my sentiments every time all over and clear
+through.'"
+
+"All right," said Jack, "now let's get to bed."
+
+"I suppose there's a lot more you could tell us about coal, Doctor,"
+said Jim, "if there was time."
+
+"Of course there is," the Doctor responded; "but you'll learn it all
+practically. For we've a great mine here, and you boys will have first
+choice of places in its management."
+
+With that they all went to bed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII
+
+_The Camp Venture Mining Company_
+
+
+The next morning the Doctor "drew" his coke oven, which was quite cool
+by that time. He minutely examined the coke and called Tom to look at
+it. "You see," he said, "how perfectly it is fused. You see how free it
+is from any sort of admixture of sand or anything else. I tell you, Tom,
+we've got a great mine here, and it is going to make all of us
+comfortable for the rest of our lives. Your good mother is especially to
+be congratulated. This find will make her not only independent, but
+really rich. Now I want you to understand me, Tom. If your mother
+prefers to have anybody else manage this affair for her, I will
+instantly withdraw. At present I have no interest whatever here, and I
+can have none except by her consent. This mine is absolutely hers, to do
+with as she pleases. I want to serve her in the matter, by finding among
+my friends the capitalists who can make the thing 'go.' If she prefers
+to put the matter into other hands, I hope, Tom, you'll urge her to do
+so."
+
+Tom arose, took the Doctor's hand, pressed it warmly, and said simply:
+
+"I'm not quite an idiot, Doctor. Go on with your plans."
+
+Somehow, although Jack was Tom's elder brother, the Doctor and indeed
+the whole company had learned to think of Tom as essentially the head of
+his family. Curiously enough his mother and the other boys themselves
+had learned to regard Tom in precisely the same way.
+
+"But Doctor," said Tom, eager to divert the conversation, "why were you
+in such a hurry to put out the fire here that night when we first
+discovered the coal? Would it have burned any considerable way into the
+vein?"
+
+"I can best answer you, Tom, by telling you that about fifteen or twenty
+miles back of Mauch Chunk, in Pennsylvania, there is a bed of coal that
+has been burning for about half a century. Everything that human
+ingenuity could do to put it out has been done, but all to no avail. The
+whole mountain is slowly burning away, and when one walks about on the
+crust he is liable at any moment to have a foot sink into the fire
+below. So you see why I didn't want our mine to begin its career by
+getting afire."
+
+The next thing on the day's program was work upon the second truss for
+supporting the mine roof, and this was got into place before midday, so
+that the afternoon was given to vigorous digging into the coal bank.
+About five o'clock the Doctor called out:
+
+"You needn't dig any further, boys, we've got it safe enough!" Then he
+began singing "Old King Coal," as he hugged some specimens of the coal
+he had dug out of the extreme end of their little shaft to his bosom.
+
+"Got what?" asked Tom, who watched the Doctor's antics with eager
+interest.
+
+"Why, we've got what we've been looking for, coal equal to the very best
+that was ever mined in Virginia or West Virginia. I was sure I could not
+be mistaken. Now I know." And with that the Doctor danced and sang
+again.
+
+"Now," he said, "you boys come here. I want to talk with you. I'm going
+down to the station to-morrow to see my father. I propose, if you
+approve the plan, to have him come up here to inspect our find. Then I'm
+going to get him and my brothers and their financial associates to make
+a plan for capitalizing and working the mine. When their plan is made,
+you, Tom, and I will go to your mother and see what she thinks of it.
+You see the mine belongs to her absolutely, and any interest that any
+of the rest of us get in it we must buy from her. But, by way of
+preparing for such a purchase, I'm going down to the contractor's camp
+to-morrow, to get my father to come up here with a mining expert and an
+engineer, to look at the property and make up their minds about it."
+
+The suggestion was welcomed by the three boys concerned, and so the
+Doctor made his preparations for an early departure in the morning.
+
+The distance was not over two or three miles, and, as the Doctor had no
+wagon road to look out for, it took him less than an hour and a half to
+reach his father's headquarters. Early in the afternoon a cavalcade
+reached the camp. It consisted of the Doctor, his father, one of his
+brothers, a mining expert and two engineers.
+
+They went at once to work to inspect the mine and its roof and every
+thing else connected with it or in any way affecting its practical
+working. Finally they made their reports quietly to the elder Latrobe,
+and that gentleman bade them mount their mules and return to the
+contractor's camp.
+
+Then he asked the Doctor to bring the Ridsdale boys into conference with
+him. Seated on a log, he explained the situation thus:
+
+"Your mother has a very valuable coal mine here, in a most favorable
+locality. It will need capital, of course, for its development, and that
+I am prepared to furnish, as the representative of myself, my sons, and
+my other financial associates. My proposal is this: that we capitalize
+the mine at $400,000; that is to say, that we organize a company with
+that amount of stock; that your mother shall put in the mine as
+$200,000, and receive stock to that amount; that I and my associates--I
+will take care of that--shall put in $200,000 in cash and take the
+remaining stock in payment for our contribution."
+
+"I don't see," said Tom, "but that your proposal is a just and generous
+one. As I understand it, my mother is to put the mine into the company,
+as $200,000 capital, and you gentlemen are to put in $200,000 in money
+to be used as working capital, in operating the mine; my mother is to
+own one half the shares and you gentlemen the other half."
+
+"That is quite correct," said the elder Latrobe.
+
+"Then I am perfectly satisfied," answered Tom. "What do you say, Jack?
+What's your view, Harry?"
+
+The two other boys had no objection to offer. Indeed the easy rolling of
+large figures as sweet morsels under the tongues of the financiers
+completely appalled them, and so the whole matter was left to Tom to
+settle.
+
+That evening he went down the mountain with the elder Latrobe, leaving
+the Doctor and the boys to guard the mine. The next day Mr. Latrobe and
+Tom set off on mules for the town, fifteen miles distant, where Tom's
+mother lived. They arrived about noon, and Tom was eager to broach the
+business at once. But Mr. Latrobe objected.
+
+"I don't want to talk to you about this business, Madam, without the
+presence of some legal adviser or man of business, whose advice will
+prevent you from making mistakes."
+
+"Oh," answered the widow, "my Tom is here and he has a clear head."
+
+"All the same I wish you would send for a lawyer," answered the
+gentleman.
+
+"But I cannot afford it," said the lady.
+
+"You can, Madam. Your coal property is rich enough to afford many
+lawyers. And besides, Tom here has money enough to his credit on our
+books to pay a lawyer's fee ten times over. You have no idea what a
+winter's work your boys have put in on the mountain. Sincerely, I do not
+wish to lay my proposals before you without the presence of some
+disinterested, professional person, who can wisely advise you as to
+their acceptance or rejection. I have asked Tom to come with me in order
+that he may tell you how rich a property you have in this coal deposit,
+and warn your professional adviser against concluding any arrangement
+with me and my associates which does not give you an adequate recompense
+for the property that we ask you to put into this venture."
+
+So the lady sent for a wise old lawyer, who, after hearing Tom's
+statement, earnestly advised the widow to accept the terms offered. Then
+Mr. Latrobe said:
+
+"Madam, I am going to employ this gentleman, as a trusted friend of
+yours, to draw up our articles of incorporation and complete the legal
+formalities necessary to our mining company's existence. Meantime Tom
+and I will go back to the mine and set men at work in its development."
+
+"What name will you give to your company?" asked the old lawyer.
+
+"Why, the 'Camp Venture Mining Company,'" quickly responded Tom, "and
+we'll call the mine itself the 'Camp Venture Mine.' It all came out of
+Camp Venture."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV
+
+_Little Tom at the End of it All_
+
+
+All arrangements having been agreed upon between Mrs. Ridsdale and Mr.
+Latrobe, it was not necessary to wait for the formal organization of the
+company before beginning the work of developing Camp Venture mine. So
+Tom and Mr. Latrobe, as soon as the preliminary papers were drawn up and
+signed, mounted their mules and returned to the mine. Tom reached the
+camp that night and told the boys all about the arrangements that had
+been made. The next morning Mr. Latrobe came up the mountain,
+accompanied by a mining engineer, a company of workmen and a wagon load
+of tools, the latter guided by the same deaf and silent driver who had
+brought up Tom's load of supplies.
+
+The men were set to work at once under direction of the engineer. They
+cleared away the forest in front of the mine and, in the course of a few
+days built a chute so nicely calculated as to its incline that it would
+carry coal gently but surely to the railroad below.
+
+Meantime another company of workmen were busy constructing long
+sidetracks at the foot of the hill and connecting them with the main
+line of the railroad, while still another gang was employed in making a
+good wagon road down the hill.
+
+The boys, seeing their work done, began to prepare for their
+home-going--all but Tom and the Doctor. Those two sat on a log just
+within the light of the camp fire one night and talked.
+
+"I am going to stay here," said the Doctor. "This climate agrees with me
+as no other ever did, and besides, I shall be needed here. We shall have
+half a thousand miners at work here within three months, and their
+families will occupy quite a little town, built upon this ledge. A
+physician and surgeon will be needed, and I have secured the
+appointment. The company will pay me a salary for treating all injuries
+that the miners may receive, and as for the rest, of course the miners
+themselves will pay for my services in their families. Anyhow I'm going
+to build myself a comfortable little house up here and live here, where
+I can be strong and well and happy."
+
+"I'm going to stay too," said Tom. "I'm going in as a miner if I can't
+get anything better to do."
+
+"But you can get something much better," said the Doctor, "and I was
+just about to speak of that. I have already talked to the chief engineer
+about it. He introduced the subject himself. He is a person of very
+quick perceptions, as every engineer must be if he hopes for success,
+and he has discovered certain qualities in you which commend you to him
+very strongly. He has found out that, as you once put it, you 'look
+straight at things and use common sense.' Apart from a little technical
+mathematics, that is absolutely all there is of engineering, and he has
+taken a fancy to have you for an executive assistant. You see, in
+starting a mine so great as this, he will be obliged to plan many things
+which he will have no time to supervise in the execution. He wants you
+as an 'engineer's overseer,' he calls it. That is to say, when he plans
+a truss or a support, or anything else that is necessary and explains it
+to you, he wants to leave the matter in your hands, leaving you to
+direct the workmen and to see to it that his plans are intelligently
+carried out. After his talk with me concerning you, he was certain that
+you are precisely the kind of assistant he wants, and the appointment is
+open to you at a very fair salary."
+
+"How can I ever thank you enough, Doctor?" said Tom, with tears in his
+voice. As for his eyes they could not be seen in the darkness.
+
+"By not thanking me at all. Don't you understand, Tom, that my father,
+my brothers and myself have invested heavily in this mining venture? I
+have put into it every spare dollar I had in the world, and naturally I
+want it to 'go.' I believe that your practical common sense can mightily
+help in accomplishing that, and for that reason I have encouraged the
+chief engineer in his purpose to make you his overseer."
+
+"Thank you, Doctor," said Tom. "But if you know me at all you know I'm
+honest. I made up my mind to stay here on any terms that I could make,
+because I want to study this thing that you call mine engineering. I
+wanted to see how it is done, so that some day I could do it myself. I
+don't intend to remain an engineer's overseer all my life. I intend to
+be the best engineer I can make out of the raw material in me. So my
+plan is to stay here, keep my eyes and my mind open, and learn all I can
+of practical engineering work, till the mine begins to pay. Then I
+intend to go away to some scientific school and take a regular course in
+engineering."
+
+"That's admirable!" said the Doctor, with enthusiasm. "Now, I'll venture
+some suggestions. How much mathematics do you know?"
+
+"Algebra, elementary and higher, and a little geometry."
+
+"Good!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Now, I propose this plan: You shall live
+with me in the little house that I'm going to build, and serve as the
+chief engineer's executive at a fair salary from the company. I'll teach
+you all I know of general chemistry and geology of evenings, and I'll
+interest the chief engineer to teach you trigonometry, the calculus and
+surveying. In the meantime you'll be learning the practical part of
+engineering in your daily work, and when you go off to that scientific
+school its faculty will have little to do except to take your fees,
+record your name, and grant you your diploma."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Six years later Camp Venture mine was, in the phrase of the investors,
+"one of the richest paying enterprises" in that part of the country. Dr.
+Latrobe had become president of the company after the death of his
+father, and the enterprise owed much of its success, as every body
+agreed, to the skill, the energy, and the wonderful common sense of its
+chief engineer, Thomas Ridsdale, Esq., graduate of a noted school of
+mines.
+
+Tom was only twenty-four years old then, but he had always been
+accounted "old for his age," and as he stood upon the bluff,
+contemplated the long line of cars loaded with the product of Camp
+Venture mine and planned new side tracks in order that cars enough might
+stand there to receive the other waiting cargoes of the concentrated
+sunshine of thousands of years ago, "Little Tom," grown now to six feet
+two inches in his stockings, was satisfied with his life and his work.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+BOOKS FOR BOYS
+
+BY GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON
+
+
+THE LAST OF THE FLATBOATS. A Story of the Mississippi and Its
+Interesting Family of Rivers.
+
+CAMP VENTURE. A Story of the Virginia Mountains. Adventures among the
+"Moonshiners."
+
+THE BALE MARKED CIRCLE X. A Blockade-Running Adventure.
+
+JACK SHELBY. A Story of the Indiana Backwoods.
+
+LONG KNIVES. The Story of How They Won the West. A Tale of George Rogers
+Clark's Expedition.
+
+WHAT HAPPENED AT QUASI. The Story of a Carolina Cruise. A Tale of Sport
+and Adventure.
+
+
+LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41919 ***