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diff --git a/41919.txt b/41919.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d19aa09..0000000 --- a/41919.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9434 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Camp Venture, by George Cary Eggleston, -Illustrated by W. A. McCullough - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: Camp Venture - A Story of the Virginia Mountains - - -Author: George Cary Eggleston - - - -Release Date: January 26, 2013 [eBook #41919] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMP VENTURE*** - - -E-text prepared by David Edwards, Mary Meehan, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org) - - - -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 melee, 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 melee. 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 haemorrhage. - -"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 melee: - -"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 CAMP VENTURE*** - - -******* This file should be named 41919.txt or 41919.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/1/9/1/41919 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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