POSSESSION NINE POINTS OF THE LAW
"I hopeyou're satisfied now, George, about that pelt?" Lil Artha whispered to the doubting scout, as they stepped back, after shaking hands with the scientist, who was examining his prize with considerable delight; not that Uncle Caleb needed the money he would likely receive for the skin, if he chose to dispose of it; but it was something worth while to be able to say he had taken one of those rare little, and much sought after animals, a silver fox.
"Y-e-s, I s'pose it must be so, if he says they're so valuable," George admitted, but in a way that told how slow he was to take stock in such a fairy tale; so that later on Lil Artha, finding Uncle Caleb had certain articles that had been published in connection with the wonderful prices paid for silver fox skins in the open London market, took pains to see that the doubter read them, and was finally convinced.
"Nothing else would have fetched me out after such a great snow storm," the recluse told them, presently; "only I was anxious about this trap. You see, I knew all about the ways of mink and foxes, and also how they often gnaw a foot off in order to get free. It would have given me abad feeling to come here and find that owing to my delay, and the little animal's hunger, as well as pain, it had done that same thing, and was gone. The forepaw of a silver fox isn't worth much, only to make the disappointed trapper say things he'd be ashamed to have any one else hear."
"Then we're all glad we got here in good time to nip that little escape in the bud, Uncle," said Toby.
"And as my cabin is more than a mile off, with the going pretty poor, perhaps we'd better be setting out for the same right away," remarked the scientist. "I can give a pretty good guess that you've been having some rough times, and will be glad of a shelter to-night. As for myself, I'll be happy indeed to have you with me. It does get pretty lonely at times, even though I'm deeply interested in my hobby of taking flashlight pictures of the small animals hereabout. I've even perfected an arrangement so that lots of times they snap off their own pictures; as you'll see later on when we get to work."
"We've only got a few days to spend up here with you, Uncle Caleb," ventured Toby; "and we must see all there is in a hurry. We've just about got tired of roughing it in the snow, and a change to cabin life will set us up again."
"Then let's start right away, if you boys think you can hold out for lunch until we fetch up at my place. The return journey shouldn't take nearly as long as it did to come up here, becausewe can avoid plenty of pitfalls I fell into. How about that plan, Toby?"
"Whenever you're ready, Uncle, let us know," replied the scout. "Can I carry the fox for you; and how about this trap? Perhaps after catching your prize you won't want to leave it around again. If that's so let me take care of it for you?"
"Well, from the looks of things, it seems to me each one of you has enough to tote right now," chuckled the elderly man; "while I have nothing except my rifle. I'm a pretty hardy sort of an old chap, and able to carry my share of the burdens still; so if you don't mind, Nephew Toby, I'll look after both the trap and the silver fox."
Which he calmly proceeded to do; and they discovered afterwards that Uncle Caleb had an iron constitution, being able to do as much as any grown-up of their acquaintance, possibly barring the strong man of the circus, who could bend iron bars across his knee, and allowed an anvil to be pounded on his chest.
It appeared that Elmer had not been far out of the way when he determined on the direction from which they might expect the trapper to come. His figuring this out on the merits of the fact that their shots had not gone against the wind, had a great deal to recommend it, as Uncle Caleb admitted when he heard how scout tactics had been employed.
"I've been wanting to hear a whole lot more about what Boy Scouts do," he told them, as theytrudged cheerfully along; "and while we sit before the fire evenings, you must explain everything to me. From the little I know about it up to date I'm inclined to believe they've at last gotten hold of a very big idea, and one that's going to be of far more lasting benefit to American boys than any other scheme ever thought of in their connection."
"And so far as I'm concerned, sir," replied Elmer, modestly, "I'll be only too glad to give you all the information I can scare up. Our folks believe the same way you do, and as the Hickory Ridge Troop of Boy Scouts has been working for some few moons now, we feel that we've shown what a great improvement belonging to the organization has made in a good many fellows."
"Why, here's George for instance," said Lil Artha, maliciously; "a short time ago his people were worried because he didn't seem to eat half enough; and now he wants the dinner bell to be jangling all day long. That's one of the changes it's made; and I could name others, sir, almost as remarkable."
Even George himself had to join in the general laugh this remark from the long-legged scout brought out.
"I guess you're something of a joker, Arthur," observed Uncle Caleb, turning to smile at the other.
"That's what they all say about me," complained Lil Artha, "that I'm a joke, a freak; as if I could help it that my legs grew at the expenseof my body. But so long as I have the brains to go along with them why should I care whether school keeps or not? What our scout master doesn't tell you, we'll try and fill in; because there are heaps of things connected with our trials and victories of the past that Elmer might fight shy of on account of a false modesty. We have to blow his horn for him, you see, sir?"
"And I wager you blow it right well, too," observed Uncle Caleb.
"Oh! I manage to get some kind of music out of it, even if I'm not the regular bugler of the troop. He's Mark Cummings, and he's away from town right now. But how much further do we have to go before we strike your shack, sir?"
"Not over a third of a mile at the most," came the reassuring reply, that caused the tired boys to pluck up new hope, and in a way gird themselves afresh for the fray.
They had left the marsh behind long ago. Elmer knew from this that its border could not be a very desirable place to camp during the spring or summer, when it was apt to be more or less overflowed, and there was danger of malaria if one persisted in sleeping with fogs abounding frequently of nights.
Now that their troubles seemed all behind them, some of the scouts could look about and even admire the scenery by which they found themselves surrounded. Elmer could at least, and he found many interesting things to hold his attention as they journeyed along, following in a general waythe trail which Uncle Caleb had made in coming from his cabin to the spot where he had left the fox trap, in hopes of snaring the silver black which he knew used that section of the woods.
Every now and then their pilot would point out some object that was associated with certain events in the past. Here he had met with a black bear unexpectedly, and managed to snap off a picture of the surprised Bruin while the animal reared up on his hind legs; and then retreated. A little further on and he showed them where the fire had once caught him in a trap; and how he only escaped a serious singeing by discovering a cleft among the rocks, where he managed to crawl in, and lie until the danger was over. Then there was the tree into which he had been chased by a pack of wild dogs that seemed to have taken a strange dislike for all human beings, and which he had only dispersed after killing several of their number.
All these things were especially interesting to the scouts. They had met with not a few thrilling like adventures in their own experience, during their several camping trips to the woods; though these might sound tame after hearing of what strange happenings Uncle Caleb had experienced.
Toby saw that George raised his eyebrows each time he heard some interesting narrative from the recluse. He was a little afraid the doubter might express himself in his usual skeptical fashion, and demand further proof to back these talesup before he could give them unqualified approval; but fortunately George had a little too much good sense to commit such an indiscretion; it might go all very well when dealing with boys of his own age, but he did not have the nerve to tell an elderly man, and a professor at that, he doubted his word.
"He's got to be broken out of that bad habit," Toby was telling himself, every time he felt his heart apparently in his throat with apprehension lest George make a nuisance of himself; "and seems to me his chums ought to be the ones to do the thing up brown for George. What a nice fellow he'd be if only it wasn't for his everlasting sneering, and letting you feel he thought you were bluffing him!"
Meanwhile Elmer was studying Uncle Caleb. He quickly came to the conclusion that he would like the other very much indeed. He appeared to be a wonderfully well-read man, with a fund of information on every subject. Besides this, there was a quizzical gleam in his eyes that told the scout master the other was fond of humor, and could enjoy a joke, providing it was not along the lines of practical ones that hurt too deeply.
He was also a master of science, and no doubt had made a name for himself long before he forsook the haunts of men, to spend peaceful months here in the wilderness, studying the ways of the little creatures whose realm he had invaded.
Still, Uncle Caleb was a peaceful man. He never claimed to be a sportsman, and would notuse his gun save as a means of absolute necessity, if attacked by some dangerous wild beast; or else as a means of procuring needed fresh meat, which did not happen very often, since he was inclined to be a vegetarian, and had all his supplies hauled up here by wagon twice a year.
All these things Elmer learned by degrees, and the more he came to know of this remarkable old uncle of Toby's the better he liked him. This business of "shooting" things with a snapshot camera, especially by flashlight and at night-time, had always appealed more or less to Elmer; and he rejoiced to know that he was to be thrown in the company of one who had been more or less successful in obtaining wonderfully faithful pictures of the small swamp and woods animals.
The boys soon began to cast anxious glances ahead, for it was not very pleasant work carrying all the stuff they had brought along with them to the forest; and besides, the best part of the deer Lil Artha had bagged so luckily for himself and friends—particularly George.
"I don't see any sign of a cabin there, do you, George?" Lil Artha remarked in an aside to the other, who chanced to be puffing along at his elbow, and grunting after his customary style, though no more weary than the other three boys.
"No, and d'ye know I'm beginning to think there may be no cabin after all, that's what," replied George, stubbornly. "Of course Uncle Caleb has one somewhere or other; but he may have gotten mixed up in his bearings, you see;and right now how do we know whether we're heading right or wrong?"
"Well, if you don't take the cake for seeing the wrong side of everything," Lil Artha told him. "Of course there's a cabin, and we must be getting close to it as we stand now. About the old gentleman making a blunder, and wandering off, don't you know we've been following his out track all the while. And say, what's that you can glimpse through this little opening in the woods—in a direct line with these two birch trees, tell me that now, George, you old humbug of a grumbler?"
Thereupon George, only too willing to be convinced, took a long look, and then slowly admitted that he might have been too hasty.
"It does look alittlelike a shack roof, Lil Artha, and p'raps I hadn't ought to have spoken like I did; but even now that may be a fooler. Just wait and let's make sure before we holler."
In another five minutes all doubt with regard to this was ready to vanish even from that wavering mind of George, because they could plainly see one end of what seemed to be a pretty substantial log cabin, with a broad chimney running up the back, fashioned of slabs, and hardened mud that no doubt resembled flint.
It seemed to be an ideal snug retreat for a man who wanted to get away from the world, and enjoy himself after his own fancy. Here Uncle Caleb had come for years, and his visits to the haunts of civilization had been few and far between.As time passed on they threatened to cease altogether, for he found more real happiness here than he could among mankind, struggling constantly in pursuit of the mighty dollar, and pushing others down in trying to climb.
"How do you like the looks of it?" asked the owner of the cabin, with a touch of pardonable pride in his voice; for he had gone to considerable trouble in order to make the place attractive; and even though mounds of snow covered everything around, the boys could see that he had some conveniences, such as ordinary loggers' camps could hardly boast.
"It strikes me as a pretty sight," Elmer candidly admitted; "and I don't blame you, sir, for keeping up here. I should think you'd feel lonesome sometimes, though?"
"I do, and used to have a friend spend part of the season with me," acknowledged the scientist; "but last fall he married, and went to Europe, so that up to now I've been all alone, and your coming will be doubly welcome as a break in the monotony of the thing."
"But, Uncle, if as you say you are alone, who could that have been I just saw at that little window?" asked Toby.
"I certainly saw something moving inside there, too," Lil Artha asserted, beginning to display something of excitement, as he waited for the other to explain what already began to take on some of the elements of a dark mystery.
Uncle Caleb looked earnestly at the windowthey mentioned. It was a small affair, and as they afterwards discovered stood just above the kitchen table, also used during meal-time, since it was the only contrivance of its kind in the cabin.
"I don't happen to see anything there now, boys," he went on to say; "but after all it wouldn't surprise me very much. A very large wildcat has been hovering near my cabin for a week now. I've tried to get a picture of the beast several times, but all I managed to secure has been a rolling ball of fur for one, two glaring eyes for another, and the end of a stubby tail for a third. Now, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if that smart old cat has been watching me, and saw when I went off some time ago. Prowling around it must have climbed on the roof, and then finding it could back down the throat of the chimney, that's what he's done."
"Whoop!" cried Lil Artha, "a wildcat in possession, and has to be kicked out before we can use those bunks. Get your gun ready, Elmer, and we'll ambush the sinner."
THE CHIMNEY JUMPER
"Holdon, Lil Artha, don't rush things so fast!" called out Toby.
"Because this isn't our cabin, and before you knock over the uninvited guest it might be just as well to ask permission from the owner," added Elmer.
All eyes were of course turned on Uncle Caleb, although, according to the mind of the impulsive Lil Artha, there was only one thing that could be done, which was to suddenly open the door, and when the wildcat rushed out give him a shot.
"I've been trying to get a picture of that cat so long," Uncle Caleb told them, "that I'd really be very much disappointed now if he met with his fate, and I had to go without a snapshot, even though a distant one, to remember him by."
"It might be arranged," suggested Elmer, quietly.
"Put your trust in our scout master, sir, and you won't be disappointed," Lil Artha went on to say, meanwhile looking curiously toward Elmer, as though wondering what sort of plan he could have conceived on the spur of the moment.
"Tell us how, Elmer?" George demanded, atthe same time eying the cabin with a dubious manner, as though he half believed the boys who said they had seensomethingthrough the small window must have deceived themselves.
"Why, if the beast came down through the chimney, it strikes me he ought to know enough to go out the same way if alarmed enough," was what Elmer told them.
"A good idea, my boy!" declared Uncle Caleb, "and if I had everything ready, with my little pocket camera focussed on the chimney, I suppose I could snap him off as he climbed out. Now I'll fix that up right away, and when I'm ready I'll sing out. After that some of you can bang on the door, and start shouting, which should be enough to alarm the cat and make it think of scampering out the way it came in."
He was as good as his word. Pushing forward until he was within thirty feet of the cabin, with a good view of the rude chimney-top, and the light in the right quarter to promise a good picture, Uncle Caleb waved his hand to the others.
"All ready here, boys!" he exclaimed after he had fixed himself.
Elmer had spoken to Lil Artha and Toby, who were delegated to be the attacking squad. George and the scout master accompanied Uncle Caleb, the latter holding his gun in readiness.
"Remember," said Elmer, in a tone that every one could easily hear, "there is to be no shooting unless it becomes necessary. If the cat attacks us we'll have to defend ourselves. If it choosesto go about its business we don't expect to bother it any. Get that, Lil Artha?"
The tall scout replied that he did, though he looked disappointed, as though this thing of sparing so ferocious a varmint as a wildcat just because some one wanted to catch a few pictures of the beast from time to time, did not appeal very much to his sense of the fitness of things. To Lil Artha the cat was without the pale of the law, because it destroyed all sorts of useful things, from young partridges, rabbits and squirrels to domestic fowls; and he knew there never was a time that any State in the Union ever attempted to bar its hunters from killing every bobcat they could find, the more the merrier.
"Then start your racket!" Elmer told the two who were standing close to the cabin door.
Upon thus getting orders Lil Artha and Toby began to immediately make all the noise they could. They pounded on the door with their fists, together with the butt end of Lil Artha's gun; and the jargon of talk they put up was enough to drive any ordinary cat distracted.
Toby even partly opened the door—just a few inches for he did not want to make the acquaintance of that cat at close quarters—and banged it shut again, meanwhile sending a whoop through the slit. It must have been a brave animal that could have stood out against all that combination of sounds.
Through the small opening Toby had glimpsed something that made him have a chilly sensationalong the region of his spine. He had caught sight of the intruder. The cat was an exceptionally large one, and it stood there in the middle of the floor, its hair bristling with fury, and its eyes glaring like yellow balls. No wonder Toby slammed that door so speedily, while his whoop ended in a yell. He almost thought he could hear the heavy thud as the springing cat landed against the door close to his head.
That may have only been his imagination working overtime, and inspired by the one glimpse he had obtained of the fierce beast. He fancied as much himself later on, when in a condition to survey the sequence of events calmly.
While Toby and Lil Artha continued to whoop things up another shrill outcry, this time from George, stilled their clamor.
"Oh! there he is coming out of the chimney, Elmer!" was what George shrieked in his excitement, and afterwards the others laughed when they made mention of the fact that for once George did not seem to doubt the evidence of his eyes, or say that he thought it might be the cat he saw.
"I've got him!" added Uncle Caleb, who doubtless must have managed to work his snapshot camera instantly, though no one heard the "click" of the flying shutter on account of all the other sounds that were arising.
The wildcat had indeed appeared on top of the chimney, having remembered the route it had taken when entering. This alone proved that itwas a clever beast, because in the midst of such excitement many another animal would have lost its head, and gone plunging around the interior, trying to push through the window perhaps, and utterly forgetting that there was such a thing as a vent in that slab and hard mud "smoke chaser," as Lil Artha always called the chimney.
"Look out, Elmer, he's going to jump at you!" warned the tall scout, in a frenzied tone.
A wildcat is possibly one of the most vicious of small beasts of prey to be found in American forests. It will often attack a hunter without any seeming provocation, although doubtless there is some reason for the reckless act, such as hidden kittens near by, or consuming hunger.
In this particular case neither of these reasons would apply, but the animal was enraged on account of being disturbed while eating, and then badgered by those yells on the part of the two scouts, as well as their banging of the cabin door. George afterwards told them that they could hardly blame the poor cat for getting its back up when abused and shouted at in such a way; he also said that if he happened to be a wild beast he would certainly be "mad clear through, and ready to fight at the drop of the hat."
Elmer was on the alert, not that he had really anticipated such a thing as having the wildcat spring at him, but he knew enough about such animals to be aware of their fickle temper, and that one is never to be trusted within leaping range. An old hunter had once told him never under anypossibility to lower his gun when a bobcat was facing him, because their spring is like a flash of lightning. And as we happen to know, Elmer was a boy who always believed in the efficiency of the scout's motto, "Be Prepared!"
The cat crouched there on the top of the chimney for just three seconds. That was the time when Uncle Caleb managed to press the button, and get his picture. It was also when Lil Artha sent out his shrill warning, and at the same time swung his Marlin gun around so that the stock rested against his shoulder.
Then the wildcat sprang, with every powerful muscle in play—sprang straight toward the little group of three—George, Elmer and Uncle Caleb!
George was unarmed and being a cautious fellow he knew that the best thing for him to do was to get out of range as speedily as possible.
Accordingly his movement was exactly timed with that of the leaping cat; for just as the animal quitted the apex of the short chimney, and launched its agile body into the air, George fell flat on his face on the ground and made himself as small as possible.
There sounded a double report. Both Elmer and Lil Artha had fired so near the same time that until told differently later on, George supposed that the scout master alone had made use of his ready gun.
Uncle Caleb knew considerable about these savage cats, and he jumped aside even as the roar of the guns sounded. Elmer, too, had no soonerpulled the trigger than he took a quick step to the right, and then held his gun ready to make use of the other barrel if necessary.
It turned out that such a thing was not needed. Halted in midair by the double charge of shot, which at such close range must have had the same tearing effect as so many bullets, the wildcat fell with a heavy thud to the ground, some five feet away from where Elmer stood. He instantly covered the beast with his gun.
"No need of another shot, my boy!" cried the owner of the cabin, hastily; "you've already settled him handsomely."
The wretched invader had indeed paid the penalty for his crimes, and all because he possessed such a terrible temper. Had he been willing to jump in the other direction the chances were nothing would have been done to prevent his escape, so that he might furnish Uncle Caleb with other opportunities to snap him off when in the act perhaps of devouring a partridge he had captured in the snow forest. When he allowed his fury to get the better of his discretion he made the one mistake of his life.
All of them gathered around the now dead wildcat to admire his size, and comment on his recklessness in daring to attack a party of human beings.
"Did you ever hear of such nerve in all your life?" remarked Lil Artha, who was grinning all over with the satisfaction it gave him to be instrumental in disposing of such a pest of the woods."Why, if there had been a regiment I reckon he'd have jumped at 'em just the same. Mebbe cats go mad sometimes, and just don't know what they're doing."
"I've known of similar cases before," remarked Uncle Caleb, who was looking at the wretched beast rather sadly, Elmer thought, "and a hunter who has had experience never trusts a cat further than he can see it. They get those crazy freaks once in a while, and fear seems to be driven out of their system. When a Malay or a Chinaman loses his head, and starts to wipe out the whole town, they say he is 'running amuck,' and they always shoot him down as they would a mad dog. This cat species when rendered furious does the same thing, and hesitates at nothing. But I'm sorry it had to be done. He was a splendid specimen of a wildcat. Look at those powerful muscles, and see what a square head he has. I'd have given considerable to have had him a little more sociable, so that I might have snapped off several pictures showing how he secured his food, and crept up on game. But it couldn't be helped, apparently; he just had to go and commit suicide as it seemed. And, Elmer, you certainly pulled a quick trigger."
"Half the credit goes to Lil Artha, for he fired at the same time," Elmer quickly admitted. "I'm sure both of us hit him, because you can see how badly the pelt is cut up. It would never bring ten cents in the market after that riddling."
"Is it possible that there were two shots, andI never suspected it?" Uncle Caleb observed, turning on the tall scout with a smile. "Well, I can easily see that you boys have long ago learned how to take care of yourselves, which is one of the best things any lad can know. All of which increases my desire to hear more about this organization that is doing such wonders for our American lads."
"Do you think you got your picture of the cat, Uncle?" asked Toby. "I heard you call out something or other about it."
"I pressed the button while he was squatting on the top of the chimney," the owner of the cabin went on to say, "and that should be a fine picture. Then almost mechanically I turned the screw that brought another section of film into play, and my recollection is that I snapped off another shot even as the beast was in the air. I'm curious to know if I got anything worth while with that one. It would be a great triumph if I should develop the film and find that I'd caught the cat just as it received your shots and crumpled up in midair."
"That would be something worth seeing, sir," Lil Artha told him, "and we'll hope it turns out that way."
George had scrambled to his feet as soon as he realized that the danger was over. He looked a little ashamed, but there was no occasion for feeling that way. When any one is unarmed, and sees such a fury as that wildcat certainly was coming in his direction, he would be foolish indeednot to dodge, and even hug the ground in an effort to escape contact with those cruel poisonous claws.
"Gee whiz! look at the sharp teeth, would you; and then those open claws," Lil Artha continued, as he bent down and took one of the dead cat's feet in his fingers; "excuse me from meeting up with such a crazy customer when walking through the woods at sundown. I might manage to get the best of the beast, but my bully khaki suit would be in ribbons, and mebbe my face clawed into a map of Ireland."
"As for me," spoke up Toby, "I'd never feel easy if I knew such a terror was always hanging around, watching for a chance to grab me when my back was turned. And say what you will, Uncle Caleb, I'm tickled half to death because we bagged your pet cat before he had a chance to mark any of us. I tell you I'll enjoy my tramps around this section better after this. If he'd got away you wouldn't have caught Tobias Ellsworth Jones wandering fifty feet away from home base without carrying a club or a gun along. His room is going to be a whole sight better than his company."
Uncle Caleb smiled at hearing what his nephew thought.
"Perhaps you're right in saying that, Toby," he remarked, "and it may be that in pursuing my pet hobby I'm going too much to extremes in wanting to preserve the life of such a savage animal. Possibly your ending his career of piracy may be the means of saving me from a very unpleasantexperience; for I was planning to push my campaign against this same cat, and follow him into his den, to get a good flashlight picture of what he looked like at home. It would have been a foolhardy experiment, I begin to realize. I suppose it's all for the best, and I'll cure the skin just to remember the adventure by."
Lil Artha, who had pushed up close to Elmer, managed to say in a low tone:
"I reckon that it was you knocked the stuffing out of the beast, Elmer, because I'm afraid I fired too low." But the scout master immediately hushed him up, and told him never to mention it again, for he felt sure both of them had made a hit.
SCOUTS IN CLOVER
"Thereused to be a time," Uncle Caleb went on to remark, as he lifted the heavy wildcat, and started toward the door of his cabin, "when I was considered quite a sportsman. I took every opportunity I could to be in the woods and on the water, shooting deer, quail, partridge, snipe, ducks, geese, brant and all such things, for my fancy seemed to run more in the line of small game than grizzly bears or lions, tigers, elephants and the like. But years ago I began to notice a change gradually taking place in my feelings. I suppose many men find the same thing working when they grow older, and the fires of youth are spent. I began to dislike taking life of any sort, and recently I have allowed many a fine chance to make a bag slip by, because I would sooner snap off a picture, and live on canned goods supplied from the store."
Of course none of the boys could fully understand this sentiment. They viewed it from the standpoint of youth, and would never know any different until they too grew old, and their hunting instincts became mellowed.
At the same time they could respect such humanemotives, and understand something of the peculiar fascination that taking pictures of wild animals in their native haunts was apt to entail.
"Now to see what a mess the creature may have made of my little cabin home," Uncle Caleb went on to say, as he flung open the door and entered, leaving the body of the late trespasser outside to be attended to later.
The scouts crowded in after him, and looked eagerly around. They found that the cabin in the snow forest was quite a neat affair. Evidently the occupant had gone to considerable trouble and expense to make it comfortable. As he expected to spend most of his time here under this roof, Uncle Caleb believed in having things to suit him, even to a little bathroom off the back, which in summer was supplied with running water from a spring on higher ground, and fed through a sunken pipe, now disconnected on account of the freezing temperature that would have speedily burst it.
There were a couple of bunks built into the walls on either side of the big fireplace, which latter came out several feet into the room. Besides this there was a cot that was also a settee in the daytime, a large table, several comfortable seats that were along the type of the Morris chair Elmer had in his den at home, and various cases of books, curiosities and such things.
Upon the floor were a number of real imported small rugs that Uncle Caleb must have brought from the Orient himself. The boys thought themrather odd, though at the same time pretty; but they were later on staggered when they learned the history of each little carpet, and what a vast sum Uncle Caleb had paid for them in his rôle of collector.
Taken in all, the interior of that cabin was about as far from resembling the average hunter's home as anything could be. Immediately Lil Artha quit calling it the "shack," because forever afterwards with that cheery interior it would appeal more to him in the garb of a miniature palace.
Uncle Caleb was a rich bachelor, and he liked to be comfortable. Besides, he was a man of science, and a student, rather than a hunter; so they concluded that he was quite right in making his little home look so pleasant.
Just then, however, things were in something of an upset condition. The hungry cat in prowling around and searching for something to eat had upset a number of articles, broken a pet dish of the cabin's owner; while there on the table was the partly gnawed strip of bacon at which the animal had been busily at work when interrupted by their arrival on the scene.
"I can save the better part of it," said the easy-going Uncle Caleb, "and besides, there is plenty more in the locker, for I lay in my winter's stock long before the first real snow comes, so as not to be bothered later on by trips to the town where I trade, which is many miles away from here."
When later on he showed them his "strong room" where his stores were kept George in particular was noticed to lick his lips with a satisfied smile on his face as if telling himself that there need be no fear of hunger so long as they stayed with Uncle Caleb.
"Choose your bunks, boys," they were speedily told, "and toss your blankets in the ones you select. It seems that you figured pretty closely, because if there had been another scout in the party we'd have had to get busy building a new bed. As it is, there is one apiece all around."
"But how about you, Uncle?" asked Toby, solicitously; "we don't want to push you out of your regular bed. Let me sleep on that cot."
"No, I prefer to take it," the owner of the cabin replied; "in fact, as a rule I have slept on the cot winters, because I can pull it up in front of the fire on nights that are particularly bitter."
"You must get some howlers up here, sir, I should think," suggested Elmer.
"Along in January we often have a terrible storm or blizzard, when it's utterly unsafe to venture outside the door, because one can never see ten feet away. Men have been found frozen to death close to their own cabins, which they did not dream were so close by when they gave up in despair. The storm that just visited us was pretty severe, but not to be compared with some I have seen."
"George, take your pick of bunks," said Elmer.
Perhaps he allowed George to have the first saybecause of the other's notorious habit of grumbling; the wise scout master did not want to give him any chance to complain that he had not been treated fairly and squarely.
Now George was not so greedy but that he could feel ashamed. He seemed to scent the true reason why Elmer was so kind, for a flush came over his face, and he actually shook his head in a decided negative.
"That isn't just fair to the rest, Elmer, and I won't have it," he said, with a show of spirit. "The bunks are all built alike, but one may be better than the others, 'specially of a cold night. Now I tell you how we'll fix that up fine and dandy; I'll mark them by numbers up to four; then I'll write that many on pieces of paper and we'll put them in a hat. Each one draws one out, and in that way gets his bunk without any favoritism being shown. What d'ye say to that, Elmer?"
"Just as you like, George; and I want to tell you I admire the independent spirit you display when you refuse to be favored above the rest. That's the right way to show what you're made of. It speaks well for the regard you have toward others."
While Elmer was saying this George drew out a lead pencil stub and made a figure on the front of each bunk, running from one to four. Then he did the little numbering on as many small squares of paper torn from his notebook. These latter he threw into a hat and held it so no one could lookin, though a hand might be inserted through the small opening.
"Elmer, you draw first!" George went on to say, as he held the hat out to each one of the others in turn.
So the scout master accommodated him, and found that he had hit upon one of the lower bunks. Toby got the upper, and Lil Artha drew the other elevated bed; so that after all George was given the pick of the lot. No one could ever begrudge him his good luck, now that he had shown such a fair spirit.
"It hit me about right," admitted Lil Artha, as he stood up alongside the wall, and flung his blanket inside the second upper bunk, "because Nature always intended that I should nest high, when She gave me this pair of stilts. Lucky you made the bunks over six feet long, Uncle Caleb, or I'd never have been able to turn over without drawing my knees up to my chin. It gives me a pain whenever I think that I may go on stretching out for nearly four years yet. My folks think of cutting the doors higher in our house. They get tired of seeing me duck my head every time I come into a room."
A fire was soon built up in the open space under the chimney flue which the cunning wildcat had used as a means for entering and leaving the cabin. At the time there happened to be little heat among the ashes, for the owner was averse to leaving a fire when he went away for hours, lest he return only to find a blackened heap wherehis cabin with its many precious treasures had stood.
It was like a picnic to cook when there were so many conveniences, and Lil Artha, who insisted on helping George, called attention to the excellent iron frame which was intended to be placed over the fire, and serve to hold such cooking vessels as were needed in the preparation of the meal.
Besides this there was a portable oven which made splendid biscuits and bread, as the boys learned later on, when Uncle Caleb showed them how he lived while keeping bachelor's hall alone in that wilderness, days, weeks and months at a time. He had a small barrel of flour in his storeroom, with such a collection of canned goods and dried as well as smoked meats, that George declared it looked like a young grocery store to him; and privately admitted that he would not care very much if they had been booked to stay the balance of the winter with Uncle Caleb, instead of just a few days. He could see all manner of "good times" in that delightful storeroom collection.
They had a light lunch, as the old scientist usually preferred to eat his one heavy meal in the evening, after his thinking was done for the day.
"Make yourselves quite at home, boys," he told them, with a sincerity that even skeptical George could not question; "everything I have is at your disposal. You will find hosts of things to interest you among my collection of curios, and the myriads of pictures I have taken the last sevenyears. Some of them have been honored by being published in a geographic magazine, and excited considerable interest among a certain class of scientists. I'm ready to answer every question you can ask, and it will give me the greatest pleasure imaginable to be of service to you. All I seek in return is full confidence; you must tell me all about what scouts do, and learn, and aim to accomplish; also what adventures you may have encountered in carrying out these organization principles."
During the rest of that never-to-be-forgotten afternoon the boys manifested no desire to wander through the white forest, but stayed indoors looking at the many interesting things owned by Uncle Caleb, many of which he had picked up in various quarters and corners of the world, for he had been a famous traveler in his day.
They almost talked themselves hoarse, asking questions, and explaining all about what duties and obligations a boy takes upon his shoulders when he subscribes to the scout promise, and assumes the responsibilities accompanying such a service.
Uncle Caleb had about everything that money could purchase in connection with his photographic fad; and among other things a daylight tank for developing the films.
As he was very anxious to find out whether the snapshots taken of the wildcat on the cabin chimney would turn out to be worth anything, he proceeded to develope the films that afternoon.
When he held them up after washing, and let the boys see the result they were loud in their declarations that he had really done himself proud.
There was the one with the big cat crouching on the chimney-top, and giving all the detail that could be desired. The other was not quite so clear, but it seemed that he must have aimed the camera just right, and pressed the button while the leaping animal was in midair, just crumpling up under the two charges of shot received from separate quarters. This last was a thrilling picture, and ought to make a fine print.
"They'll be a splendid addition to my collection," Uncle Caleb told the boys, as he surveyed his prizes with kindling eyes; "I've got a good many strange pictures but I expect these will top the list. I'll print a copy for each one of you to carry home when you go, because in a measure that is your cat, as well as mine."
Taken in all, they would never be apt to forget that same afternoon. Their genial host seemed to be so delighted to have such a wideawake pack of boys up there with him, that he could not do too much for them. Many were the yarns he spun connected with his nomadic life under different suns; and since settling down to this peculiar state of existence he had known a multitude of adventures, both great and small.
"Right now," he told them, as the afternoon light began to fade with the drawing near of the time for sunset, "you might say I am a marked man; not that it gives me any great amount ofconcern, because I hardly believe that Zack Arnold will ever get his courage up to the sticking point, and attempt to carry out the wild threats he made against me."
"I remember hearing a man speaking that name on the train when we were nearing your station, Uncle!" exclaimed Toby; "he talked as though the fellow might be a sort of woods guide, though a tough rascal feared by every one, even the game wardens, who were afraid to try and arrest him for shooting game out of season."
"All of which is about as true as it can be," was the reply. "Six months ago I had the misfortune to run foul of this same Zack. He was even then half under the influence of liquor, and very abusive. I could have stood it for myself, but when the big brute raised his hand, and knocked down a half-grown girl who had chanced to stumble, and fall against him, in the store, it was too much for my blood."
"You gave him what he deserved, didn't you, Uncle?" demanded the exultant Toby.
"Well, I knocked him down three times in succession, for he had come at me with a knife the second and third times. After that he lay there, and was counted out. Now I was never proud of having upset a brawling bully like that when half-seas over, but it had to be done to pay him for striking that poor child. I heard afterwards that he was furious at me, and vowed he would get even, if he had to come all the way up here to where I held out, and settle his debt."
The boys exchanged looks.
"But he might take a sudden notion to visit you, when feeling in a particularly ugly mood, Uncle," Toby remarked, soberly, "and no one would ever know who had set your cabin on fire, and perhaps burned you in the same."
"Well, I thought of that and for a time never went outside these walls without carrying a gun along; but months have passed, and he does not show up, which I take it means he is too big a coward to risk his ears trying to do me an ill turn. And of late I've neglected any of those precautions. When first I saw my fox trap had been tampered with, and that valuable prize taken, I thought of what Zack Arnold had sworn, and was sure it must be his work. But let's forget about such an unpleasant subject, and have a little music for a change."
It seemed that among his many other accomplishments Uncle Caleb was something of a musician; that is, he loved music, and could play very well on a banjo, as well as on a guitar. The boys had found this out, through Toby, and looked forward to having good times listening to their genial host during evenings, as they sat before a crackling fire, and cared not for the weather without.
It was getting pretty sharp again, as George announced after coming in with an armful of wood; but little they cared, with such comfortable quarters, and plenty to eat in the family cupboard.
As if to dismiss an unpleasant subject from his mind Uncle Caleb started in to amuse his youngguests with various popular selections, most of which the scouts knew as well as they did their own names. From these he presently drifted to older airs from the operas, and sentimental serenades that afforded the boys considerable pleasure. In the end he played a few such favorites as "Home, Sweet Home," with so much effect that he had one or two of them secretly winking rapidly in order to keep the tears from filling their eyes.
"Come, we've had enough of this for the present," said the player, suddenly, on catching sight of Toby blowing his nose with great vehemence, "and as it's getting dark outside, suppose we start our preparations for supper. I've got a few wrinkles I'd like to show you, although I rather expect some of you boys will turn out such good cooks that you'll make my little efforts look primitive."
All the same they did not. Uncle Caleb excelled in nearly everything he undertook, from science, music, and photographing wild animals in their native haunts, all the way down to cookery—perhaps George and Toby and Lil Arthur might object to using that word, and on their own account say "upto cookery."
At any rate he certainly gave the scouts a supper they would not soon forget; and they admitted in private afterwards that they must look to their laurels if they did not want to be considered "back numbers." Uncle Caleb had done his own cooking for a good many years, and being of an investigatingturn of mind, had not been content to go along beaten paths, like most bachelors left to their own devices, but had studied cook-books, and made a success of many fine recipes.
After the meal was over, and things cleaned up, they gathered before the burning logs, and looked forward to an enjoyable evening. Every one was to have a part in entertaining the company, with story or song, as the case might be; and Elmer had a long list of questions which he wanted answers for, mostly pertaining to the habits of the little woods and swamps animals in which Uncle Caleb had become so vitally interested.
Before they could get fully settled down, however, there was a shuffling sound heard at the door, and then came a hesitating sort of knock from without.