THE OBJECT LESSON
"Wasn'tthat a knock?" asked George, who apparently had not heard the sound so plainly as the others.
"Seemed like it to me," replied Toby, "but say, neighbors can't be so plenty up here in the woods, to have one running in after supper for enough coffee to last over breakfast. P'raps, after all, it was only a limb scraping against the roof; or a squirrel up in the loft huntin' nuts Uncle's laid away."
"It is some one at the door!" remarked the owner of the cabin, quietly.
Elmer saw him getting to his feet. There was a sparkle in the eyes of Uncle Caleb; and his jaw seemed set in a determined way. This suddenly caused Elmer to remember what had been recently told about the tough hard-drinking guide who believed he had a grudge against the old scientist—Uncle Caleb.
"Let me go to the door for you, Uncle Caleb," said Elmer, hurriedly.
"It is my cabin, son, and therefore my duty to answer any summons," was the steady reply of the old gentleman; "so please stay where you are, unless I need any assistance."
"Great governor! what if it should bethat man?" Lil Artha was heard to mutter as he reached out a hand, and clutched his own Marlin, which chanced to be standing in a corner conveniently near by.
Every one fairly held his breath as Uncle Caleb was seen to move toward the door. He had not thought it worth while to arm himself, and Elmer considered this positive evidence, going to prove the other's bravery. He himself hardly knew what to expect, and his whole frame fairly quivered with a mixture of eagerness and dread as he saw the owner of the cabin start to open the door, which had been secured by a simple old-fashioned bar that fell into a brace of sockets, one on either side.
Immediately the barrier was removed they saw a figure stagger into view. Uncle Caleb stretched out his hand, and took hold of it. Then the sound of muttered words came to their ears, after which the old gentleman turned, closed the door, and led his unexpected guest toward the fire.
The staring scouts saw that this was a very large man. He seemed to be coarsely dressed as might a woods guide, wearing a heavy sweater under his outer coat. No weapons were visible, and one of his arms hung limply at his side as though it might have been broken in some sort of accident.
The man's face was distorted by pain, but they could see that it was bearded, and looked bearish. In fact, every one of the boys' first impressionwas that they would not care to meet this fellow while wandering through some lonely part of the forest, and do anything calculated to excite his anger; for he appeared to be a man with a violent temper.
"It'shim, I just bet you, Elmer!" whispered Lil Artha in the scout master's ear and Elmer nodded as though he fully agreed with the other.
There seemed to be no need to mention names, for the memory of what Uncle Caleb had recently told them was fresh in every fellow's mind. Curiously they watched what was going on. Lil Artha still caressed his gun. He had hardly made up his mind whether or not this might be a clever trick on the part of Zack Arnold, calculated to gain him an entrance to the cabin of the man he hated so bitterly, though without any reasonably just cause.
It was only the other day that Lil Artha had been reading in school of the wooden horse which played such an important part in the capture of Troy in olden times, being filled with the enemy, who, issuing forth in the night-time, opened the gates of the fortified city to their allies without. Perhaps that was what made the boy suspect the visitor might be shamming in order to catch Uncle Caleb off his guard.
But if this idea had seized hold of Lil Artha he soon realized its utter absurdity. Men may go to considerable lengths in order to carry out their schemes; but he certainly did not believe even a determined fellow like Zack Arnold would deliberatelybreak his arm in the effort to divert suspicion.
It was an ugly break, too, as was shown as soon as Uncle Caleb had divested the other of his garments, with the assistance of Elmer, who sprang to his side when he realized what was needed. That thick, hairy arm was covered with blood, and the sight of it made Toby and George shudder.
"Get a kettle of water on the fire in a hurry, please!" said Uncle Caleb, "because the first thing to be done is to wash this arm so we can see how to set the bone. Toby, at the same time start that coffee to going again, will you? A few hot drinks would take some of the chill out of this poor fellow. He's had a terrible tumble, and is covered with bruises, besides this broken arm. But we'll fix him up as comfortable as we can; and he luckily managed to get to my cabin before it was too late!"
While the old gentleman was speaking in this way the keen black eyes of Zack Arnold kept following his every move. Elmer wondered what must be passing through the mind of the vindictive man just then. He did not doubt in the least but what some terrible plan to revenge himself upon Uncle Caleb for what the other had done to him on that previous occasion had been the cause for his coming to this particular region, for his own camping grounds lay many miles away to the west, where sportsmen congregated in the season for either fly fishing or deer hunting.
With some black plan in his mind the man hadstarted to even up his score with Uncle Caleb; but a strange fate had caused him to meet with a terrible accident; and now he was compelled to actually seek shelter and assistance from the very man he had been about to injure.
It was a remarkable freak of fate, and Elmer found himself wondering what the outcome of it all might be.
Lil Artha had quietly replaced his Marlin in the corner when he first glimpsed that tortured arm, for he realized then that there was going to be no need of weapons. When Uncle Caleb called for a kettle of warm water he was the first to leap to his feet and place one on the fire; while Toby, just as eager to help, began to brew the coffee.
This latter was ready even before the kettle began to sing, and Uncle Caleb himself poured a brimming cup of the beverage, which he handed to the wounded man. No doubt Zack Arnold needed some stimulant the worst kind. He must have exhausted his pet flask on the way, for he did not seem to have a drop about him; and when the fragrant Java beverage was placed in his possession he swallowed the contents of the big aluminum cup in great gulps, as though his throat might be made of cast iron, which no hot stuff could scald.
Uncle Caleb asked no questions. He must know very well what had brought this revengeful guide so far out of his beaten track; but to see him tenderly washing that arm, and then gently setting the broken bones, after which he bound it up with a splint almost as well as any professional surgeoncould, you might have thought he was attending his best friend instead of a bitter enemy.
Lil Artha could hardly keep his eyes off the man's face. He, too, had finally managed to grasp the same idea that had come long before to Elmer; and now he wondered again and again what the outcome of this remarkable adventure was going to be. He even chuckled a little to himself as he saw those eyes of Zack following Uncle Caleb back and forth, as the other went to get more bandages, or it might be the soothing salve which he wished to rub upon several ugly black-and-blue spots visible on the left side of the brawny woodsman.
"Huh! I've heard before about heaping coals of fire on your enemy's head," Lil Artha whispered to Elmer, when he found a good chance, "but I never just understood what it meant. Now I know to a fraction. Say, did you ever hear of such a queer thing in all your life? And I bet you he was coming up here to make a lot of trouble for Toby's uncle, too. Well, thisisan object lesson for scouts, ain't it, Elmer?"
"Just as you say, Lil Artha, but better not try and talk any more about it. He might hear something you wouldn't want him to. Just keep your eyes and ears open, and you'll be well paid."
So after that the tall scout sat still and kept on the alert. He was enjoying things exceedingly. In fact he could not remember having ever felt such a keen interest in anything before as he did in this coming of Zack Arnold to the cabin of his hated enemy, and under such queer conditions.
When in the end Uncle Caleb finished attending to his injured guest, and with the help of Elmer the guide's sweater had been secured in such fashion that it gave him the required warmth, he seemed to remember something else looking to the comfort of Zack Arnold.
"Do you think you could manage to eat something if we cooked it for you, Zack?" he asked, with such an earnest manner that the man writhed in his seat, and his eyes fell in what Lil Artha believed to be utter shame, though he quickly spoke up in reply.
"Ye've made me feel so comfy-like, suh, that I jest reckon Icouldtake a few bites. Hain't had nawthin' sence mornin'. Ye see, I took this tumble 'long 'bout noon, an' I lost nigh everything I had with me in the way o' eatin's an' same with the drinkin's. Been jest walkin' ever sence, ahopin' I mout hold out long enuff ter strike yer shack; but I kim near throwin' up the sponge an' lettin' the freeze do the bizness for me."
George saw a chance to get his hand in had come at last.
"What shall I cook him, Uncle Caleb!" he hastened to ask.
"I've got just two eggs left from the lot I fetched back with me," said the old scientist, without hesitation, "and you can fry them for him with a slice of ham. You'll find the eggs in that can where I keep my rice, the one with the name on the front, George. And there's plenty more coffee in the pot. In his present exhausted conditionit will be the best thing he can take, far better than liquor!"
The guide opened his mouth as though about to say something, but his emotions must have overcome him, for he gulped several times, blinked his eyes quickly, and then sat there staring hard at the fire, possibly with strange thoughts surging through his mind.
Elmer noted these things. He felt that a revolution might be taking place within the soul of that tough woodsman.
"I wouldn't be at all surprised," was what Elmer told himself, as he later on watched Zack devouring the supper George had prepared, "but what this is going to turn out to be the making of that man. He's surely seen a great light, and already looks at things in a different way from what he ever did before. And if I know Uncle Caleb, as I think I do from having studied him, the chances are ten to one he'll wait his chance, and all he'll ask in return for what he's done will be for Zack to get on the water wagon, and stay there the rest of his life. Well, I hope it does turn out that way. But who'd ever think we'd run across such a wonderful object lesson away off up here in the snow forest?"
And yet later on, when Elmer allowed himself to survey the matter at closer range, he was not greatly surprised; for he realized that occasions are apt to spring up at the most unexpected times when observing scouts can read a lesson in passing events, if only they keep their wits about them.
THE QUEER ACTIONS OF ZACK ARNOLD
Roomwas found for the newcomer later on in the half-circle before the fire, and though Zack Arnold took no part in the conversation, he sat there listening, and hearing things that must have given him many new impressions. As a rule his eyes were fastened upon the beaming and genial face of Uncle Caleb, who, however, made out not to notice this attention he was receiving, though naturally he could not help knowing it.
The boys told their host numerous things connected with the organization of the troop of Boy Scouts in their town, and what wonderful things it had already done for many of those who had signed the muster roll. He was keenly interested, and asked questions so fast that it kept them all busy answering; for Elmer would never consent that his chums simply sit there while he spoke for all; he wished them to have a part in the telling.
On his part, Uncle Caleb related a lot about his life in the past, touching upon some of the remarkable things that had happened to him. Strange as some of these might be reckoned, Elmer was privately of the opinion that nothing more singular could ever have happened to the traveler andscientist than the dramatic coming to his cabin door on this bitter cold winter's night of one who believed himself to be the old gentleman's enemy, sorely wounded, almost ready to die, and wholly dependant upon Uncle Caleb's bounty for his very life.
When later on some of the scouts manifested signs of drowsiness and exhaustion, by sundry yawns and nods, the host declared it was time they thought of getting some sleep.
"I'd put you on the cot here, Zack," he told the guide, "only it isn't as strong as it might be, and you're rather heavy. If it happened to give way you'd get a bad wrench to that arm of yours that wouldn't be very pleasant. So I'm going to fix you out with a bunk on the floor near the fire. I happen to have some spare blankets, and here are some furs that will make things feel easy for you. I don't suppose you object to sleeping on the floor, do you?"
At that the man grinned, for the first time since entering the cabin.
"Won't be the fust time by a thousand thet I've slept on boards, suh," he went on to say, "an' right hyar I wants to tell ye how much 'bleeged I am ter yer fur all ye done by me. I don't deserve a bit o' the same. I'm a bad man, suh, I been thinkin' all manner o' rotten things 'bout ye, sence ye guv me what I reckons I desarved, if ever a mean skunk did; an' thet's what."
"Don't mention it, Zack," said Uncle Caleb, pleasantly; "I know you looked at things fromthe wrong side, and at one time thought I'd done you harm; but since then you've seen a better light; and I wouldn't be surprised if you were coming out of your way to my cabin to tell me so, when this accident happened."
The big guide's jaws worked several times as though he might be trying to say something; but it was of no use, for not a word escaped him. He did heave a deep sigh, however, and gave his kind benefactor a long look before allowing his eyes to drop.
Elmer felt satisfied, for he believed the cure must be working. Indeed, he could not for the life of him understand how any one could withstand friendly advances from such a splendid old gentleman as Uncle Caleb. His very eyes were full of benevolence and the kindly spirit that filled his heart. The man who would take the keenest delight in binding up the broken leg of a poor little rabbit that he found in distress, certainly could not bear malice toward an uneducated woodsman, who had never had half a chance to learn better things than entertaining an unreasonable desire for revenge.
Under the direction of the owner of the cabin Lil Artha made up a mighty comfortable bed on the floor. When it was finished the scout tested his work, and declared he would not mind sleeping there all the rest of his stay, if Uncle Caleb thought one of the bunks would be better for the wounded guide.
Zack, however, would not hear of it. He declaredthat he preferred the floor for many reasons. Lil Artha managed to shoot a suggestive look toward Elmer, upon which the other shook his head in the negative. He knew that the lengthy scout suspected Zack might be thinking of taking French leave while they slept, and perhaps help himself to some of their stores in the bargain. But Elmer had no such fear.
When the boys started to crawl into their respective bunks, partly undressing, although none of them had dreamed of bringing their pajamas along on this wintry expedition, Zack appeared to be asleep. At least he lay there bundled up, and seemed to be breathing heavily.
Lil Artha, when he thought he was not noticed, managed to deftly move his Marlin gun closer to the bunk into which he meant to clamber presently. He acted as if he more than half suspected he might find occasion to make some sort of use of the weapon before dawn broke again.
But Elmer had seen him; indeed, it was very little that ever eluded those wideawake eyes of the scout master, when out with his chums. He managed to get a chance to whisper with Lil Artha when the others were busily engaged making their sleeping quarters ready.
"I'd be mighty slow to think of using that gun, if I were you, Lil Artha," he suggested.
The lengthy scout flushed a little, and looked somewhat confused.
"I might have known you'd glimpse me doin' that same, Elmer," he confessed, "but when awildcat comes down our chimney what's to hinder its mate from doin' likewise? And if a fellow was waked up in the night to find that a ferocious critter had taken possession of our bungalow, why, a gun'd be a good asset, believe me."
Elmer looked at him, and then smiled grimly.
"Oh! well, if that's what you've got troubling you, it's all right, Lil Artha," he went on to say, meaningly. "I kind of imagined you were thinking of something else. And if some one should take a notion to skip out, remember it's no business of yours. We wouldn't want to detain any one against his will."
"Sure, I didn't mean to try to," acknowledged the tall scout, "'less, f'r instance, he tried to loot the whole shebang, when I'd think it my duty to cover him, and then call Uncle Caleb."
"I don't think you'll find any need of doing that, Lil Artha," continued Elmer; "fact is, all the signs point just the other way."
"Hope so," grunted his chum; and this was all that passed between them.
Later on the cabin became quiet, except for the heavy breathing of those who were sound asleep. Elmer dozed. Somehow, although he was desperately sleepy, he did not appear to be able to lose himself for more than brief intervals at a stretch.
Perhaps it was his strange surroundings, although Elmer could hardly believe such to be the case, for past experiences were against it. He could remember sleeping soundly on more than a few occasions when danger threatened; he hadhelped guard the saddle band of horses on his uncle's ranch when rustlers in the shape of horse thieves were operating all through the vicinity; and on being given a chance to snatch an hour's sleep had lost himself as soon as his head touched the ground.
The wind moaned through the branches of the trees without. Now and then Elmer believed that he could hear faint sounds that might proceed from certain of the four-footed denizens of that great snow forest around them, possibly searching for food while the night lasted, since they hugged their dens in the daytime.
Once he saw Lil Artha thrust his head out from his bunk, and stare at the figure bundled up in those blankets on the floor. This told the scout master that Lil Artha had not been able to quite get over the suspicions he had formed, and which Elmer believed to be wholly unwarranted.
It must have been long after midnight when Elmer, chancing to once more awaken, on glancing out from his bunk saw that Zack Arnold was no longer lying there on his well side, and wrapped in sleep.
The revengeful guide was now sitting up. He seemed to be intently listening, as though to either discover whether all of the others were sound asleep, or else trying to catch some signal from without.
A dreadful thought flashed into Elmer's mind, though he quickly dismissed it as unreasonable. It was of course possible that Zack may havecoaxed others to accompany him on his mission of revenge; but if he had company why should he appeal to his bitter enemy when in desperate need of succor? That alone stamped the idea as next door to absurd; and so Elmer put it out of his mind as impossible.
At the same time the actions of the guide were certainly queer, to say the very least of it. He was now getting slowly and painfully to his feet, repressing a groan while so doing; because with one arm tied up and useless it is not always the easiest thing in the world to get up off the floor, and out from a mess of clinging blankets.
Once he was on his feet the actions of the man became even more suspicious. He crept toward the door, turning his head several times as though to make sure that no one was watching him. Here he fumbled for a brief time, managing presently to take aside the bar. Then he gently opened the door, and as the wind was from the north, and the opening faced the south, the cold air did not enter when he had done this.
Elmer, still watching, half expected to see the guide step out and depart. He was even debating with himself as to whether his duty might not compel him to raise his voice in protest against such an act, since the chances were the man would not be able to survive the exposure in his present weakened condition, without his rifle, and with no food to sustain him.
He saw that Lil Artha had that long neck of his "rubbering," as he himself would have termed it;doubtless his gun was alongside him in the bunk, and even then he had hold of it.
To the astonishment of Elmer, however, the man did not pass beyond the doorsill. He seemed to have drawn some object from a hidden receptacle about his person, where it must have escaped observation when his benefactors were helping him. And giving this a swift toss Zack Arnold hurled it far out amidst the snow drifts; after which he backed into the cabin, softly closed the door, glanced hurriedly around to see if he had been observed, but seeing nothing, because Lil Artha had hastily drawn his head back as might a cautious old tortoise when threatened with peril; after which the guide replaced the bar.
Five minutes after all this queer happening had taken place Zack was once more bundled up in his blankets, and apparently bound to go to sleep, this time in real earnest.
After that Elmer seemed to find no difficulty whatever in getting asleep himself. Why, it really seemed as though a great load had been removed from his mind; and the first thing he knew George was calling him to get up, because breakfast was almost ready.
It was a most unusual thing for the scout master to over-sleep. Some of the others, notably Toby and George, joked him about it; but Elmer noticed that Lil Artha did not say a word.
Later on, after they had all partaken of the fine meal that George prepared, he doing his level best to show Uncle Caleb that there were other cooksas well, Elmer caught Lil Artha making certain gestures in his direction. He could manage to guess what it all meant, and believed the other wanted a chance to talk with him outside.
"I wonder what the weather promises for to-day; and I think I'll step out to see how things look," Elmer presently remarked carelessly.
"I'll go along and give you the benefit of my vast experience as a weather prophet!" exclaimed Lil Artha, jumping up; "the rest of you stay inside, because too many cooks spoil the broth, and two of us ought to be enough to settle this job with the clerk of the weather."
It happened that George was still busy with some of his dishes, about which he saw Uncle Caleb was unusually particular, in that he used two separate waters in washing the same; while Toby was busily employed in looking over some traps he had discovered hanging from a nail, and evidently seldom used; so that neither of them dreamed of leaving the comfortable cabin, and braving the outside air just then.
"What's all this about, Lil Artha?" demanded the scout master, after the door had been carefully closed behind them.
"Why, I happened to know that you saw that ugly looking guide moving around in the middle of the night, Elmer; and I thought you must have noticed that he threw something away when he was standing there in the doorway?"
"I did see him do that, and I knew you were on the job, too, Lil Artha," Elmer went on tosay; "but if you've made a discovery, hurry up and tell me what it is, because I haven't thought to put my sweater on, and it's pretty chilly here."
"Well, I was that curious to know what it could be the fellow threw away," continued the tall scout, "the first thing this morning, before any of the rest of you had peeped an eye open, I got up, and came out here to look around."
"And did you find anything?" asked Elmer, his own curiosity aroused by now.
"I had to go back and forth a heap before I came on a little hole in a snow drift that looked like something had dropped in there," continued Lil Artha, in a highly mysterious fashion. "So I began to dig down, and pretty soon my hand touched this!"
He thereupon drew something from its place of concealment, and held it up before the eyes of his astonished companion.
"Why, it only looks like a piece of common gaspipe!" exclaimed Elmer.
"Just what it is," Lil Artha went on, in an awed tone; "but say, Elmer, the same is crowded chock full of some sort of stuff that may be dynamite for all I know. It's a sure-enough infernal machine, one of the crude bombs that you read about in the New York papers, such as Italians use when they want to make some rich merchant or banker hand over blackmail money. Look at it yourself, and then you'll know what fetched that skunk of a Zack Arnold up here to this region. He meant to blow Uncle Caleb's cabin toflinders, that's what he did; and p'raps with the owner inside of the same. Huh! no wonder he didn't want that thing to be discovered on his person! I sure don't blame him a little bit!"
And Elmer, as he examined the miserable contrivance which would explode with so great a power for harm, felt a thrill pass all over his body.
A SCOUT'S EDUCATION
"Whatdo you make of it, Elmer; is it a sure enough bomb?" demanded Lil Artha, whose face was working strangely under the violence of his emotions.
"Looks like it was that, and nothing else," admitted the scout master, slowly, with a wrinkle across his forehead, as though he might be considering weighty matters, as indeed he was just then, for one so young.
"And there can't be any doubt but what he meant to blow up the cabin of the man he forced himself to believe was his enemy, the kindest-hearted gentleman you and the rest of us ever met up with—tell me that, Elmer, didn't he?"
"Hold on, Lil Artha, don't explode!" cautioned Elmer, soothingly. "I understand how you feel about this ugly business. Yes, that must have been the scheme that brought Zack away up here in the dead of winter. Whether he meant to do Uncle Caleb bodily injury or not we've no means of knowing. Let's hope that the limit of his revenge was confined to the destruction of the cabin, and all the valued treasures it held."
"Well, that would be arson, and the law sits down mighty hard on anybody who deliberately, and 'with malice aforethought,' as I've heard my dad say, sets fire to the property of another. He deserves being kicked out, and we'll have to attend to his case, the whole bunch of us."
The excited scout made a quick movement, as though about to rush into the cabin, waving the piece of gas-pipe which had been fashioned into a rude but deadly bomb with a fuse to it; Elmer, however, tightened his grip on his chum's sleeve.
"Wait! Don't be in such a hurry, old fellow. Let's reason this thing out a little before you spill the fat in the fire!" he told Lil Artha, in that quieting voice of his that carried such weight with the other scouts.
"But, Elmer, don't you see he's a regular firebrand!" urged the tall boy, twisting a little, as though struggling to get loose from the detaining hand; but only in a faint-hearted fashion, because as always the influence of the scout master predominated. "How do we know but what right now he's figuring on doing us all some mean trick? We're friends of Uncle Caleb, and he must look on us as his enemies."
"You forget something, Lil Artha," urged Elmer.
"Oh! yes, in my hurry I'm always forgetting things; but tell me what I've let slip now, Elmer."
"It was yesterday that Zack was heading toward this cabin, breathing all sorts of ugly threats against Uncle Caleb, wasn't it?" Elmercontinued, in that smooth argumentative tone he knew how to use so well, and which as a rule was so wonderfully convincing.
"Why, of course it was, Elmer," admitted the other, weakly, yet curiously.
"And something has happened since then, you know, Lil Artha?"
"Oh! sure, several things," replied the tall scout.
"Zack Arnold had an accident, and found himself facing what might be the end of his evil career," continued Elmer. "Now, life is sweet even to such a man; and he couldn't but feel alarmed at the idea of being frozen in the snow forest, because of his broken arm, and having no way to supply himself with food or fire. Then in his desperation he forgot everything else, and came to the cabin of the man he had been calling his enemy. You know what sort of a reception he got, Lil Artha?"
"You bet I do, Elmer; it couldn't have been warmer if he'd been a life-long comrade of Uncle Caleb!"
"All right, then," the scout master told him, emphatically; "and you can depend on it Zack has had an experience unlike anything he ever ran up against before. I've been watching him, and trying to figure out what might be passing through his brain; and the fact of his throwing this bomb as far away as he could shows that he's heartily ashamed of ever entertaining the notion that Uncle Caleb was an enemy of his."
"Do you really think so, Elmer? And could such a scoundrel ever reform?" asked Lil Artha, half skeptically, just as though he were Doubting George.
"Of course I wouldn't like to stake my reputation on it," Elmer continued; "but all the signs point that way. The man is just now in a daze. He never met with anything like this before, and hardly knows what to make of it. In other words, Lil Artha, he has arrived at the cross-roads, and the next few days will either see him turning over a new leaf, or going back to his old ways again. It must depend pretty much on Uncle Caleb."
"I reckon it will, Elmer!" muttered the tall scout, beginning to drift across the line, and agree with what the other advanced. "And don't you think we ought to let Uncle Caleb know about this gas-pipe thing?"
"Yes, but I don't think it'll make any difference with his way of treating the man. Uncle Caleb has sized Zack up to a dot, and he's trying to get the whip-hand over him by sheer kindness. And I think he will, sooner or later. It wouldn't surprise me if it all ended in Zack turning right-about face, and caring for Uncle Caleb just as much as he thought he hated him. Such men when they do change never make a half-way job of it; they go the whole thing."
"Shall I call Uncle Caleb out here now while we're at it, Elmer?"
"I'll do it, and you wait here," the scout master told him.
"All right, then; you know how to go about it better than I do. I'll be ready to spring my little surprise on our host," said Lil Artha.
So Elmer stepped over, and opening the door quietly, caught the eye of Uncle Caleb, when he crooked his finger. The meaning of this gesture could not well be mistaken, and presently the old scientist joined them outside the cabin, making some excuse as he passed out.
When Lil Artha showed him the queer piece of gas-pipe that had been charged with some high explosive apt to carry great destruction with it when discharged, Uncle Caleb did not appear to be greatly astonished.
"I imagined it might turn out to be something of the sort, boys," he informed the scouts; "and it was my full intention to look around later on, so as to discover what it was Zack threw away last night; for I saw him standing there in the doorway just as both of you seem to have done. You've saved me the trouble of making the search, Lil Artha. But let me hide this ugly thing. I wouldn't like Zack to know it had been found so soon."
"Then you won't turn him out for coming up here on such a terrible errand?" asked Lil Artha, weakly.
Uncle Caleb looked at him, and smiled. Lil Artha understood then what was in the mind of the kindly scientist, who loved his fellow men so well that he could even believe the worst of them must havesomegood in him, however small, if only onecould discover its location, and coax the wavering spark to glow into a steady flame.
"I don't believe Zack ever had a chance," he told them, seriously, "and I'm going to give him one right now, if it's in my power. As scouts, neither of you would surely deny it to him, I'm certain. Besides, it's going to give me considerable pleasure in studying the working of the germ that has been planted in his heart by this piece of good luck. Perhaps that broken arm may mean everything to Zack Arnold. A year from now we'll take stock, and see how things come out. In the meantime say nothing, and leave it all to your Uncle Caleb."
Willingly both boys declared that they were only too glad to do so. They asked, and readily received permission, to tell George and Toby, when a chance came. And as they entered the cabin later on, to see Zack still following Uncle Caleb with his wondering, yes, even admiring glance, it struck the scouts that perhaps the sensible old scientist had made a study of human nature as he had the habits of wild animals, and knew full well what he was doing.
During the balance of that day he treated the wounded man just as though the intruder might be one of the family. Uncle Caleb was too wise to gush over the injured guide; he simply showed Zack that he had a deep interest in his welfare, and meant that he should have every care while unable to look out for himself that could be expended on him.
Elmer, who was observing these things closely, without betraying the fact that he had more than a passing interest in them, told himself that it would not be surprising if when they came to leave the cabin in the forest a pact had been arranged between Uncle Caleb and Zack Arnold, by means of which the big guide was to stay up there the balance of the winter, and act as a side partner to the man he had once been so foolish as to consider his enemy.
"There'll be no chance for him to hobnob with his real enemy, which you can take it from me is strong drink," the scout master told the other boys when they talked matters over, away from the cabin that afternoon; "and before spring comes, I wouldn't be surprised if Uncle Caleb has weaned him from his old habits, so that nothing can ever tempt him to go back to them again."
"I hope you're right, Elmer," ventured George; "I don't feel quite as strong as you do about it, because I just can't, that's what; but it'd be splendid if Uncle Caleb did reform that beast."
"And I think it's just wonderful," Toby admitted, having heard the whole story with great eagerness and interest; "I never knew Uncle Caleb was such a splendid sort of a man. And honest now, I don't see how any fellow could hold out against his winning ways. No wonder Zack keeps watching him all the time; I tell you he's as near hypnotized as anybody could be."
And so they concluded to let the matter rest,confident that the good man of the lonely cabin in the snow forest knew what he was doing, and that the chances were he was not making any mistake.
The boys now proceeded to enjoy themselves to the best of their ability, each according to his bent. Of course all of them were keenly interested in the remarkable success with which the scientist was meeting in his effort to secure amusing and instructive flashlight pictures of the woods animals at night. He showed them how he set his snares, so cleverly arranged that when the fox or the mink came to take the tempting bait that had been cunningly placed, he was compelled to pull a cord that released the hammer by which the fulminating cap was detonated, and the flashlight cartridge set going, thus causing the little animal to take his own picture.
That very night every one of the four scouts accompanied Uncle Caleb to set several of these ingenious traps. The novel experience appealed to all of them; and even Lil Artha, usually an ardent hunter, was heard to admit that it afforded all the excitement necessary for enjoyment, anticipation and realization combined, without having to destroy the life of the cunning little creatures that, in roaming the woods, and seeking their natural food supplies, were only working out their individual destinies.
"Anyhow," Lil Artha confided to Elmer, later on, when they were returning to the warm cabin where Zack had been left in full charge, "I don't believe I'd like to become a regular fur trapper,though once on a time I did seem to hanker after such a life. It's all well enough to shoot game when you're hungry, just like you'd knock over a chicken when the dominie is coming to dinner; but this thing of trapping little things like mink and muskrats just for the money their skins bring in the market doesn't strike me as quite right. I'd never see a lady wearing a fur coat again without feeling queer, like all the innocent little animals I'd gone and slaughtered were parading before me. Nixey for mine, I give you my word."
Elmer did not make any reply in words, but the satisfied glance he gave the speaker was eloquent enough. Truth to tell he was well pleased with the change that was working in Lil Artha. At one time the tall scout had shown signs of becoming so infatuated with hunting that quite a savage desire to slay things had begun to manifest itself in his disposition. Already had the mild influence of Uncle Caleb begun to make itself felt.
Zack Arnold would not be the only one benefitted by contact with the owner of the cabin. Some of the scouts would return home with new ideas concerning things. Already Elmer could see where this midwinter holiday trip was going to repay them a dozen-fold for all it cost. He was satisfied with the promising results, and would not have had things different, could the choice be his for the taking.
While they were gone Zack had tidied up the cabin after a rude fashion, considering that hedid not know much about keeping things looking nice in the first place, and had only one arm to work with in the second. But it was the fact that he was beginning to take a decided interest in things that pleased Uncle Caleb, who was not slow to commend his thoughtfulness, and Elmer could see the glow that flashed into the eyes of the big guide, telling that he had already begun to desire to do that which would commend itself to his kind benefactor.
"And it's going to be all right," Elmer told himself, as he lay down later in his bunk, watching the two men who were still sitting by the fire, talking about the habits of animals, for Zack having been a guide all his life was brimfull of such lore; "he's got Zack going, and nothing can stop him now. It must give a fellow a mighty nice feeling to know that he's changed such a life, and for better things. But if we only knew all that has happened in Uncle Caleb's past I reckon we'd find that this is just one little incident in a long string."
And that night neither Elmer nor Lil Artha dreamed of keeping watch because of the presence of so desperate a character as Zack Arnold under the same roof that sheltered them. Indeed, so greatly had their opinions changed that they would have been willing to put considerable trust in the loyalty of the rough guide. His very face did not seem one-half so repulsive, now that it no longer showed the marks of passion and pain. In fact, Elmer could see where in goodtime Zack might turn out to be a pretty fair looking sort of a man; for once when he allowed a smile to cross his face he was rather attractive.
So the night wore away, and another day dawned. The boys, knowing that their vacation was moving swiftly along, and feeling that they must crowd everything possible into the few remaining days, had laid out a plan of campaign that would make this a busy period. And Uncle Caleb was ready to join them in any undertaking that had for its object the satisfying of their desire for rollicking fun, or their education along the line of a more intimate acquaintance with the little woods folks in whom he took such a decided interest.
GOOD-BY TO THE SNOW FOREST
Ithappened that very afternoon Lil Artha met with an adventure that stirred his red blood at quite a lively rate, and for a little time caused quite a lively excitement around the vicinity of the cabin.
Elmer, Toby and George had gone off with Uncle Caleb to investigate some freak of Nature in which the old scientist was interested. Lil Artha at the time was suffering from a chafed heel, and thought the long walk through the deep snow was more than he cared to undertake; so he had promised to remain home and look after preparations for supper.
As it was too early to think of commencing that job, he had wandered forth for a little stroll, not meaning to go far away from the cabin. Of course such a thing as danger never once appealed to the boy; and with those new thoughts concerning hunting and destroying animal life in possession of his mind, he certainly was not going to shoulder his shotgun, which he had left in a corner of the cabin.
In the midst of his wandering he suddenly heard a strange scratching sound that gave him athrill. Looking up in the quarter from which it seemed to come, Lil Artha was astonished to see a pair of yellow eyes glaring down at him, and recognize the gray coat of a ferocious wildcat.
He instantly jumped at the conclusion that this must be the mate of the animal they had killed after it had forced an entrance into the cabin, to steal Uncle Caleb's smoked meat, and then savagely attacked them. Yes, there could be no doubt about it; and the cat was evidently of a mind to spring upon him, and through means of its terrible claws seek to have revenge for the loss of its mate. Some feline instinct doubtless told the beast that this boy must have been concerned in the death of the partner of its joys and sorrows, which we happen to know was the actual truth.
Lil Artha's first thought was to turn and sprint for the safety of the cabin as fast as he could go. Then it struck him as a dangerous thing to turn his back on such a treacherous foe as a wildcat; for there could be no question but what the animal would immediately make its leap, and land on his shoulders.
Lil Artha realized that the best thing for him to do was to keep his face turned toward his four-footed enemy. If only now he could pick up a suitable cudgel he might be able to give a decent account of himself; but to struggle with that terror of the snow forest, with only his bare hands, did not please him at all.
He shot a hasty glance all around him. The snow happened to have blown away in that particularspot, where one of the boys had been chopping fuel; and there Lil Artha discovered just the sort of stick he believed he could wield to good advantage in keeping his feline foe at bay.
Giving a wild shout, in hopes of alarming the beast more or less, he sprang toward the coveted trophy, with outstretched hand. And when his eager fingers closed about the end of the three-foot club Lil Artha felt considerably better.
It appeared, though, that his work was cut out for him. The cat actually leaped directly for him, and never would the boy forget how terrible the sight of that flying figure passing through space appeared to his excited mind.
By a nimble jump to one side Lil Artha managed to avoid contact with the extended claws of the cat; and the disappointed animal, upon landing in a heap, instantly whirled around and again sprang toward him. This time the boy struck with his club, and managed to knock his assailant over, though the now thoroughly aroused animal seemed more determined to get at him than ever.
So the battle raged, Lil Artha all the while shouting at the top of his lungs, though he hardly knew what for, since his chums and Uncle Caleb were more than a mile distant, and could hardly hear him at best.
He fought with all the dexterity he could command. When he struck at the raging beast he knew that should he manage to make a miss nothing could keep him from having the cat fasten itself on his breast, tearing and biting with fury.Time and again did he bring that good club against the hairy form of his enemy, and send the wildcat bowling over; but it surely had the nine lives such tough animals are usually credited with, for on every occasion it managed to once more regain its feet, and crippled as it may have been come stubbornly straight at him again.
Lil Artha was getting winded, just as he might have been after knocking a dozen tremendous fouls, when playing in a hotly contested game of baseball. He felt a cold chill pass over him as he began to wonder whether he might not be tired out by this beast that seemed never to know when to give in; and what might not happen then?
Once more he had brought his stick against the creeping cat with such good will that the animal was knocked fully six feet away; but to his despair it immediately recovered, and started back toward him.
Just then Lil Artha heard a loud report, and saw the cat roll over in a heap. As the relieved scout looked in the direction from whence that shot had come he saw Zack Arnold standing there, his face drawn and white with pain; for in handling Lil Artha's gun so as to relieve the boy of his fierce antagonist he must have given his broken arm a severe wrench, that for the moment made him feel sick and faint.
And Lil Artha, seeing how things were, threw an arm about the big guide, weak by reason of his pain, and helped him back to the cabin. After that Lil Artha forgot that he had expressed anydoubt concerning the reformation of Zack Arnold. The guide had proved his change of heart by that action; and it would serve to cement the bonds of the new friendship that had sprung up between him and Uncle Caleb, as well as the old scientist's boyish guests.
Later on, when the others returned from their trip, the boys full of the interesting things they had seen, great was their surprise to hear how Lil Artha had been concerned in a stirring adventure. The report of the gun had been wafted to their ears, but of course they expected that it was only Lil Artha doing a little hunting on his private account near the cabin, though Uncle Caleb did not fancy the boy taking any such liberties with his familiar four-footed friends.
They all had to go out and examine the body of the dead wildcat, remarking that if anything it surpassed its mate in the way of ferocity, and blind recklessness, in attacking a human being without any particular provocation, and in broad daylight at that.
"I'm sorry it had to be," remarked Uncle Caleb, with a sigh, "for I expected to have considerable enjoyment later on in trying to get these cats to play photographer for themselves; but no one is to blame in either instance. If attacked by such a fierce creature I myself would shoot to kill without any hesitation. After its mate was destroyed I suppose this one would never have given me any peace. And at any rate it afforded Zack a chance to prove that he was not ungrateful;which after all is the best part of the whole affair, barring your escape from being clawed, Lil Artha. Are you sure the claws or teeth of the cat didn't scratch you the least bit, because in that case I'd want to take due precautions. Blood poisoning might set in if the cuts were neglected, all depending on the condition of your own blood."
The tall scout had examined his hands and face thoroughly before the others of the party returned home, for he was not wholly ignorant concerning the possible results that sometimes follow wounds received through carnivorous animals. He knew that Elmer always made it a practice to carry with him a small phial of permanganate of potassium, to be freely used as a wash in such cases, as calculated to cleanse the wound of all foreign matter, and neutralize any poison that might come from contact with claws impregnated with it.
He assured the anxious woodsman that he had escaped even the slightest scratch, and could consider himself especially fortunate, in which the other heartily agreed with him.
Again did they spend another happy evening around the cheery fire. As the flames glowed and crackled they coaxed Uncle Caleb to tell more incidents connected with his explorations in faraway Thibet, when he was the first white man to enter the Forbidden City and interview the Head Llama, whose existence had up to that time been pretty much of a sealed mystery to the civilized world.
Another peaceful night followed, and then came dawn again. This was to be their nest to last day in the snow forest, because on the second morning they must prepare to turn their faces toward home again, seek the little station, signal to a passing train, and be carried back to familiar scenes.
In many ways all of them would be sorry when the time for separation arrived; and so they had planned to do divers things during these two days, which it was sincerely hoped would turn out pleasant ones. The weather had moderated, and even a thaw set in late the preceding day, but as the wind whipped around once more into the northwest the surface of the snow became covered with a sheet of ice that was almost thick enough to bear the weight of a small boy.
Toby was wild with eagerness to be shown how to use those wonderful snow-shoes which Uncle Caleb had given him for a present; and so the old woodsman showed him just how to attach them to his toes, so as to leave the balance of the foot free to bend at his will, though really Elmer had explained this thing to Toby before.
Under the guiding care of first Uncle Caleb, and when he grew tired, of Elmer on the old scientist's snow-shoes, Toby was enabled to perform quite creditably, and in the end felt that he knew fairly well how to spin over the ice-crusted drifts in a way that would hardly have shamed those Canadian cousins of his who belonged to the famous Teuque Bleue Snow-shoe Club up in Montreal,and wrote him such glowing accounts of the long trips they took over Mount Royal, and into the bush, in the dead of winter.
The boys had not forgotten how they had been almost reduced to a diet of musquash at the time Lil Artha so fortunately shot his deer; and upon invitation from Elmer, who was genuinely desirous of learning whether the dish could be as palatable as some hunters and Indians declared, Uncle Caleb told them they could get a number of the little animals with the glossy fur, and he himself promised to prepare the stew.
Well, they ate it, and George even came in for a second helping, but on the whole it was the consensus of opinion that they did not really hanker after "musquash," which might please some palates, and serve as a means to ward off actual starvation, but did not seem to appeal to them very strongly. All of which was fortunate indeed for the furry denizens of the marsh, because there would be no further loud calls for a repetition of the dish.
The last day was pretty much taken up with seeing all they could of Uncle Caleb and trying to grasp the results of his labors in the cause of science and natural history. Each of the boys was given a sheaf of prints to carry back with him, many of them most interesting revelations concerning the hidden lives of the four-footed neighbors of Uncle Caleb, whose habits were so little known to the average person. And even George admitted that he would not have missedwhat he had learned while up in the great snow forest, with this observing relative of Toby for a good deal. It had broadened his knowledge of many things, and given him a much higher estimate of human nature in seeing how kindness had won the game over an evil desire for revenge.
It was all settled, and Zack Arnold was going to stay there as the side partner of Uncle Caleb. He did not appear like the same man when on that last morning he shook each one of the four scouts by the hand and hoped he would see them again. There was a look on his face that surprised George and Lil Artha, who at one time had expressed themselves so strongly to the effect that they did not believe any good could ever come out of so tough a customer.
"I'll never say that again, as long as I live!" George admitted, later on; "after this I'm going to look for the spark of good in every hard case, instead of only seeing the evil."
"I sure have had a lesson I'll never forget," added Lil Artha; "and when you get right down to facts that Zack Arnold isn't such a bad fellow either. What he don't know about the woods you could put in a thimble; and I can see that after Uncle Caleb has had him with him six months he's going to turn out something more than half-way decent."
Fortunately they did not meet with another snow storm while on the homeward road but on arriving at the little station they had only to await the train. The same little urchin from whomthey had received the false information grinned at them. Lil Artha was for giving him the drubbing he richly deserved; but Elmer counselled differently.
"After all it was a lucky thing he gave us the wrong directions," he told the other scouts. "We have had a whole lot of experiences that would never have come to us otherwise. And then you shot that fine young buck, remember, Lil Artha. So, taking pattern from Uncle Caleb, suppose we wash the incident from the slate."
And what did Lil Artha do but approach the grinning urchin, and actually thank him for the trouble he had taken to direct them, stating that they had had the "time of their lives," and tossing him a silver quarter as a reward for his being so solicitous about their welfare. The last thing they saw as the train carried them away was that country boy standing there, staring at the coin he held in one hand while he scratched his head in perplexity and evidently wondered what it all meant. So Lil Artha had taken a page from the diary of Uncle Caleb, and applied the kind-hearted old scientist's methods to his own case.
The four scouts reached home in safety, and with plenty to interest those of their comrades of the troop who had not been along. It is to be hoped that at some not far distant day in the future we may be permitted to chronicle still further of the happenings that came the way of Elmer, Toby, Lil Artha, George, and others belonging to the Hickory Ridge Troop of Boy Scouts.