Swiftly they descended the stream for several miles. Then, according to agreement, they hauled in at the head of the rapids for a little rest and consultation before making the riffle.
Will had declared his intention of going down the shore and taking up his position about midway of the drop, so as to snap off the two descending bullboats as they came flying along in the midst of the churning water. Afterward he and Mr. Mabie would enter the last boat and make the plunge.
When he was ready, with his camera focused, he waved his arm as a signal. Immediately one of the boats started forth, containing Bluff and Reddy. When they got fully into the swirl the second craft appeared in sight.
Jerry sat in the bow of this, and Frank in the stern, the more responsible position. Immediately the two adventurous cruisers were in the rapids, and shooting down with incredible swiftness.
The leading boat managed to pull through all right, for Reddy knew the route; but disaster awaited that containing the two chums. Whether they struck a half-submerged rock, and were capsized, or made a miscalculation, and found themselves seized by the cross-current, no one ever knew.
"Look out!" shouted Jerry, and the next instant both he and Frank were overboard, and trying to keep away from the threatening snags while they went whirling down the rapids.
"Well, how did you like it, Jerry?"
"Talk to me about your shooting the whirlpool at Niagara in a barrel! That was bad enough for me! I swallowed enough water to float a ship! And here we are yet, each perched on a measly old slippery rock, in the middle of the rapids. Say! tell me about that, will you, Frank? How are we going to get ashore?"
The situation was comical as well as tragical. Just as Jerry said, each of the late inmates of the overturned bullboat, after being buffeted about furiously for several minutes, had succeeded in wildly scrambling on to an exposed rock.
There in midstream they sat, dripping wet, and with the foaming water surrounding them on all sides. In spite of his recent scare, Frank could not help laughing.
"What ails you? Perhaps you think I look funny?" exclaimed Jerry, who had received a few bruises, and was not feeling quite as cheerful as usual.
"Well, if you could only see yourself just now, you couldn't help laughing. Do you know you just put me in mind of that little god of good luck, Billikin!" called Frank, and in spite of his soreness Jerry had to grin in sympathy.
"Well, all right, then; there are two of us, and I guess you look as silly as I do. But there's that fellow, Will, getting his work in, as usual. A nice pair of geese we'll look like in his book of martyrs."
"Oh, that doesn't bother me one little bit just now. All I'm thinking about is how under the sun we're going to get out of this pickle," said Frank, sweeping his hand around, as if to call attention to the angry water that leaped and boiled in a frenzy of eagerness to get at its expected victims.
"Can't swim to the shore, that's sure. I suppose we'll just have to slip in again and make another turn of it. Thank goodness! the bottom of the old rapids is in sight, and as Bluff and Reddy have picked up our boat and the paddle, they could turn their hands at life saving when we came bobbing along."
"Hold on! Don't be rash, Jerry!" called Frank.
"Well, have you got anything better to say about it—any bright scheme to propose that offers to soften the blow?" demanded the other, pausing in his movement toward slipping off his unstable seat.
"I've just thought of something," answered Frank.
"Good for you, then. I guess I'm too badly rattled just now, for once, to do much thinking. What's the game, Frank?"
"Why not let Reddy and his reliable old rope come into play again?"
"Say! we'll have to beg or buy that clothesline from Reddy when we go away from here, and hang it up in our clubroom, as the most valuable asset we have. Without it what would become of us, eh? Talk about your trained nurses! That fellow is a whole hospital to the tenderfoot crowd. Call to him, please, and enlist his sympathy in the noble cause of yanking us in out of the wet."
So Frank did shout to the cowboy, who, having beached the two boats below the rapids, was hurrying up the shore. Mr. Mabie, too, had joined Will, so that presently the entire balance of the little party had gathered opposite.
Reddy entered into the game with spirit. He seemed to believe that these tragic occurrences must have just happened to give him a chance to show his skill in launching his rope.
"Jerry first, please!" called Frank.
"And why? Is it because I'm more valuable, or better-looking?" demanded Jerry.
"Oh, perhaps I want the pleasure of seeing how you look as you flounder through the rapids; and then, again, I may pick up a few points as to how not to do it."
"Tell me about that, will you! Some people have all the nerve!" shouted Jerry, for the rushing water made so much noise that an ordinary call could not have been heard.
Nevertheless, he accepted the flying noose that came shooting straight toward him, placed it under his arms, made sure that his gun was still fast to his back, and then fearlessly dropped off his perch.
There was considerable floundering on the part of the swimmer, much straining among the others who manipulated the rope, after which Jerry was assisted up the bank. His first act, after coughing up a lot of water, was to shake his fist at the grinning Frank, and then call out:
"Now you come on, and see how you like it!"
Frank did not wait upon the order of his going. As soon as he had the rope secured under his arms he slipped down into the foamy water, and began to buffet the current like a water spaniel.
After an exciting experience he, too, was drawn ashore, really none the worse for his adventure.
"Shake hands, Frank. You did nobly. I might have laughed, only I didn't seem to have breath enough," said Jerry, but the look in his eyes told how he had enjoyed seeing his chum passing through the same experience.
A fire was made, so that the soaked ones might dry off. Meanwhile, Mr. Mabie and Will succeeded in successfully shooting the rapids, though the latter was wise enough to leave his precious camera in the care of Bluff.
As noon found them still there, they took a "snack" before resuming the water journey. Below the fierce rapids the current was still swift, but there were places where the stream widened, and here the scenery was very fine, although the leaves looked more or less parched on account of the scarcity of rain during the summer that was passing.
An hour later, and they saw signs of smoke below.
"The boys have arrived ahead of us," said Mr. Mabie, pointing to the wreaths that ascended above the trees.
"All on account of our mishap. We lost three hours that way," remarked Frank, who felt a little provoked over the accident, since he aspired to be a capable canoeman at all times.
"Those things will happen to the best of guides at times," consoled the stockman. "I've often been in the drink myself. There are some cross-currents in our rapids, that one can only learn by experience. I rather expected you would go over, and instructed Reddy to be on the watch below."
"I wager I wouldn't get caught in that same way again, sir," asserted Frank.
"And I'm sure you wouldn't, lad. Experience is the best teacher, and if we didn't have some of these bad turns we'd grow too confident."
The camp was soon looking quite cozy again, when the tents had been placed and everything made snug.
"I'm going to like this place almost as well as the one under the cascade," remarked Will, who had been rather skeptical all along.
So the first evening came along, and supper was the same hearty, enjoyable meal they had always found it. The camp appetites worked overtime, the coffee tasted splendid, the elk steaks were just what each one had been hungering for, and as the cook supplemented these with a heaping platter of flapjacks the contentment of the four chums seemed complete.
"How long do we stay here, Mr. Mabie?" asked Bluff, never hesitating when in search of information.
"Possibly a week or so. Then back to the ranch, and a new line of experiences. This terribly dry weather is making me anxious, for the range is drying up, and we shall be hard set to find pasture for the cattle soon, unless rain comes along."
"Do you have such a dry spell in summer often up here?" asked Frank.
"Never saw the equal of this since I settled in the valley, many years ago. Now, down in Ohio, where I originally came from, they have drouths even in May, at times, and I've seen things go to the dogs more than once, gardens dried up, and even a forest fire in July, but never up here," replied the stockman.
"The woods look as though it wouldn't take a great deal to set them going," declared Frank. "One of the men threw a match down to-day, after lighting his cigarette, and it seemed like magic the way the fire flashed up. He had to be quick to jump on it before the breeze carried it along."
Mr. Mabie frowned.
"I won't ask you which man it was, Frank; but I must warn them again to be more than ordinarily careful about throwing matches around and leaving a fire burning anywhere in the woods. Many a grand forest has been ruined by such carelessness," he said.
"How does that happen, sir?" inquired Bluff.
"It is easy. The careless hunter or trapper leaves his dying fire when he breaks camp. Then up comes a sudden wind and some of the red cinders are blown into the dead leaves or punk grass. Fanned by the breeze, they become a roaring flame in a minute, and the mischief is done. Be careful, boys, please."
"We certainly will, sir," replied Frank sincerely. "Not to speak of the damage done, it must be mighty unpleasant to be caught in a forest fire. I've read of such things, but never hankered for a personal experience."
On the following day they started to look into the possibilities for big game around the new camp.
"Reddy, here, says he knows of a bear den that we ought to visit some time later. While at it, you boys must see all there is going in the way of sport, for you may never come out this way again, though I hope that will not be the case. To-day, however, we will take things a bit easy," remarked the ranchman.
Although the stockman did not speak any plainer, Frank knew just what he meant.
"He thinks we must be feeling the effects of our little excitement yesterday, Jerry, and that the soreness in our muscles will take our ambition away for to-day," he said aside to his chum.
"Tell me about that, will you! To prove that we're tougher than Mr. Mabie thinks, let's you and I engineer a little hunt of our own?" proposed the other quickly.
Accordingly, they started out, going down the valley.
"The walk will do us good, anyhow," declared Frank, "even if we don't run across any big game."
"I was asking Mr. Mabie about moose, and he said that occasionally one is seen in this region, though generally they hang out further east. I've always wanted to get a moose, but was never able to be up in the woods where they are found, when the law was off. How about you, Frank? Ever shoot at one?"
"Never had that luck, though I've seen many in the summer time, in Maine. Somehow, it seems to go against the grain doing this hunting at such a queer time. I guess it won't be long before they have as strict laws up here as we have to protect such game as deer and elk."
"How about panthers and grizzlies?" asked Jerry.
"They don't want to protect those fellows. You've got a right to knock one over, or a wolf, any time you want, if he doesn't get you first," laughed Frank.
An hour later they separated, Frank to look along one ridge, while Jerry had taken a notion to see what the other might have in the shape of game.
Frank spent quite a long time scouring the woods that covered the side of the valley. He had not put up anything worth while, and was even thinking about heading back to the place where he had agreed to meet his chum, when a distressing little accident occurred.
Just as he was hurrying down a steep bank his foot caught in a vine, and he was hurled forward with such violence that his head, coming in contact with the hard ground, received such a blow that he was rendered unconscious.
Frank never knew just how long he remained insensible. It might have been only a few minutes, or perhaps half an hour slipped by while he lay there. When he finally opened his eyes he looked up into a dusky face, and realized that it belonged to an Indian!
Frank was not at all alarmed. In the first place, he had been assured by Mr. Mabie that these Crees were not inclined to be hostile. Then, again, he saw that it was no fierce face of a warrior that bent over him, but the pitying one of a child.
"Hello! Who are you?" he asked, a little weakly, for his head was still swimming more or less from his shock.
"Little Mink," came the reply, though the boy apparently had to nerve himself to keep from running away.
"And you found me knocked out, did you? What are you doing here, Little Mink?" Frank sat up as he spoke, though he realized that he would be unsteady on his feet when he tried to stand.
"Teepee down by river, not far off. Little Mink have snare for rabbit. Him go see if ketch one, find paleface here. Think dead, then him open eyes. Good!"
Frank was amused at the air of the little fellow. He knew something about the ways of civilized Indians, having been among them in Maine, hence he could see that this boy was endeavoring to ape the manners of his elders.
"Would you help me get down to your camp, Little Mink? I feel weak after my tumble, and my own camp is far away," he said.
Now, Frank knew very well that a loud shout would, in all probability, have fetched Jerry to the spot. He had an object in making this appeal to the Indian lad, and watched his dusky face closely as the other considered the proposal.
Perhaps Frank, fearing a refusal, may have put on more agony than the state of his feelings really warranted. At any rate, he succeeded in swerving the boy from a condition of caution to that of sympathy.
"Little Mink help. Him lead paleface to teepee," he said, and the look that accompanied the words told Frank as plainly as words could have done that the boy was trusting in his honor not to betray them.
Accordingly, he hung on to the lad, and in this fashion they went for half a mile or so, when the river was reached. Presently Frank discovered signs of a camp not far in the distance. A little pale smoke was rising over the thicket, and he also saw a conical skin teepee, while on the shore were three bullboats.
As Little Mink came into camp, assisting the white hunter, several squaws began an excited jabber that brought out a couple of bucks.
"A hungry-looking lot all around," was the mental comment of the young hunter.
He had seen that Little Mink did not look as though he had enjoyed a bountiful share of food lately, and the rest of the party were certainly no better off.
One of the bucks was an old man, yet he seemed to have a certain dignity about him. Frank's curiosity was now greater than ever. He made up his mind that there was something singular about this party of Crees who seemed to be wandering in the wilderness without guns, or any means for obtaining food, and, if possible, he meant to discover what the secret could be.
The old Indian approached, looking suspiciously at him. Frank put out his hand at once in a cordial manner.
"How!" he said, smiling in his engaging manner.
The other at once fell under the charm of Frank's smile.
"White boy much hurt?" he asked, looking at the dirt and blood on Frank's left hand, where he had cut himself slightly.
"No. I had a bad fall, and feel weak. Little Mink found me lying there, and let me come with him to your camp. I have friends above, a hunting party under the charge of Mr. Mabie, the stockman."
He saw the old fellow move uneasily at mention of the name.
"Shoot elk?" asked the other, nodding.
"Yes, sometimes, with gun," and Frank purposely held up his repeating rifle.
He saw the black eyes glitter enviously at sight of it, which made his curiosity only the stronger.
"Bad! bad!" muttered the Indian, though he did not explain what he meant; but Frank believed he must be thinking of the theft of the elk some days previous.
"You no guns here?" he asked, and the old Indian shook his head sadly, though a look of sudden anger also flitted across his strong face.
"Nothing, only hatchet and one knife. Take all else away when send us out from village. No care if squaw and pappoose die from hunger. Bad! bad! But some day p'raps Running Elk go back and make change. Wait! wait! No sleep on trail!"
Already was Frank beginning to see behind the mystery. For some cause this old brave and his immediate family had been chased out of the Cree village, many miles to the northwest. Deprived of weapons, they had been started on the river in the bullboats, to meet what fate had in store for them.
No wonder, then, that coming unexpectedly on the dead elk Bluff had shot, they had stolen it, for hunger stalked in their miserable camp, and the pappooses cried for the food the braves could not supply.
The only thing that still puzzled Frank was why they had not appealed to some of the whites. But there must be some good reason, he argued, for this. Perhaps it was only the natural pride an Indian feels, and which prevents him from admitting to the palefaces that he is helpless to supply the wants of his people.
"Name Frank," he said, touching his breast "What call you?"
"Running Elk, chief among Crees. Long he lead them in the hunt and in battle. But a serpent come among my people and poison all against Running Elk. Now they think the half-breed Pierre La Motte best man to follow. Him talk, talk, all time, and warriors dream. Some day they wake up and know him for bad man. Then p'raps they ask Running Elk come back again. Wait, see!"
That was the Indian idea of patience. Frank could understand it all now. Plainly, a smart half-breed had managed to hypnotize the braves in the Cree village, and influence them to turn against their own chief. When he and his family resisted they were ignominiously exiled, and sent forth to face the world without means for providing food for the squaws and pappooses.
Somehow, Frank felt a strong sense of sympathy for the old exiled chief.
"You see the rancher, Mr. Mabie. I think he can do something for you," he said.
"I know him. He no like Running Elk and the Crees. Once they take some cattle that stampede and wander far away. Never forget or forgive that wrong. Better not see rancher. Go on down river soon, sell few pelts, and buy gun. Mebbe all right."
"No! no! Don't be in a hurry. I'm sure Mr. Mabie won't hold that old grudge against you now, and he's a good man. He will give you gun and powder. Wait and see."
Half an hour later, as he was sitting there, with a rude bandage around his throbbing head, and talking with Little Mink, who had taken a great fancy for the paleface hunter who owned the beautiful gun, Frank heard a startled exclamation from the border of the thicket near by.
"Hello, there, Jerry! Come in and get acquainted!" he cried out, as his eyes fell upon the astonished face of his chum thrust from the scrub.
"Talk to me about surprises! What could equal this? Here, after getting the scare of my life, thinking my chum had been carried off by the redskins, I find him hobnobbing with them in their camp. Sure they ain't dangerous, Frank?" asked Jerry, advancing cautiously, with his gun held ready.
"As mild as an old lady's cup of tea. Wouldn't hurt a fly. Sit down, and I'll tell you all about them," said Frank.
"First, I want to know are you hurt much? I happened on where you fell, and just imagine my alarm when I saw the print of little moccasins. Why, I was sure some frisky red had knocked you over the head with a warclub, and then toted you off to be burned at the stake. I followed as well as I could, bent on rescuing you at the peril of my life, to meet up with a reception like this."
Frank was compelled to laugh at the look of evident disgust that came over the countenance of his comrade.
But when Jerry had heard all his chum knew concerning the little band of wandering Crees, his generous heart was stirred at the thought of their wrongs.
"That greedy half-breed ought to be made to walk the plank, that's what! Just to think of the nerve of him chasing the genuine dyed-in-the-wool chief out into the cold and taking his place! Why, he's a usurper, that's the truth! And look here, Frank, didn't you hear what Mr. Mabie said about a fellow named Pierre La Motte?"
"I must have been away at the time. What did he say?" asked Frank eagerly.
"Why, there was a detachment of the sheriff's posse at the ranch house just before we came, looking for that same fellow. Seems that he's wanted badly for something or other."
"Hurrah! That's just what I was hoping would happen. We can put them wise about Pierre, and they'll go after him. Then, perhaps, as old Running Elk says, when the man with the smooth tongue has gone away forever, the Crees will send and beg their chief to return, and forgive the past. It's all right! I'll bring him here to see you."
But Running Elk had already learned that another stranger was in camp, and even then he was approaching, looking considerably embarrassed, for he feared it might be Mr. Mabie himself.
However, he was soon set at his ease. What Frank had to say about the bad half-breed also gave him new pleasure.
"Not wait long now," he said, nodding his head sagely, while his beady eyes fairly glittered with satisfaction, as in imagination he saw his hated foe being taken away from the Cree village by the much-feared sheriff's posse.
"About time those boys were showing up, eh, Bluff?"
"There they come now, Mr. Mabie, and—Jerusalem!"
"What ails you now?" asked the stockman, coming out of the tent.
"They've got an old Indian in tow, as sure as you live!" cried Bluff.
"Where is he? I've just been wanting to get an Indian picture the worst way. Show him to me, please!" And Will came crawling hastily forth, of course clutching his beloved camera in his hand.
"H'm! I guess I know that old buck. It's Running Elk, the chief of the Crees. Something must have happened out of the usual order," said the ranchman.
When he learned what Frank had to say Mr. Mabie proved himself just such a man as the others had believed him to be. He advanced to the Indian, who was standing there in stoical silence, with his blanket thrown over his shoulder, and held out his hand.
"I'm glad to meet you again, Running Elk, and sorry to hear about your trouble. But it will soon be all right. I'll see to it that the authorities learn about Pierre, and they'll get him before long. In the meantime, I'm going to give you a letter to my foreman. You take your little party to the ranch, and they'll see to it that you have plenty to eat until I come back home," he said.
The chief shook his head sadly.
"Bad! bad! Young braves no think when kill runaway steers. Never more can happen after this. Send skins to pay when get um. Glad get meat for squaw and pappoose."
That was the extent of his remarks.
"I guess Injuns ain't got much of a supply of words," remarked Will aside to Bluff.
"But he means all right. I like the old chap's looks. Come along, Frank, and tell us all about it. You look like you've been in a fight. Say! the reds didn't tackle you, did they?" exclaimed Bluff.
"One did; a little chap about hip-high. Ho was out trying to snare a jack-rabbit, when he found me. I'd taken a header down over a root, and was lying in a state where I didn't care whether school kept or not. He led me to their camp, and Jerry found me there later. That's all of it in a nutshell. Now I'm going to have Mr. Mabie wrap up my hand and take a look at my head, for it still rings."
After an examination, the ranchman declared that there was nothing serious the matter.
"It may take a few days for that lump to subside, and these cuts to heal, but you came out of it better than an old fellow like me could have done," he said, and Frank felt relieved.
"What are you going to do with Running Elk?" he asked.
"Send him back to his people with some food. Then he will carry this letter to my foreman, who will look after the party until we get back. After that I'll see to it that Pierre is taken care of and the chief recalled to his own."
"I knew you would. I told the old fellow that, but he was sore afraid that you could never forgive what his young braves had done a year or two ago."
The old Cree chief soon departed, with a grin on his face, and his arms full of bundles. He might have been proud, but there were hungry mouths to feed, and for their sakes he must forget that he should die sooner than beg favors.
Frank felt rather stiff and sore on the following day. He was satisfied to hang about camp, and let his chums do the hunting, for once.
Jerry could not be restrained, for his sporting blood demanded that he keep going all the while. Will was just as eager to do his style of shooting, and even wandered down the river to get a view of the Cree teepee before the family of Running Elk broke camp.
Bluff took a notion to try fishing, and with considerable success. Later in the day Frank also wet a line, and between them they managed to secure a decent mess of fat trout for the whole party.
When Jerry came in he reported that he had had a shot at an elk, but failed to stop his flight. He also declared that he had seen what he believed to be a wolf skulking through the timber.
"Oh, I don't doubt it," said the old stockman, when Frank looked questioningly at him. "The pesky critters like to hang around here, looking for a nice calf that happens to stray away from its mammy's side. Winter and summer, it's all the same to them, so long as we don't get after the pack too hot. Never lose a chance to knock over a wolf, my boy."
"I never mean to," said Jerry, holding up a piece of gray fur.
"That's wolf, all right; and look here, what did you do to him?" demanded Mr. Mabie.
"I was very kind to the scamp, and hung him up in a tree, where the rest of his tribe couldn't get at him to tear his hide to pieces. You see, I had a notion that I'd like to have that skin for a rug, and that later on, perhaps, one of the boys might go out with me and remove it much better than I could," grinned Jerry.
"Thank you, my lad. I feel that you've done me a favor. Every wolf that goes across the Great Divide means more calves to grow up; and you shall have your rug, I pledge you my word."
Mr. Mabie shook the hand of the successful wolf hunter with emphasis, showing that he felt deeply on the subject.
Just as he expected, Frank was still rather sore on the following day. He let the others do the hunting that morning, Will tagging behind the bunch with his ready camera.
They came in at noon, having covered some new ground, and brought the best part of an elk with them. Mr. Mabie laughed, and wished it might have been an antelope instead. He was not partial to elk meat, which was perhaps natural in a stockman, who could kill young beef whenever the spirit moved.
"How about that bear den, Reddy?" asked Jerry, as they lounged about the camp in the early afternoon.
"Any time you say the word. I was only waitin' till Frank felt himself again," was the other's reply.
"Oh, don't let my condition keep you from that little entertainment. Besides, I feel much better now. Perhaps a little excitement might put me in just the right kind of trim," declared that individual promptly.
"Hear! hear!" exclaimed Bluff, making a pretense of clapping his hands.
"Talk to me about your dyed-in-the-wool sportsman! Frank, here, could give any fellow points," declared Jerry.
"I understand the principle he works on. It's the same as what they call homoepathy, that 'like cures like.' I've seen a man, when struck by a rattler, chase the reptile, kill him, and apply his crushed body to the wound, in the belief that one poison would counteract the other," said the stockman.
"Did it succeed?" asked Jerry, eager for information along these lines.
"Well," said Mr. Mabie, "the poor chap died, I'm sorry to say. In another case, the fellow insisted on filling himself up with whiskey. He lived through it, too, which proved the rule, though I believe there are better things to save a man than liquor. But Frank has the right idea. The excitement of the chase will cause him to forget, and take some of the stiffness out of his joints."
"Then we go this afternoon?" queried Reddy anxiously.
"Whenever you're ready," answered Frank.
They set out within half an hour. Of course, the whole four chums insisted on being in the party. Besides, there were the guide, Mr. Mabie and Billy. Each of the cowboys carried his rope, for of late it had seemed as though a lariat might be a very necessary accompaniment to these side hunts.
They headed in a quarter where, as yet, none of the boys had been. This led them directly into the thickets that lay at the base of the mountain barrier, stretching away up against the blue heavens.
None of the chums had forgotten the fierce appearance of the grizzly that had fallen before the rifle which Jerry wielded so cleverly.
"Remember, lads," said Mr. Mabie, as they trailed along through rocky gulches, "every Mountain Charlie isn't going to keel over as easily as the one Jerry got. He was lucky to send his lead to a vital point. I've seen veteran hunters shoot a bear a dozen times, and then have to finish him with a knife."
"I've always read that they can stand a tremendous amount of shooting without caving under," admitted Frank.
"And it isn't considered at all disgraceful, when stirring such a terrible monster out of his den, for the hunters to post themselves in trees near by. While at first blush such a procedure might seem silly or cowardly to you, take an old hunter's advice, and give the rascal no more chance than you can help. Even then I've known him to shake a fellow out of a small tree, and only for the assistance of the others he must have killed the youngster."
"A grizzly can't climb a tree, then, sir?" questioned Will uneasily.
"Not ordinarily. He might manage to swarm up if the trunk was inclined about forty-five degrees. Select straight ones, and of some size; then you're safe."
"Thank you, Mr. Mabie. I'll follow your advice. You see, I'm only the photographer of the club, and they could hardly afford to lose me," remarked Will, thinking some sort of an apology might be necessary for his seeming timidity.
But the others did not laugh. They knew their chum too well for that. He had proven more than once that when it came to a pinch he could conquer his natural weakness, and show the right spirit of bravery, especially if it were one of his comrades who was in peril.
"Well," remarked Reddy a short time later, "we're close to the place now."
"I imagined as much," said Mr. Mabie, with a significant look around.
"You mean that this is an ideal spot for a grizzly to have his den?" asked Jerry.
"Fine. Look at the tumbled-down rocks, making many a cave that affords shelter from the elements, winter and summer. Then, of course, the old rascal has a nice short cut through some canyon to the open country. He uses that when he feels sharp set for veal. Oh, yes, I've no doubt he's been the cause of many a calf disappearing from the herd," said the stockman between his teeth.
"I don't wonder, then, you are so keen at wanting to get rid of all such neighbors as grizzlies, panthers and wolves. They make an expensive boarding-house," laughed Bluff.
"They take their toll right along. This region would be a paradise for a stockman only for that. The grass is heavy, and while the winters are severe, we know how to carry our stock over; but we can never calculate our profits, because of the losses on account of hungry wild beasts."
"Then I'm glad we came here to get our taste of big-game shooting, for it will not only be fun for us, but a benefit to civilization," remarked Bluff, who, being in training to succeed his lawyer father, often liked to indulge in imposing sentences.
"Now look over yonder to where that cleft yawns," said Reddy at this juncture.
"I see it; and is that the den?" asked Jerry.
"Sure as you live. You fellows be choosing your trees, and let me take a peek."
"He isn't going in, I hope!" exclaimed Will as the cowboy moved away.
"Well, hardly. Reddy doesn't want to commit suicide just yet. He's only going to make sure the old chap is at home, then he'll make preparations to smoke him out."
As Mr. Mabie said, Reddy was soon back, and from his actions it was positive the bear was at home. He began collecting dry wood and all manner of material calculated to make a big smoke. The boys knew something about such a scheme themselves, and were deeply interested.
Mr. Mabie insisted that each one seek an asylum in the branches of a tree that commanded the black cleft. Presently, Reddy had his pile of wood and brush ready, and he put a match to it, after which he beat a hasty retreat, climbing into the tree with Frank.
"Listen!" he said presently.
Frank could hear a sound like sneezing. This was followed by a scrambling noise that arose above the crackling of the fire. Then came a terrific roar, succeeded by a sudden scattering of the brands, and the enraged grizzly rushed into the open!
"Hello, there, Charlie! How's your health?"
Reddy swung himself down from the limb on which he had been perched, and kicked out with his feet in such a way that he attracted the attention of the beast.
"He's coming! Look out, Frank!" shouted Will, who, secure in his perch, had, of course, been manipulating his camera with burning zeal.
Bang!
It was Bluff who had fired, but if he hit the great beast at all, the latter minded the wound no more than he would a flea bite.
Jerry also took a turn as the grizzly passed the tree in which he was hidden.
"I hit him!" he whooped as the grizzly gave a snap backward at his flank.
But the enticement offered by Reddy's swinging form proved too much for the enraged animal. Doubtless he imagined that all his troubles came from that biped or monkey hanging up yonder, just within reach of his claws if he arose on his hind legs. Hence his eagerness to make the attempt.
"Pull up, quick!" exclaimed Frank as the grizzly rushed under the tree and immediately started to rear up.
The daring cowboy had held out until the very last second, meaning that nothing should balk his design of enticing the enemy under their refuge, where Frank could get in his work.
Afterward Frank understood his motive. Reddy was especially fond of him, though he also liked all of the other chums. He believed that Jerry had secured enough honors in being given the chance to knock over the other bear, and it was his desire to see Frank even up the score.
Just in the nick of time the cowboy swung his legs up around the limb. The horrible claws of the grizzly swept through the air not a foot below where he had hung. Frank shuddered at the consequences had anything happened to bring Reddy within reach of such a powerful beast.
"Now get him, Frank!" gasped the one who hung on with arms and legs.
Neither Bluff nor Jerry thought to shoot a second time. They seemed to understand that the game had passed them by, and that it was Frank's turn.
When he saw the right chance the young sportsman pulled the trigger. He had not made any mistake in judging just where he should aim, for with the report of his rifle the grizzly floundered, and fell over.
"Wow! That did the business!" shouted Jerry.
"Hold on, boys! Don't get down yet!" called Mr. Mabie hastily, as he thought he detected a disposition on the part of either Bluff or Jerry to drop from their secure perches to the ground.
It was well they refrained, for already the monster was once more on his feet, and, roaring with fury, endeavoring to reach the enemies who clung there so tantalizingly, just beyond his extended claws.
"Give him another!" cried Reddy promptly.
Frank did; and wishing to end the beast as quickly as possible, he aimed to send the lead straight to the heart. But he was compelled to use every bullet in his six-shot repeater before the giant received his quietus, and rolled over, to rise no more.
Frank had a queer feeling as he dropped to the ground and stood over his big game. Deep down in his heart he envied his chum, because Jerry had been able to kill his grizzly while the beast was charging him.
"It may be all right," he said to Mr. Mabie, "and it's a good thing to get rid of these savage animals in any old way, but I hope I don't take part in another affair like this. He had no chance, poor old chap."
The old rancher looked admiringly at the boy.
"Those sentiments do you proud, lad, and I appreciate them, too; but business, in my line, must go ahead of sentiment, and this old Charlie was doing me a bad turn. My herds will rest easier now that he is gone," he said feelingly.
Leaving Billy and Reddy to secure the hide of the second grizzly, the others returned to camp. Restless Jerry tried the fishing again, and as before, success came his way.
"I'd give something to have my little Red Rover here, in that swift water," sighed Bluff, as he and Frank sat on the edge of the bluff, listening to the rush of the river while it sped on its way to the lower country.
"Well, a canoe might be fine for shooting downstream, but I don't believe you'd find it as safe in the rapids as those hide boats. The rocks can't smash in their sides, like cedar or canvas craft. Better to do as the natives do, I find, whenever I go anywhere. They know by experience what's best," returned Frank wisely.
"Look there! A cowboy coming like the wind up the river, waving his hat over his head! Say! d'ye suppose anything's gone wrong at the ranch, and we'll have to cut our hunt short?" exclaimed Bluff anxiously.
"Oh, I guess not. You see, those fellows are built that way. They never can do anything without excitement. See! He's holding up something that looks like a mail pouch," said Frank composedly.
"Why, of course that's it! I heard Mr. Mabie say he expected mail to-day, and, for one, I'll be mighty glad to hear from the folks," sighed Bluff.
"What? Not getting homesick already, I hope?" smiled his chum.
"Certainly not, only a fellow naturally likes to hear from his mom and dad when he's away so far," declared Bluff stoutly.
"Yes, and also from some other fellow's sister, in the bargain. Nellie never finds time to write to me when I'm away, leaving all that to the old folks; but I notice that you always manage to get a letter in her handwriting."
"Well, I made her solemnly promise to write every other day, you see," explained Bluff, while he suddenly became red in the face, hurrying off to get his mail.
There were letters for all the boys. Jerry was called in from his entrancing sport to receive his share, and Frank noticed that he, too, had a sweet-looking missive in a schoolgirl hand. Of course, it must be from Mame Crosby, for Jerry and she were great friends.
"Here's something enclosed in my letter, and directed to Mr. Frank Langdon. Does anybody know a fellow by that name?" asked Will, holding up a delicate envelope that seemed to exhale a fragrance all its own.
"And sealed, too! What a breach of etiquette!" jeered Jerry.
"Now, will you be good?" observed Bluff, glad of a chance to return the favor.
"That's all right. Possibly Violet wants to make some inquiries concerning her twin brother, how he behaves, and if he has developed any rash spirit calculated to get him into trouble. I remember telling her that if she felt anxious just to drop me a line, and I'd answer."
Frank unblushingly took the envelope from the extended fingers of Will.
"Open it!" commanded Bluff.
"You'll have to excuse me, fellows. That wouldn't be hardly fair to my correspondent, you know. She expects me to keep her secrets." And Frank coolly sauntered off as he spoke.
Nor did he ever take them into his confidence with regard to what the contents of that scented missive might be. Even Will was not told. However, like most brothers, it can be said that he did not seem overly anxious to learn. He had, perhaps, secrets of his own.
Once again they were seated around the campfire. Supper had been, as usual, a great success, and while the older members of the party smoked, our boys amused themselves in various ways.
Will was, of course, busy with his photographic outfit. His field dark-room was a success, and he developed his films, and did all other things necessary, with little or no trouble. Indeed, he had an apparatus whereby he could carry on this operation successfully even in the daytime; but he usually worked at night, because there was nothing else going on then.
The others had fallen into a conversation connected with their home life. Reddy hovered near, listening, and Frank wondered why that wistful look had come into the eyes of the young cowboy. Possibly he had a home somewhere—perhaps memories of a mother or father had crowded into his mind while the boys were talking of the sacred ties that bound them to Centerville.
Frank had always believed there must be something of a history attached to Reddy's past. He had even hoped that some time the other might take such a liking to him as to speak of his own folks. His manner gave Frank the impression that the dashing cowboy might have had a new longing spring up in his breast since their coming to the ranch, a desire to once again visit the scenes of his boyhood.
So, as they talked, referring to many of the events of the past, names were often mentioned, and as a thought came to him, Frank happened to say:
"I wonder how Hank Brady is getting on with father's new car?"
He saw the cowboy start and turn white.
"Who's Hank Brady?" he asked, his voice trembling.
"A fellow we met under strange circumstances. Hank was on the road to the bad, but he got his eyes open just in time. Now he's our chauffeur, and we think he's going to make good," replied Frank, watching the other with sudden interest.
"Huh! Did you ever hear anything about his family?" asked Reddy, trying to act in a natural manner, but hardly succeeding very well.
"Yes. He's got a father and mother who were mighty anxious about him."
"And there's that good-for-nothing brother Ted he told you to keep your eye out for up here!" broke in Bluff.
"Yes; how about that, Frank? Have you ever asked about him?" exclaimed Jerry.
"No; but perhaps I'd better begin now. How about it, Reddy?" questioned Frank.
"You needn't go any further, for I can tell you all about that scalawag. If you had asked Mr. Mabie, he'd have told you my name was Ted Brady," was the astonishing reply.
It was surprising to see the effect of the cowboy's announcement.
Frank was in some measure prepared for it. He had entertained a sudden suspicion as he noticed the emotion of the other. But his chums seemed almost thunderstruck.
"Tell me about that, will you!" said Jerry, feebly waving his hands.
"Did you ever hear of such luck?" ejaculated Will.
"Beats a story all hollow. Here's the prodigal son found at last, eating his dinner with the—" began Bluff, when Jerry pounced on him.
"Don't you dare finish that, on your life! Of course, you can call yourself swine, if you please, but I object. But is it really true, Reddy? Are you Hank's long lost brother?" he asked, turning to the other.
"I certainly am, although I ought to be ashamed of the way I've treated my folks. All for a measly little matter, too. My eyes have been openin' lately, and I was mighty near headin' Eastways before you came," said the cowboy, hanging his head.
"Then perhaps you'll go back with us, and surprise the folks?" suggested Frank eagerly.
"Well, now, I'd like to do that same, if so be you fellows mean it. You see, my folks ain't always lived in Centerville. I thought that lots of things you talked about seemed kinder familiar to me, for I was brought up in that part of the State. Yes, I'll go home, and try and make up for what I done to hurt the old folks. Somehow, just the idea of it makes me feel better."
He eagerly questioned the boys about his people. Of course, they did not have much news to tell him. Hank was only a year or so older than his brother, and the absent one was very much interested in hearing how they had met him, and what awakened Hank to a consciousness of the terrible mistake he was making in associating with unscrupulous men.
After that Reddy assumed a new place with the boys. He seemed to be closer to them than ever, and Frank no longer wondered why the other's sunburned face had seemed partly familiar to him when he first met him.
"You and Hank are very much alike," he said, later on, to Reddy.
"They used to say that at home. I was just big enough to be accused of many of Hank's tricks, and once I got a lickin' he deserved."
"And another thing," laughed Frank, "I know now what he was about to tell me at the time I was dragged away by my folks. I was asking him how I could ever recognize you, in case we met, and he put up his hand to his head, but I never heard the rest of it."
"Why, of course, he was going to tell you that I had a mop of beautiful red hair, and that Teddy went with Reddy. I guess you'd have known me if you'd heard that," was the good-natured remark of the found one.
On the following day the four outdoor chums determined to set out in a bunch to have a grand hunt, following the dense woods far down the valley. The last words of the old stockman were a caution in connection with the dry grass.
"Be careful about a fire, lads. If you make one, be sure the last spark is out before you leave it. A forest fire would play the mischief just now, with everything so dry. But somehow, I've got hopes that the rain is coming soon," and he looked into the west, as though the few low-down clouds gave him encouragement.
When noon came the boys had put up a couple of elk, but at such a distance that no one but Bluff fired, and he because he knew no better.
"Do you think I wounded him?" he had the nerve to ask, whereat Jerry looked at Frank and just smiled broadly.
"Anyhow, they ran off faster after I fired," asserted Bluff confidently.
"I should think anything would," was all Jerry said, and if there was malice in the remark Bluff did not know it in his innocence.
While they sat down to eat the lunch they had carried along Frank called attention to the fact that the wind had risen.
"Perhaps Mr. Mabie was right, after all, and there is a rainstorm coming before long," suggested Will.
"Then I hope it'll have the decency to hold off until we get home," said Bluff.
"Oh, a little wetting wouldn't hurt us. We're not made of sugar or salt. But perhaps we'd better not go any further. We've come a long way since breakfast. This valley seems to have no end, and it broadens out down here, too."
"Yes; and, Frank, have you noticed how thick the trees grow, too? Why, in some places a fat man would have trouble getting through between the trunks," said Jerry.
"What ails Frank? He seems to be sniffing the air like a hound," asked Will.
"Oh, he always declared he had a fine scent, and I've noticed that he knows when dinner is ready, ahead of the rest of us," remarked Jerry.
Frank laughed good-naturedly.
"To tell the truth, I was wondering, fellows, whether we could be near another camp," he remarked.
"Did you hear anybody shout?" asked Will.
"No; but when there came a sudden shift to the wind I thought I got a scent of fire. No, it wasn't cooking, this time, Jerry, so don't get ready to accuse me of that weakness again; just something burning."
"Say! you don't think it could be the woods afire, do you?"
"Talk to me about your ghost-seers, will you! Will, here, can jump on to trouble quicker than any fellow I know. Why, if the woods were on fire, don't you think we'd have found that fact out before now, Mr. Faint Heart? I guess such a thing couldn't happen without a heap of smoke that would look like a pall, and appal us, in the bargain."
"Well, all I can say is, I'm not hankering after any forest fire experience after what Mr. Mabie told us about those friends of his who were nearly burned to death seven years ago; and that was a prairie fire, too," observed Will, continuing to cast anxious glances around.
"Amen to that," remarked Bluff.
"Why, you must think I'm just wild to try my legs, with a healthy blaze jumping after me; but I'm not, all the same. Come along, Lazy-bones! We're going to have the delightful pleasure of covering those ten miles back again," and Jerry pulled Will to his feet.
"Ten miles!" groaned the other dismally, making a pretense of hobbling, as if his muscles had given out. "How in the world can I ever do it?"
"Well, sing out when you want to stop. We'll hang you up in a tree, safe and sound, just as I did that wolf I got; and later on one of the boys can come for you with a horse," was Jerry's cheerful remark.
"Oh, I'd hate to put you to any additional trouble, so I'll try my best to limp along," replied Will, who, of course, was only shamming, in that he was not half so tired as he tried to make out.
So they turned their faces toward the home camp, and started trudging along, now and then calling to one another as something caught their fancy.
Will had had little opportunity to make use of his picture-taking machine this trip. His stock of films was beginning to run low, and only special subjects must claim his attention from now on. Besides, he had several views of the great woods, and the light was so poor under the trees that it required a time exposure to bring out the details.
"I think it's a mean shame none of you fellows think enough of me to get up some sort of excitement, in order to let me snap you off," he was saying as he tramped along.
"Tell me about that, will you! The chap really thinks that it's our duty to do all sorts of remarkable stunts, in order that he may have the pleasure of snapping us off in ridiculous positions!"
"Hear! hear! That was the finest speech I ever knew Jerry to put up. As a rule, he leaves the heavy talk to me, and is satisfied to just grunt out his ideas. But look here, Frank, I believe you were right," said Bluff, stopping to elevate his nose in a significant fashion.
"Oh! dear me! Do you smell smoke, too?" demanded Will.
"Why, so do I, now that you mention it. And say! just cast your eyes back of us, fellows! Don't it seem as though there was more or less smoke in the woods over yonder?" asked Jerry.
The four boys now showed sudden animation.
"Hark to the wind, too! It's beginning to make a sound up there in the tree-tops. Which way is it coming, Frank?" asked Will.
Frank's face began to assume a serious look. The wind was fairly growing stronger with every passing minute. If the woods should be afire, this would whip the flames furiously, and send them speeding along at a dangerous pace.
"It begins to look bad for us, boys," he remarked.
"What! Do you really mean it, or are you just trying to play a joke?"
"You know me better than that, Will. There is certainly a brush fire back there. Some camper has left his fire, and the rising wind has carried it into the dead leaves," said Frank soberly, surveying his surroundings.
"Could we push forward and put it out before it does any damage?" asked Bluff.
"I'm afraid it's too late for that now. See there! The smoke is getting thicker and thicker all the time. Boys, we might as well look the matter straight in the face."
"What do you mean, Frank?" asked Will in a trembling voice.
"We must cut and run for it, that's all, for the fire is coming swiftly!"
At first, the boys made light of the flight. All of them were pretty fair runners, and although the weather was warm for such exertion, they did some clever work.
"It's getting worse back there!" said Will, who brought up the rear.
Frank had known this for several minutes, and was correspondingly worried.
The wind had risen to such an extent that it rushed through the tree-tops like an express train, making a doleful sound. Nor was this all, for they could plainly hear a crackling from the rear that was gradually becoming a subdued roar.
"Oh! I saw the fire then!" called Will a minute or two later.
Looking over their shoulders as they ran, all of them had glimpses of the flames leaping hungrily upward. What Mr. Mabie had feared all along had actually come to pass. All of them were glad, however, that it had not been through any fault of theirs, since they had built no fire that day.
"Frank, it's catching up with us! Whatever shall we do?" panted Bluff, close beside the one he addressed.
Frank had been considering this same question. He at first thought they might outrun the fire, but now he changed his mind. The woods were so dense, and the vegetation so thick, that whenever they tried to make fast time they kept tripping over trailing vines, or else banging up against the trunks of the forest monarchs, sometimes damaging their noses by the contact.
"What was he telling us about fighting fire with fire?" asked Jerry, who was by this time feeling not quite so jaunty as usual, but ready to seize upon any opening that promised safety.
"That was out on the prairie. I don't think the scheme would work here in the woods. It would take too long for the second blaze to get a start, and we'd be caught between the two fires," was Frank's reply.
"But we must do something pretty soon!" cried Will.