Indeed, it would appear so. They were now enveloped in a pall of smoke, that, entering their eyes, made them smart fiercely. Not only that, but the fire could be seen in a dozen places behind them, leaping up into the trees as the dried foliage offered such a splendid torch, and the wind urged the conflagration along.
"Will's right. The old thing's running us neck and crop. I believe it's gaining on us right along!" exclaimed Bluff.
"Look for a hollow tree!" cried Jerry.
"Humbug! Just because you once got in one during a storm you think a hollow tree can be used for nearly anything. Why, we'd be smothered in a jiffy, even if we didn't get burned to a crisp! Say something else!" shouted Bluff.
"What is it, Frank—you know?" demanded Will, who, in this time of need, somehow turned to the one whose cool head had many times managed to extricate them from some impending danger.
"We've just got to head another way, and try and get out of the path of the fire, if we can. Besides, the river lies to the left," he answered, as cheerily as he could.
"The river! Hurrah!" shrieked Will in sudden elation, for the very thought of water was a blessed relief when threatened by fire.
"We can duck under, and save our bacon!" cried Jerry.
"There you go, confessing to the swine again," declared Bluff.
But in spite of their light words the boys were by this time thoroughly alarmed. The appearance of the burning woods in their immediate rear was appalling, to say the least. High sprang the flames, and their crackling could now be plainly heard. Indeed, the sound began to assume the proportions of a continuous roar, such as a long freight train might make in passing over a trestle and down a grade.
Now that they were running almost sidewise to the advancing fire, it approached much faster than before.
"I felt a spark on my face, fellows!"
Frank was not at all surprised to hear Will say this, for he, too, had experienced the same thing not half a minute before. He had not mentioned the fact, for fear of alarming his chums still more.
"Keep on, fellows!" was all he said, for he needed every bit of breath he could muster.
Desperately they tried to increase their pace, but found it hard work with so many obstacles confronting them. Will tumbled more than any of the others, somehow or other. Perhaps it was because he was carrying his camera so carefully, and thinking more about it than his own person.
Finally Frank missed him entirely.
"Where's Will gone?" he demanded.
The others, turning, were horrified to find their chum missing.
"Keep right on, you fellows! Don't you dare stop, or follow me! I'll get Will! The river's close by!" he called out, and then turned around, retracing his steps directly toward the advancing fire.
Never had Will seemed so precious in the sight of the boy who thus placed his own life in jeopardy in order to save that of his chum. In imagination Frank pictured his agony of mind if he had to tell Violet that her twin brother had perished miserably in a forest fire, while he escaped.
"Will! Will!" he was shouting frantically, as loud as he could, and this was not anything to boast of, for the smoke choked him, and he could hardly keep from coughing almost constantly.
"Hi! Here I am! Lost like the babes in the woods!" sang out a voice.
Frank pounced on his friend, who, with smarting eyes, was fairly staggering about, hardly knowing which way he was trying to go, having become more or less rattled by the impending peril and the state of his own feelings.
"Run for all you're worth, Will!" he said, as he clutched the sleeve of the other almost fiercely, for they had little chance of eluding those hungry flames now.
Together they rushed along, Frank's eyes doing double duty, for Will seemed by this time half blind, and the one free hand was constantly rubbing his smarting orbs.
"A little further, and we're safe!" he kept calling in the ear of his nearly exhausted chum.
The heat was beginning to be terrific now. Blazing branches flew through the air, and set trees on fire all around them.
"It's like the fiery furnace!" Will said three times running, and Frank really began to fear his companion's mind was getting unsettled from the fright of their desperate condition.
Oh! if the river would only show up ahead! No doubt the others had, ere now, gained the glorious haven, and were settled up to their necks in the water, ready to defy the power of the opposing element. But it was an open question whether the halting pair could ever make the shelter of the friendly stream.
"Let me go, Frank! You can make it alone!" pleaded Will.
"Shut up! Keep on running! I tell you we're going to get there, and don't you think for a minute we ain't!" replied Frank furiously, as he pulled Will along.
"This way, Frank! Turn a little to the left!"
"That's Jerry shouting! Do you hear him, Will? Keep up your heart! We're going to cheat the old fire yet!" cried Frank.
His companion seemed to pluck a little new spirit from the encouraging shout, and his lagging feet began to show more animation. In this way they hurried out of the already burning forest, and found themselves on the brink of the swift current of the valley stream.
"Jump in! The water's fine!" shouted Jerry, who, with Bluff, had submerged himself up to his shoulders.
"But my camera! I can't ruin it in the water!" shouted the obstinate Will, as he looked eagerly around for some place to conceal the object which he held in so much reverence.
"Under those rocks! We chucked our guns there!" called Bluff, pointing out the spot, in his eagerness to help matters along.
Will hastened to thrust the beloved camera into the cavity that lay beneath the rocks, and Frank, nothing loth, also pushed his rifle into the same place. Then it was ludicrous to see how quickly they made a plunge into the river.
Their immersion did not come a minute too soon. Frank knew that Will's garments were on fire in several places, and did not doubt but that his own must be in the same condition, for the sparks were raining all around them.
"This is all right," said the irrepressible Jerry, jumping up and down as he tried to hold out against the strong current.
"All I know is that we are in luck to have this blessed old river handy," said Frank, with more or less feeling in his voice, as he watched the fire flash from tree to tree in pursuing its course.
"Yes, it's a queer world. Only a few days ago it came near ending my life up at the cataract, and now it makes amends by saving it," remarked Jerry.
"The fire doesn't seem to jump across the river," observed Will.
"No; and I don't think it will, unless the wind changes quickly," said Frank.
"But it seems bound to get to our camp inside of an hour or two. What d'ye suppose they'll do with all the duffle?" inquired Bluff uneasily.
"I'm not worried about that. Mr. Mabie will scent trouble a long way off, and find a refuge among the rocks, if necessary; but I'm inclined to think the fire will never get to him," replied Frank.
"Do you believe the wind will shift, then, and blow back on us?" asked Will.
"I'm not a wind prophet. What I had in mind was that the fire would be put out before it got three miles from here."
"Put out! Do you mean to say they've a fire department up here?" demanded Will.
"Why, certainly; but it doesn't cost them a cent to maintain it. Somebody just pulls the string, and the water comes down," laughed Jerry.
"Oh! I see now what you mean! It's going to rain!"
"Hear! hear. He's tumbled to it at last! Sometimes it seems to me that we'll just have to get out a special dictionary for Will, so he can find the answers to conundrums without waste of time or energy," declared Bluff.
"That's the penalty every genius has to pay," remarked Will composedly.
Every now and then the boys were compelled to duck their heads beneath the surface of the river, for the heat became unbearable. When the worst of the fire had gone by on the wings of the furious wind, things began to change a bit for the better.
"Say! don't you think we might be getting out of here now?" demanded Will, whose teeth, strange to say, were rattling together with the chill of the mountain stream even while the air was still heated around them.
"I suppose it will be safe, and we can stand the heat if it will assist to dry our clothes. Though for that matter, fellows, it's ten to one we will be soaked through and through again before we get to camp."
"This is mighty unhealthy, I think. Such rapid changes always encourage dangerous ailments," remarked Will, whose father, now dead, had been a physician.
"All the same, I know several fellows who were very much pleased to make a sudden change a little while back," asserted Jerry.
They crawled out on the bank. Will, of course, made straight for the rocky niche toward which he had cast many an anxious look while standing in the river.
"Good! Everything is all right, boys! Not a bit of damage done, that I can see!" he called out.
They kept close to the river in making their way along. Perhaps the main idea in this was to have a handy refuge in case a sudden need arose.
"There she comes!" remarked Bluff, in less than ten minutes.
"What? Where?" asked Will, staring around.
A deep bellow of near-by thunder answered him. Then the rain began to fall in torrents. Will always carried a piece of waterproof cloth, to be used for wrapping around his precious camera on occasions when it was threatened with rain. This he brought into use, and at the same time tried to keep the little black box sheltered as much as possible under his coat.
From one extreme they had jumped to the other. First it was a superabundance of fire, and now water began to trouble them.
"I'm soaked through again," announced Jerry dolefully, as he allowed the wind to carry him along through the blackened timber.
"And I just bet that old fire has been squashed out before this," spluttered Bluff. "Don't you say so, Frank?"
"If it hasn't, it soon will be. Did you ever see it come down harder?"
"Must be trying to make up for the drouth of the last two months. Mr. Mabie said that when it did come we'd likely get a drencher. We're getting it, all right," declared Jerry.
For another half hour they kept on, though the walking was very hard.
"A fine-looking crowd we are," declared Frank, as he surveyed his blackened leggings and sodden coat.
"But it seems to me things don't look quite so bad around here," observed Will.
"Well, they don't, for a fact. Frank, we've reached the fire limit, I do believe!" cried Bluff.
Everybody was glad to know it, for many reasons. The walking would be better, they could by degrees wash off the black stains that had been covering their clothes, and last, but far from least, the camp would be safe.
"I'll never forget this day's experience, that's sure," Jerry was saying, half an hour later, as, they still plodded on, with some miles still ahead of them that must be gone over before they reached camp.
"And every time I look at the picture of the fire it'll bob up before me and make me shudder," remarked Will.
"Talk to me about that, will you! Do you mean to say you had the nerve to stop and snap off some views of that hot old fire while the rest of us were shinning it as fast as we could?" demanded Jerry.
"Why, of course I did! What do you take me for? Who else would have preserved that exciting episode for future generations to enjoy, if I hadn't? That's what I'm here for," replied Will in surprise.
"And I suppose that was what made you so late Frank had to go back and hunt you up, eh?"
"I suppose it was, Bluff; but don't you scold now. I guess you'll enjoy those views as much as any one. There's only one thing I regret, fellows."
"And I can guess what that is. You wish you had taken the rest of us up to our chins in the drink," remarked Frank, whereat Will nodded eagerly, crying out:
"Oh! it would have been a great sight! Think how many times it might chase the blues away when some of us felt downcast! I wish, now, I had asked you to go back and give me the chance."
"Tell me about that, will you! Was there ever such an indefatigable—hey, Bluff! Is that the word I want?—artist as our meek little pard here? Sometimes he seems so timid, and then again he shows more nerve than the whole bunch put together. I thought I knew him to a dot, but I confess I'm puzzled," grunted Jerry.
"The rain has stopped, fellows," announced Frank a little later.
"But just look at the river! Must have been a cloudburst, as they call it out in the Rockies, Mr. Mabie says. It's just rising right before our eyes!"
"Then they'll have to change the camp, because by this time the water must be up to where the tents were pitched. Why, see there, Frank! Isn't that water over yonder, too, on the right of us?" asked Bluff, pointing through the woods.
"As sure as you live, and rushing madly on, too. We are between two rivers, it seems, with the water rising like a tidal wave. Perhaps we may have to take to a tree yet, fellows," announced Frank after a long look.
"H'm! These trees are sure handy to have around! We shin up one to avoid all sorts of dangers, it seems to me. And by the looks of that wall of water coming down on us just now, the sooner we climb, the better for us!" cried Jerry, suiting his actions to his words, and seizing the lower limb of a friendly oak, into which he clambered hastily, followed by his three chums, just as a five-foot wave swept under them, for all the world resembling a "curler" rolling in from the ocean and up the beach.
"What d'ye call this, anyway?" exclaimed Bluff, panting with his exertions.
"I'd say it was crowding the mourners, for these things to chase each other so fast, and the elements to make playthings out of four confiding chums," said Frank.
"Tell me about that, will you! First a scorching, then put to soak, after which comes another hot experience, and now treed by a flood! Upon my word, things are happening a little too rapid even for me," put in Jerry.
"There!" remarked Will, with a satisfied chuckle. "I think you three fellows will make a splendid showing, perched along that limb like a lot of crows, and the water rolling along below."
"Talk to me about the industrious photographer! If that chap hasn't taken our pictures in this ridiculous attitude! Why, they'll believe we've gone back to the old days, when our ancestors used to live in trees."
"Speak for yourself, Jerry. I refuse to admit that I am descended from a monkey," declared Bluff indignantly.
"How long do you suppose we may have to hang out here?" asked Will.
"Oh, a day or so, I suppose," replied Jerry, keeping a straight face.
"A day or so! Listen to him say that without a show of feeling! Why, long before that time elapsed I'd grow so weak from fatigue that I'd have to be strapped to my limb to keep from falling into the treacherous water," stammered Will.
"And what of me?" burst out Bluff. "I'd waste away to a mere shadow from hunger. Sooner than submit to that, I'd try swimming ashore."
"Do you think the water will get any higher? Could it possibly overwhelm us in this tree? We could climb up twenty feet if necessary."
"Well, I hardly think that emergency is going to arise, Will; not at this time, at least. To tell the truth, the water is already receding," announced Frank, taking pity on Jerry's victims, both of whom looked worried.
"Oh! do you really think so?" cried Will. "Then Jerry is only up to some of his old foolishness. Yes, I can see that it does not quite come up to the wet mark on the trunk of the tree. Then perhaps we won't have to stay up here all night."
"Well, I guess not. I expect that in less than twenty minutes we'll be once more afoot, and on our way to camp. This must have been a genuine cloudburst, and they tell me those sort of things, while severe at the time, are quickly over."
"Bully for you, Frank! You always look on the bright side of things, while Jerry tries to dash a fellow's spirits. Things have come out pretty well, after all. We've had some strange experiences, come through them all in decent shape, and to cap the whole thing I've captured some dandy views. I can hardly wait to develop them."
"Go ahead, then. Plenty of water at hand for washing off the hypo," suggested Jerry wickedly.
By the time the twenty minutes had expired the water had subsided so far that the imprisoned chums were able to lower themselves from the tree and once more resume their journey.
Of course, they were an uncomfortable lot, being soaked to the skin, and, as Will declared, looking like a lot of hoboes. Brisk exertion kept them from feeling cold, however; but they were one and all delighted to set eyes on the familiar tents of the home camp.
Their welcome was a warm one, for Mr. Mabie had been more or less worried concerning them, owing to the forest fire and the fierce cloudburst.
"We hoped you were safe, and tried to believe it, boys; but at the same time, even a veteran hunter in these parts might have been caught napping, and I tell you we're mighty glad to see you back safe and sound. Now, tell us how it happened," was Mr. Mabie's greeting as he squeezed a hand of each.
"If you mean the fire, sir, we know nothing about it. We have not struck a match since leaving here, and only Bluff shot once. The fire came from an entirely different quarter, I assure you," said Frank.
"I never doubted that, my lad. I've seen enough of you boys to know that after all I've said none of you would be careless enough to endanger things. But perhaps, after all, the fire was more of a blessing than otherwise, for it probably helped to hurry that rainstorm along, and that has saved our pastures."
Of course, the boys were for getting into dry clothes at once. The fire was heaped high with fresh fuel, so that a delightful warmth would be diffused around the immediate vicinity, after which there was a general change of garments.
"I feel better than I thought I would after all that rumpus," admitted Bluff, as he capered about, trying to keep his muscles from getting stiff.
"We'll look back to this day as one of the strangest in all our experience," remarked Frank, hanging his wet garments where the sun would fall upon them, for the clouds had passed away, leaving a clear sky overhead.
"How much longer do we stay here?" asked Will, who had been doing some figuring. "Because my films are getting low. I have three rolls still at the ranch house, and when they're exhausted my business is done."
"Sorry to tell you, lads, that I had word from the house while you were gone, and it's absolutely necessary for me to start back in the morning. Now, if you would like to remain a little longer in camp, why, Reddy and Billy will keep you company. Don't give up unless you're satisfied with what fun you've had," said the stockman just then.
The boys looked at each other.
"I think we've seen enough of this life, and that there are dozens of things about the ranch we ought to know more about. So I vote that we return with Mr. Mabie," was Frank's suggestion.
"Count me in that," echoed Jerry.
"And I'm just wild to print a few of the remarkable pictures I've made up here, which I can't do until we get back to the house; so I'm only too willing to say yes to the proposition," put in Will.
"And I'm just as happy one place as the other, so long as the cook doesn't strike, or put us on short rations," added Bluff.
In this spirit of humor it was therefore decided that on the following morning they would break camp and return to the ranch.
"I feel that I'm cheating you out of some of your expected fun, boys," apologized the stockman that evening, as they were packing some of their stuff, so as to lighten the labor in the morning.
"Why, I don't know what else we could do here. Seems to me we've about exhausted the list of excitements. We've shot elk, grizzlies, a panther, a wolf, met up with Indians, been chased by a forest fire, soaked in the river and treed by a cloudburst. There could hardly be anything more, sir," laughed Frank.
"Well, I admit that you have made hay while the sun shone; and such a pushing lot of boys always will get all the fun there is going. It's been the happiest event of my last ten years of life to have you with me, and when you see my old side partner of long ago just tell him that I'll never get over being thankful to him for having sent you up here to break the dreadful monotony of existence on a stock ranch."
They passed a delightful evening. The boys sang many of their school songs, and Bluff was induced to give a recitation, which called forth vociferous applause from the cowboy audience.
"I can see very plainly that you are going to make a worthy successor to that lawyer father of yours, Bluff," declared Mr. Mabie as he clapped his hands.
"And I expect to live to see him on the Supreme Bench yet," said Jerry seriously.
In the morning preparations for their departure were soon completed. The tents, and all material connected with the camp, went in the wagon, while the boys, together with Mr. Mabie and Reddy, rode horseback. It was an invigorating gallop back to the ranch house, and on the way the chums indulged in a number of little races. But Will would not allow himself to enter as he was afraid that something might happen to his precious camera, which he carried by a strap over his shoulder.
Once back in their old quarters, for several days the boys took life easy, each being busily engaged in some favorite pursuit. Will developed all his films, and made copious prints of the same, which kept him in a feverish state of mind. When one turned out especially fine he was in the seventh heaven of delight; and if he met with disappointment, which was seldom the case, his laments were dismal indeed.
Thus a week more passed, and the boys were beginning to think of turning their faces toward the East again. They would leave the ranch with many regrets, for Mr. Mabie had certainly quite won their youthful hearts by his genial ways.
Frank was the last one to meet with an adventure on this occasion, which was fated to be written down in his logbook as worthy of remembrance.
He had been out riding, and his horse, stepping into a gopher hole, threw him. Frank was not seriously hurt, but the horse went lame, so that he could not be ridden. As this happened miles away from the house, and night was coming on, with a storm threatening, Frank knew he was in for an experience; but even then he did not dream of all that was down on the bills for that special occasion.
Through the darkness he went, leading his limping horse. Then the storm broke, and the crash of thunder, as well as the vivid lightning, was something such as he could not remember ever meeting before.
He was just thinking that the pony had recovered enough to enable him to mount and make his way slowly along, as the ranch house was not more than a mile off, when something came to his ears that arrested his attention. For half a minute he wondered what it might be, sounding like increasing thunder. Then the appalling truth flashed upon him. There was a stampede of cattle, and he seemed to be directly in the way of the madly galloping herd!
Frank, after that one spasm of alarm, gritted his teeth, and thought fast. He had heard the rancher, as well as the cowboys, speak of the terrors of the stampede, when the cattle were in a frenzy, through fear, and utterly beyond all management.
He knew that frequently experienced cowmen, caught in the rush of a thousand lumbering steers, had been ground to death under countless hoofs. It was so in the old days, when bison dotted the plains of the great West.
Mounted on a good horse, one might hope to ride clear of the advancing avalanche of hoofs and horns. But his steed was lame, and hardly able to limp along. The situation was one calculated to arouse a boy as he had never been awakened before in all his life.
Frank jumped upon the back of his horse. He knew instantly that his one hope must lie in getting clear of the immense herd; and that this could only be done by either riding faster than they were going down the wide valley, or in making for the nearest hillside, where trees would offer him a refuge.
He chose the latter. Flight in a straightaway course was utterly out of the question with a cripple between his knees.
"Get up, Hector! Do your prettiest now!" he called to his horse.
The poor beast was trying his hardest to run well, but making only a pretense, after all, since that lame leg kept him from speedy progress. Doubtless Hector, being a cow pony, knew full well the nature of the peril that menaced them, and if it lay in his power he would bear his young master to a point of safety.
Frank's heart seemed to be in his throat as he leaned forward and listened to the rapidly approaching roar of hundreds upon hundreds of hoofs, mingled with the horrid clashing of horns. Added to this was the deep-toned thunder and the dazzling flashes of lightning.
Once, when he looked to the left, he could see the moving mass that was sweeping horribly close. After that he resolutely kept his attention riveted in front, where the ridge loomed up against the darkened heavens.
Everything depended upon how far he was from the nearest trees. Seconds counted with Frank just then. The lightning flashed every quarter of a minute, and yet it seemed to him that they were ages apart.
With his heart in his throat, as it seemed, he stared ahead, and waited for the next flash to show him the worst. Unless the trees were close by, his case seemed hopeless, for the main herd appeared to have pushed over to this side of the valley, unfortunately, showing that he had picked the wrong course when he started.
Hector stumbled more than once, and Frank feared he would be thrown. He even wondered whether it would not be better for him to throw himself to the ground while he had the chance, and trust to his own legs to carry him to safety.
Then came the eagerly anticipated flash. Hope sprang anew in his breast, for he had discovered the trees close at hand. One more gallant effort on the part of the crippled pony, and they managed to pass behind the outposts of the timber, just as the beginning of the terrible rushing stampede swept by.
There Frank sat upon his pony, breathing hard, and patting the poor animal reassuringly. He could hear the loud cries of the cowboys and Mr. Mabie as they circled about the terrified cattle, trying by every means possible to influence them to mill; but in that gloom it was impossible to carry out the usual tactics, and by degrees the sounds died away far down the valley.
Frank walked with his lame pony to the ranch house. Here he found his chums in a fright because of his absence. They were afraid he had been caught in the mad stampede and ground under the hoofs of the steers.
Mr. Mabie did not show up until long after midnight. The storm had passed away, and the sky cleared by that time. The boys were sitting up, waiting, none of them thinking of seeking his bed.
"Hello, Frank, my lad! I'm mighty glad to find you here, safe and sound. I saw your pony at the stable, and that you had bound up his leg, showing a sprain. But I was afraid that something more serious had been the matter. You don't know how relieved I was to see your horse; and Reddy, too. The poor fellow has been in a sweat with fear ever since the stampede broke out," was the hearty way the rancher greeted Frank as he came bustling in.
"Oh, I was right in the line of the rush, but by clever work on the part of my pony managed to reach the trees before they caught me. But what's the report about the cattle, sir?" asked Frank eagerly.
"The boys have halted them about ten miles from here. Thanks to the storm stopping, and the animals getting leg weary, we managed to head them off. Little damage done, except to our feelings. These things happen once in a while, and are really unavoidable. Steers in a panic are crazy; but then I suppose the same would apply to human beings, if all accounts are true that I read about theater fires and such things."
He asked many questions concerning Frank's adventure.
"You just happened to choose the wrong side, lad. Had you headed the other way you would have had little trouble. The storm came from that quarter, and a cowboy must have known that cattle always run away from the lightning and rain. But fortunately you made the timber, and; as the subject is unpleasant, we'll drop it for the present. Now get off to bed, the lot of you. In the morning, if you want, I'll take you down with me, and show you how we drive a big herd."
"I've got my last roll of films in the camera, and that would make a mighty fine set of pictures to finish up with; but, oh! what wouldn't I give if I could have caught Frank, here, riding for life on that crippled pony, and the stampede sweeping down on him!" said Will enthusiastically.
"Talk to me about your cold-blooded savages! Does anything equal a crank with a camera, bent on snapping off everything that happens?" muttered Jerry, shaking his head in real or assumed disgust.
"That is the fate of every genius, to be misunderstood and misrepresented when ready to sacrifice comfort and everything to his art. But I am not the only one who is a crank. I have known fellows so proud of their lungs, that night after night they insisted on filling the air mattresses of the party just to prove which could blow the harder; while the other two members of the party sat by and laughed."
Frank chuckled at hearing this, and both Bluff and Jerry looked daggers, for the shot hit home with them.
In the morning the boys did accompany the rancher down the valley. Frank showed them his course on the previous night, and they followed his line of travel until the trees were reached. Trail there was none, for hundreds of cloven hoofs had pounded the soil about that spot, showing how narrow had been his escape.
The cowboys were found to have the big herd well in hand. It was even then on the way back to its former feeding ground. Some of the steers showed the effects of the mad rush, in various cuts from the horns of their fellows; and several had tripped and gone down to death in the panic, the herd trampling them into an unrecognizable mass.
Of course, Will satisfied his longing, and secured what pictures he wanted.
"I'm happy in having carried out my plans. Won't the home folks stare when they see the panorama of views I've gathered!" he said jubilantly.
"I should think they would," remarked Jerry, shrugging his shoulders, "for you certainly have a collection of freak pictures, some of which would take the prize."
"But all of this lot are genuine. Nobody had to prance around a tree with a dead yellow dog on his feet, pretending to chase after him," asserted Will.
"Whose doing was that, eh? Tell me that! Didn't you just plead with me to make a fool of myself, and to save you pain I consented. I suppose I'll never hear the end of that fool joke," growled Jerry.
"Oh, yes, you will. It's all in the family. Others don't know the dog was dead when he had his picture taken. They all say he looks as though about to snap a piece out of your leg. Now, I think we've just had a glorious time of it up here, with nothing to mar our pleasure," remarked Frank, the peacemaker.
"Except that miserable job of mine in leaving my knife home," sighed Bluff.
"Talk to me about that, will you! He hasn't forgotten it yet!" exclaimed Jerry.
"I never can. Hello! Here comes Reddy with a bag of mail, the last we'll get, I suppose, before we go home. A letter for me? Now just keep your eyes to yourselves, fellows. I admit it's from Nellie, but no doubt the dear girl is anxious about her brother Frank, and wants information from a thoroughly reliable quarter."
Bluff sought out a lonesome corner of the big piazza in front of the ranch house, and presently all hands were absorbed in their letters. Suddenly the others heard Bluff utter an exclamation, and looked up just in time to see him sprint into the building.
"What d'ye suppose ails the fellow?" asked Will.
"Give it up. He seemed to have a broad grin on his face, as though Nellie must have written something especially sweet. But here he comes out again, dancing like a wild Indian. What's he waving above his head, fellows?" said Frank.
"It's his lost hunting-knife, as sure as you live!" echoed Will.
"Just to think of it, boys! The beauty was in my clothes bag all the time, and I didn't know it! Nellie did it. She mentions the fact in this letter, and says she was so afraid I'd hurt myself with that knife, by accident, that she rolled it up in this new flannel shirt, which I've never thought to put on as yet, and thrust it down at the bottom of my clothes bag. I never thought to pull it out; and now that the big-game hunt is over I get my trusty blade."
"Tell me about that, will you! And you thought I was to blame," remarked Jerry.
"For which I beg your pardon. After all, perhaps no harm was done, and since Nellie only did it from the best of motives, why, I would be foolish to be angry."
"Sensible for once," observed Frank, winking at the others.
"And so we will leave the ranch without the slightest cloud on the horizon. Fellows, all I can say is we're a lucky lot of boys," observed Will positively.
Saying good-by was harder than the boys had anticipated. They had really enjoyed themselves so immensely up there at the ranch in the wilderness that the thought of never seeing it more brought gloom upon their spirits.
Of course, the fact that they were heading toward home, and the dear ones awaiting their coming, made their sorrow lighter.
They had sent their trunk away on the previous evening, so that it would be at the far distant station awaiting their coming. On horseback, then, they were to cover the route that on their arrival they had done on a buckboard.
Mr. Mabie, Reddy and Billy accompanied them, the stockman and Billy to bring back the mounts after the train had borne their young friends away. Reddy, of course, expected to accompany the boys East, to at least visit his family. He could not promise to remain at home, for the magic of the magnificent country of the Northwest called loudly to him; but he was taking home his savings, and meant to make his parents happy.
"I'll never forget all the good times you've given us, Mr. Mabie," said Frank, as he squeezed the hand of their good friend when the whistle of the approaching train was heard as it came booming out of the cut, a mile away.
"My dear boy, on my part I can never thank you and your jolly chums half enough for the delightful time you've given me. It will seem dreary here after you're gone. I haven't been so happy for years," was the reply of the stockman, as he beamed upon the cluster of bright faces around him.
"But you know you promised to make us a visit when we're home from college next Christmas. Don't forget that, sir!" declared Will.
"I certainly will not, if I'm alive. And Will, one of the inducements for such a long journey is the expectation of seeing that remarkable book of interesting views, containing reminders of so many of the exploits of the Outdoor Club. I'm sure that alone would repay me for the trip," laughed the other.
"You won't forget about shipping those skins and things, sir? We want them for reminders of the happiest trip this club ever took. Every time we look at those rugs we'll think of you and your Big M ranch," remarked Bluff.
"They'll go in a few days, boys, just as soon as the skins are in proper shape for transportation, depend on it. And I'll let you know when Pierre is placed under arrest, and the exiled chief, Running Elk, goes back to his people with all honor."
The last they saw of Mr. Mabie and Billy, they were waving their big hats vigorously on the little station platform. Then a curve of the road shut them out, and the four chums settled back in their seats to talk over the thousand and one matters that claimed their attention.
It is not in youth to grieve for long. They felt bad at leaving the scene of these recent happy events; but presently, in anticipation of the reunion with loved ones at home, this was temporarily forgotten.
Will bemoaned the fact that he had not one single film left.
"And there are so many things I'd like to take on the way home," he sighed, "and which I let slip on the way up."
"Yes," remarked Jerry laughingly, "it's wonderful what game you see when you haven't a gun. But what's the matter with you trying to get a roll at the first town? Perhaps we may stop long enough, and they may have photographic supplies at the station."
"Thank you for the suggestion, Jerry. It was a bright thought—for you; but I mean to take advantage of it, and make inquiries."
Jerry gave him a queer look. Will was a fellow he could not fully understand. He seemed to be made up of contradictions, sometimes simple, and again shrewd; now as timid as a girl, and under certain conditions showing the bravery of a lion. Jerry knew Bluff as he did his own nature, and could dispute with him with energy, but in the case of Will he was always glad to drop the subject before he found he had burned his fingers.
Nothing of moment happened on the journey, at least nothing worthy of mention. Will did manage to secure a roll of films at the first town. A messenger came to the car with it, and Frank always supposed from that that his eccentric companion must have wired ahead for supplies. When Will wanted anything he meant to get it, if there was any possible way of so doing.
In due time they arrived at the station in Centerville, where a host of relatives and friends awaited their coming. There was a roar of many voices as the four chums appeared in view, and our boys quickly found themselves being hugged and kissed in a most indiscriminate fashion.
If some of the girls, in the confusion, kissed the brothers of their friends, as well as their own, that was not to be wondered at, and everybody seemed as happy as could be, despite these natural blunders.
Finally they managed to push outside the station.
"Where's Hank Brady?" called Frank aloud.
"Here!" said that worthy, stepping forward from the motor-car, and holding out his hand eagerly to the friend who had been so instrumental in assisting him to get his slipping feet on steady ground.
"Hello, Hank! Here's your brother Teddy!"
In this abrupt fashion did he bring the two face to face. Hank turned white, and stared hard at the bronzed young cowboy for a moment; then he caught hold of him, and the long separated; brothers were in each other's arms.
"Sure, the old folks will be happy this night, Ted, to see you again! I never hoped they'd find you when I asked Mr. Frank to keep on the lookout," was what Hank was saying, as he turned a moist eye in the direction of the boy who had done so much to bring happiness to his home.
Bluff and Nellie were seen talking earnestly close by. Probably he was telling her about the surprise she gave him in that last letter when revealing what she had done with his wonderful hunting-knife.
Now that they were home again, with vacation nearing an end, the boys would not have so much time to indulge in their pastimes on the lake, so that they were keen to make hay while the sun shone. Consequently, they fairly haunted the lake, and the canoes were in use every day from that time on. Nor were they alone in this love of the open, for many an evening each canoe had its complement of fair ones, whose sweet voices blended with those of the four outdoor chums as they paddled in the moonlight over the rippling water.
College was ahead of them, but as they expected to keep together still, the Outdoor Club was not to be disbanded by any means. Often in future days they expected to once more sit around a campfire in company, enjoying the delights of an outing, and recalling many of the wonderful experiences that came their way in days that were past.
And there, written down in Frank's diary, or logbook, were the accounts of their first camp above the loggers' settlement, at the head of the lake; the one on Wildcat Island; then the third, among the Sunset Mountains, when they solved the mystery of Oak Ridge's ghost; and also their wonderful cruise down a Florida river and along the border of the great Mexican Gulf; while this journey to the cattle ranch of Mr. Mabie, in the wilderness of the Northwest, would complete the list.
How many times, as they read of these exploits, and surveyed the splendid pictures Will had secured during their various campaigns, would the scenes of the happy past come before their mental vision! They could hardly expect to equal these glorious days in the times to come, but no one who knew their love for the open would dare predict that the Outdoor Club would cease to exist with the going to college of its four members.
Perchance they may yet have other camps in strange places, and perhaps it may be our pleasant duty to chronicle the happenings of the four chums when again they erect their tents, or it may be, paddle their canoes on other waters.
Wherever they go, and in whatever line of business they may find their life work, it can be taken for granted that the lessons learned when living this life of self-reliance in the open must always prove of the greatest value to The Outdoor Chums.