The Boy Scouts Through the Big Timber; Or, The Search for the Lost Tenderfoot

by Herbert Carter

  CHAPTER VII. TURNING THE TABLES.

  "What's all this mean?" said Thad, laughingly, although he did not failto do as he had been ordered.

  Two rather rough looking men came out of the scrub, carrying guns whichseemed to be handled rather carelessly, seeing that they were evidentlyready for immediate use.

  "Why, consarn it all, Pierre, they're on'y a pack o' boys arter all, andnot sojers," the larger man exclaimed, staring hard at the four scouts,some of whom wore various parts of their regular khaki uniforms, as wellas the regulation campaign hat of the Boy Scout organization.

  "_Sacre!_ zat ees so," the other man exploded, and Thad knew instantlyfrom his name and manner of speech that Pierre must be one of thoseFrench Canadian half-breeds of whom he had heard so much.

  "That's just what we are, my friends," Thad hastened to remark; "webelong to a Boy Scout troop in the East, and came out here to have a huntin the Rockies. One of our number, a very fat boy, wandered off, and gotlost in the big timber. We were following up his trail, and trying tolocate him, when we discovered a camp-fire over here. So you see, wewalked another mile just to give our friend a little surprise. But wehope you'll let us take down our hands now, because it's hard to holdthem up like this."

  The two men exchanged looks. Then they lowered the hammers of their guns.The action signified that, according to their way of thinking, they hadnothing to fear from these half-grown lads.

  "Cum an' set down an' tell us a lot more," said the big man, with the redface, and the crafty eyes, Thad could not bring himself to like, becausehe seemed to see wells of treachery in their depths.

  So the boys dropped down again, being more foot-weary than ever. Buttaking a cue from Allan and Thad, the other two scouts kept their gunsclose beside them. Apparently none of them exactly liked the looks of thetwo strangers; and they were not accustomed to much reading of character,either.

  "War his name Bumpus?" asked the American.

  "Just what it was," flashed out Giraffe; "but how did you know that? Haveyou met up with our lost pard?"

  "Sho! ain't I got ears, an' didn't one o' ye call out that same name whenye was agoin' ter walk inter our camp?" demanded the other, gruffly.

  Thad was on the alert.

  He did not feel favorably impressed by the looks of the two men. Besides,he noticed a crafty, greedy expression cross their faces whenever theyallowed their eyes to rest on Step Hen's new repeating rifle. Evidentlythe neatness of the little weapon quite captured them, and made them envythe boy its possession.

  And Thad was of the opinion that two such rough-looking customers wouldnot hesitate long about trying to obtain anything they coveted.

  The conversation soon became more general, the men wanting to know how itwas these boys, almost wholly inexperienced in the ways of the woods asthey took them to be, were venturesome enough to start into the foothillsof the Rockies without a single guide along.

  So Thad explained how they had engaged a pair of guides, both of whom haddisappointed them, one by getting sick, and the other in taking up with acouple of big-horn sportsmen.

  "But we heard of a man up here somewhere," Thad went on, "who'd beenlogger, trapper, timber cruiser and everything; and people said that ifwe could only run across Toby Smathers, and he took the job, we'd have aguide worth any two men."

  "What's thet? Toby Smathers, did ye say?" demanded the other, that craftylook coming into his face again.

  "Yes, that was the name; do you happen to know him?" asked Giraffe,eagerly.

  "Reckons now, as none o' ye ever run acrost Toby; air thet right?" askedthe man.

  "We never have," replied Thad.

  The fellow laughed harshly.

  "Thet shore is a fack," he went on to say. "Jest think o' it, PierreLaporte, they's askin' o' me ef I ever run acrost Toby Smathers? Ain'tthet a good joke, though? I've kerried a few names in my day, younkers,an' Toby Smathers be one o' 'em."

  "Oh! then you're the very man we've been looking for, eh?" but while Thaduttered this sentiment, there did not seem to be any great amount ofenthusiasm in his manner, Allan thought.

  "He believes the fellow lies; and I just know it," Allan was saying tohimself.

  "An' if so be ye wanter make me a offer, spot cash, ter guide ye boysthrough the big timber, find yer missin' chum, and show ye some big-hornhuntin' in the Rockies, I'm yer man; on'y make the price wuth my while,an' cash down, spot cash."

  Thad said he had no doubt it could be easily arranged to the satisfactionof all parties concerned. His object was really to gain time. He hadreceived a secret sign from Allan, which told him just as plainly as somany words would have done that his chum had something of importance tocommunicate, as soon as they could get their heads together.

  Step Hen and Giraffe had apparently swallowed the story offered by theself-called Toby Smathers without a suspicion. They were now entertainingthe two men with some accounts of previous experiences. The fellowsseemed to be in high spirits. They would nudge each other, and laughboisterously on the slightest pretense. And sometimes they would laughwhen there was no humorous story being told; a look exchanged betweenthem being sufficient grounds for hilarity.

  "They're sure enough feeling pretty fine," thought Thad; "and it strikesme they think they've got a little joke of their own that they're playingon us. Three to one it's about that name, too. I just can't believe thatman answers to the description I've had of Toby Smathers. Why, they saidhe was just the picture of an honest wood's ranger, employed by theGovernment to watch out for timber thieves, forest fires and the likes.And that man's face would condemn him on sight before any judge."

  Just then he heard Allan say he was thirsty, and must get a drink. Thestream ran near by, and Thad noticed how the cautious Maine boy carriedhis gun along with him as he went.

  A minute or so later Thad also arose.

  "I'm as dry as a bone," he observed, "and I think I'd like a drink aboutthe size of the one Allan's getting. Wait here, fellows."

  He added these last words as a sop to quiet the suspicions of Pierre andthe man who called himself Toby Smathers. They had frowned, and made animpatient movement upon noticing that Thad, too, took his gun along withhim, rather a queer thing to do when only going for a drink.

  But Thad's last words apparently served to disarm their suspicions. Theyhad two of the boys held as hostages, at any rate.

  Thad found his chum much excited. A drink just then was about the lastthing Allan Hollister was thinking about.

  "What is it?" asked Thad, in a whisper.

  "Let's laugh a little, out loud, so they won't be suspicious," said theother; and after that clever dodge had been carried out, he went on toadd: "you didn't believe what he said about that name, did you, Thad?"

  "I certainly don't believe he's the man we're looking for up here," camethe answer.

  "That's right," Allan went on, "and I know he's a fraud. He wants to gethold of anything we have that's worth taking. That gun of Step Hen'sseems to just take his eye."

  "Do you know who he is?" demanded Thad.

  "I can give a pretty close guess, now that we heard the name of hiscompanion, Pierre Laporte," said Allan. "Some men down at the post wherewe got the mules told me to look out for a half-breed by that name, whokept company with an even worse scoundrel named Hank Dodge. And this isHank, all right, make up your mind to that, Thad."

  "Rascal is written big all over his face, I can see," the other went on."But what is their line--just plain scamps, or timber cruisers?"

  "There are different kinds of timber scouts or cruisers, they tell me,"Allan continued. "Some are honest men, working for honest lumber dealers.Others spy out rich tracts on Government land, which the big company ofthieves they're hired by, want to cut next winter. The Government losesmillions on millions every year that way. And these crafty fellows are uphere looking for timber that can be easily stolen and marketed nextwinter."

  "What had we better do?" asked
Thad. "It wouldn't be safe for us to spendthe night in camp with them."

  "I should say not," replied Allan earnestly. "If we go in the ordinaryway the chances are they'll jump on us. So I suppose we might as well upand tell them we know who they are, and that we don't propose staying anylonger in their company."

  "They'll be as mad as hornets," suggested Thad.

  "Let 'em," replied the other, "four guns are better than two, any day.Come on back to the fire right away."

  As they drew near, Allan whispered:

  "He's got it right now, Step Hen's rifle, I mean. Reckon he asked to seeit, and our chum handed it over. Chances are he won't give it back againin a hurry. There, what did I tell you; he's laid it down beside him,Thad?"

  "Now's our time to cut in, then," said the patrol leader. "You watch outfor Pierre, and don't let him slip up on you, or there'll be heaps oftrouble. Cover him when I do the other. Ready? Then here goes."

  And ten seconds later those by the fire heard Thad call out in ringingtones.

  "It's your turn, Pierre and Hank Dodge, to hold up your hands. Quick now,or it'll be the worse for you. The tables are turned--up with them!"