CHAPTER XIV.
MAROONED.
"W-w-what d'ye think it was, Thad?" asked Bumpus, presently; and thefact was very evident that his teeth were rattling at a lively rate,warm though the afternoon sun was at the time.
Bob White said nothing, only he tried to read the face of their leader.Bob gave promise of making the finest kind of a Boy Scout. He was nextdoor to fearless; or at any rate would scorn to allow his naturalfeelings to sway him when he believed a sense of duty required his doingsomething.
"Well, at first _I_ thought it might be somebody calling for help,"replied Thad, slowly; "but you notice that it wasn't repeated. And thatmakes me think now it must have been some fishhawk screaming. I've knownthem to make a queer sort of a sound."
"Just what it must have been," remarked Bob, nodding his head inapproval.
Bumpus, however, did not seem to be wholly satisfied.
"Say, it went right through me," he observed. "I just seemed to have acold feeling run up and down my spine, like you'd emptied a cup ofice-water down my neck. Think we've seen enough of the old island bynow, Thad? Hadn't we better be turning around, and heading back forcamp?"
"Well, I should say not, Bumpus, bless your timid soul," replied Thad,laughingly. "Why, that only makes Bob here and myself the more anxiousto land, and look the island over. If there's anything queer around, weought to find out all about it. Am I right, Bob?"
The answer the Southern lad made was very suggestive. He simply dippedhis paddle into the water again, and with several sturdy movements ofhis arms sent the boat forward once more, headed directly for the shoreof the island. Bumpus drew up his plump shoulders, but he made noprotest. It would not have done him much good if he did try to sayanything. No doubt they would have told him that the walking back tocamp was good, and no dust blowing, if he wanted to return.
He simply gripped both sides of the boat, and held on, while keeping hiseyes fastened on the shore they were now fast approaching.
No further sounds were heard, save the water lapping among the rocks,and giving out a musical gurgling in the rising wind.
"There's a good landing where that little sandy beach runs along," Thadremarked, as they drew in closer.
"So it is, suh," replied the paddler. "I was just making up my mind tohead foh it when you spoke. Here she goes, now."
Thad was half standing, and as the prow of the boat grated on the sandhe made a flying leap for the shore. Bumpus looked as though he halfexpected to see some terrible monster dart out of the brushwood, andseize upon the scout-master. He heaved a sigh of relief when nothing ofthe sort came about; and even condescended to waddle ashorehimself--that is the only word capable of doing justice to the clumsyactions of Bumpus when in a narrow boat like a canoe.
So the three scouts now stood on the sandy beach. Bumpus scanned thebushes, but Thad was observing certain marks on the little sandy beachthat told him others had drawn a boat up in that same place before now.In fact, to judge from the freshness of the signs, it had not been verylong ago since men or boys were here.
Now, there is something in the makeup of certain lads calculated to drawthem on, when there is an element of uncertainty in the air. Thad hadbeen curious to explore this island before; and now that he had seensigns of others having landed, he began to feel doubly anxious. Perhapsit was the "call of the wild" in his composition; or possibly he hadinherited some trait bordering on a love of adventure, handed down fromsome remote ancestor who may have roamed the world seeking excitement.
"Are you really going in there, Thad?" asked Bumpus, his face showingsigns of uneasiness as he surveyed the fringe of bushes under the densetrees that overhung them.
"That's just what we expect to do, Bumpus," replied the scout-master,firmly. "You may pull the boat up further, and follow after us; or ifyou prefer staying by the boat, you can do that, just as you please.Ready, Bob?"
"Yes, suh, and more than anxious to be on the move," answered theSouthern boy.
They turned their backs on poor Bumpus, who found himself in a quandary,hardly knowing which course would be the worse for him to pursue, tag atthe heels of these two adventurous comrades, and meet with what dangerthey might unearth; or stay there alone with the boat.
He quickly decided that it would be far more risky to separate from hiscomrades. If the island _did_ contain savage beasts, which Bumpus reallybelieved to be the case, they would be sure to select such a nice juicymorsel as he promised to afford, in preference to one of the otherfellows. And it horrified him to think of being pounced on while all byhimself.
"Hold on, Thad, I'm coming along!" he called out, hurrying as best hecould so as to overtake the other scouts, who were already plungingboldly into the heavy growth.
Being eager to keep in close touch with the others, Bumpus quicklyovertook them, and panting with the effort, jogged along as close as hecould get. At any rate, if trouble should spring out upon them, therewas always a satisfaction in having loyal comrades along. And Bumpusnoted with considerable satisfaction that both of the others had armedthemselves with stout cudgels, fully three feet in length, with whichthey would be able to give a good account of themselves if the occasionarose when defense would be necessary.
"Oh!" exclaimed the fat boy, when with a sudden whirr a partridge aroseclose beside them, and flew away with a rapid motion.
He saw the Southern boy throw his stick to his shoulder, as thoughtaking aim.
"Oh! what a dandy shot that would have been, Thad, if I had had a gun!"Bob exclaimed, eagerly. "I could have dropped that beauty like a stone."
"Well," replied the other, "since it's the close season on partridgesperhaps it's just as well you didn't have a gun. But I wouldn't besurprised if we got up more'n a few of those fellows here. The islandwould be a great place for their nests."
"Then I wish they'd let a poor feller know when they meant to scootoff," remarked Bumpus, wiping his face with his handkerchief; "becausethat one nigh scared me to death, he went buzzing off so sudden-like."
"You'll never make a hunter, whatever else you turn out to be, Bumpus,"Thad remarked, smiling, as he turned to look at the red face of theperspiring fat boy.
"I don't know," the other said, with a vein of regret in his voice; "Ialways wanted to roam the woods, and do all that sort of thing; but thenyou see Nature, she wasn't kind to me. I don't seem to be made justright for tramping. And I must say some things do make my heart jumplike fun. Oh! well, there are other things a scout c'n do,perhaps,--findin' boats, and lookin' for bee trees mebbe."
"Lots of things, Bumpus," replied Thad. "You can't change your make-up;and so you'll have to do what suits you best. Shall we head to the lefthere, Bob; or take to the right?"
Secretly Thad was keeping his eyes on the ground part of the time as hepushed on. He had an idea they might find footprints that would lead theway to some old cabin or hangout, where perhaps the game-keepers used tolive when they were employed to patrol the district, so that no onehunted or fished against the orders of the rich man who owned thecountry around.
"Well," replied the other, after taking a glance about him, "I don'tsuppose it matters much which way we turn, since we propose to look overthe entire island one way or another, suh. Say we turn off here to theleft, and circle around. Or if you would rather have it, we mightseparate and spread out like a fan."
Bumpus drew in his breath with a half gasp. It looked so very gloomyaround the spot which they had reached that not for worlds would hedrift away from his association with one or the other of his companions.Besides, they might need him in some way or other; because there were_some_ things he could do, if he wasn't cut out for an agile fellowbecause of his heft.
"No, we'd better all keep together, I think?" Thad answered, much to hisrelief. "You see, we're in a strange situation, and even if we put inhalf an hour looking this place over, what does it matter? Time isn't sovaluable as all that. The others will wait for us, and take things easy.Allan has promised to show them some Indian picture writ
ing thisafternoon, and I know he'll amuse the bunch so they won't miss us."
"Now, I'd be sorry to miss that same myself," remarked Bob; "becausehe's got me worked up to top notch fever about it, and I wanted to tryand read the sign he left behind him. I've sure heard a heap about thatpicture writing, and what fun scouts have trying to make out what it allmeans. But there don't seem to be anything out of the way on this sameisland, suh. A sure enough pretty place, and would make the finestcamp-site you ever saw."
"Perhaps we may move over here to-morrow," said Thad. "I've severalreasons for thinking that way."
"One of which is that you'd like to get rid of that bear," chuckled Bob.
"Don't be too sure of that," answered the other; "we might want to fetchhim over here with us. He did us one good turn when he frightened thatBrose Griffin crowd away, and who knows but what he might repeat?"
They came out on the other side of the island, and had seen no sign ofany sort of human habitation. On the way back again to the other shoreThad took a different route, so that he believed they would thus coverthe better part of the territory that went to make up the lake island.
"Sure we're heading right, Thad?" asked Bob, presently.
"Oh! my goodness I hope we don't get lost!" exclaimed Bumpus, in alarm.
"It's all right," replied Thad, with not a trace of uneasiness in hisvoice; "we are pretty nearly across now; and unless I've made a bungleof it, we ought to come out right on that same little sandy stretchwhere we landed."
"I can hear the waves beating against the rocks, and they sound rightloud now," remarked Bumpus.
"That must be because the wind has been getting stronger all the timewe've been gone; and even now you notice the trees begin to thin out.Tell me, isn't that our sandy stretch right ahead there, and am I a goodwoodsman or not?"
"You brought us through as straight as a die," said Bob, admiringly;"and just as you say, Thad, that's the same spot we landed on."
"But tell me," broke in Bumpus, "if that's so, where's our boat,fellows?"
The others stared, and well they might, for although they easilyrecognized the pretty little beach, it was now entirely destitute of anysign of a boat!
The Boy Scouts' First Camp Fire; or, Scouting with the Silver Fox Patrol Page 14