Boy Scouts in the Blue Ridge; Or, Marooned Among the Moonshiners

by Herbert Carter

  CHAPTER XX.

  THE AWAKENING OF STEP HEN.

  "Say fellers, did anybody see that----"

  Step Hen had just managed to get that far in what he was about to say,when he was rudely interrupted by a combined shout from Giraffe, DavyJones, and Bumpus.

  "Don't you dare accuse us of taking any of your old traps, Step Hen!"said the last named scout, severely.

  "We're sure gettin' awful tired of that war cry," declared Giraffe."It's always this thing or that he's lost, and never by his own fault atall. A sly little jinx is hoverin' around, ready to grab up a thing justas soon as Step lays it down. Still, I notice that every single time, itturns out he put it there himself. Get a new tune for a change, StepHen, and ring it on us."

  "By the way," remarked Smithy, who was very polite, and never joined inthe loud and boisterous jeers that greeted some break on the part of acomrade; "what fresh misfortune has overtaken you now, Step Hen?"

  "Oh!" replied the other, with a broad grin, "when our funny friendsbroke in on me that way, I was only going to ask if any of youwide-awake scouts had noticed that I had my badge turned right-side up,early this morning?"

  There was a general laugh at this, even the three culprits joining in.

  Among all Boy Scouts, it has become the proper wrinkle to turn the badgeupside down to start the day; and the wearer has no right to change itsposition until he has done an actual good deed toward some one else; oreven helped an animal that was in distress. Many are the expedientsresorted to, in order to gain this privilege; for it is deemed in badtaste to spend the entire day with the badge reversed on the lapel ofthe coat.

  A thousand ways can be found whereby the boy may feel that he has aright to alter the position of his badge, and prove that he had donesomething of a kindly nature, that is a credit to his character. An oldwoman may be helped across the street; a heavy basket carried for achild; a box that is trying the strength of a single man may be madeeasier to lift into a wagon by a pair of sturdy, willing hands; theharness that is galling the shoulder of a horse can be rendered lesstroublesome if a rag is doubled up, and fastened to the leather--well,the list of things that wide-awake scouts find in order to gain thisprivilege would really seem to be without end.

  So all the others now turned toward Step Hen, with curiosity expressedon their faces; for they seemed to guess that it could be no ordinaryexplanation that he meant to give them.

  "What wonderful stunt did you manage to carry through so early in theday, down in this forsaken country?" demanded Giraffe.

  Bumpus looked forlornly at his own badge, that still hung to his coatlapel in its reversed position; showing that he, at least, had not beenable to discover any means of doing a good turn to some object, howeverhumble; in fact, he had, like most of the other boys, entirely forgottenabout the usual programme. There were no old ladies to help down here;no errands to run for mother; no problems to solve for little brother;nothing but the everlasting mountains rising grimly all about them, andsilence lying on the scene like a great blanket.

  "I reckon I'm the only one in the bunch that's been smart enough to gethis badge turned to-day," chuckled Step Hen, proudly exhibiting thearticle in question; "and I'd just like the fun of hearing all of youtry and guess how I managed it; but then, I know you'd never hit on thetruth in a thousand years; and so I s'pose I'll have to up and tellyou."

  "Oh! wake me up, somebody, when he gets really started," groanedGiraffe; "of all the slow-pokes, Step Hen takes the cake."

  "I'll tell you," began the other, with a sly look toward the speaker, asthough he purposely delayed his disclosure in order to annoy theimpatient Giraffe; "you see, it was this way, fellows. I happened to bewalking out along the back road just after we'd done breakfast. ThoughtI'd dropped my handkerchief somewhere, but afterwards I found it insidemy hat, you know."

  "Sure, it's always that way," muttered Giraffe, who lay with his eyesclosed, but drinking in all that was said.

  "Well," continued Step Hen, "all at once I noticed something thatinterested me a whole lot. There was one of them queer littletumble-bugs you always see ashovin' round balls along the road, an'goin' somewhere that nobody ever yet found out. This critter was tryin'like all possessed to push his ball up a steep little place in theroad. Sometimes he'd get her close to the top, and then lose his grip;when it'd roll all the way back again.

  "Say, boys, that insect's pluck interested me a heap, now, I'm tellin'you. Right there I got one of the best lessons a scout ever picked up inall his life; which was the old story, 'if at first you don't succeed,try, try again.' And he kept on tryin' again and again. I must a stayedthere all of half an hour, just watchin' that game little critterpushin' his ball up against the hardest luck ever. And then, when I justcouldn't stand it any longer I took bug and ball in my hand, and put 'emboth up on top of that rise. And after that I thought I had a right toturn my badge right-side up!"

  The scouts looked at each other. Somehow, they did not laugh, thoughsurely it must have been one of the queerest reasons ever advanced by afellow-scout, as an excuse for wearing his badge honorably.

  Despite its grotesque nature, there was also something rather patheticabout the thought of Step Hen, only a careless, half-grown lad at best,spending a whole lot of time, simply watching an humble but game littlebeetle trying to fight against hard luck, and almost as interested inthe outcome as the wretched bug itself.

  "How about that, Mr. Scoutmaster; is Step entitled to wear his badgethat way, on account of helping that silly little bug climb hismountain?" asked Davy, turning to Thad; but though his words might seemto indicate a touch of scorn, there was certainly nothing of the sort inhis manner.

  Thad himself had been amused, and deeply interested, in Step Hen'srecital. Only too well did he know what a careless and indifferentfellow the boy had ordinarily been classed, both at school and at home.Seldom, if ever, had he paid the least attention to things that werehappening all around him, and which might appeal to the sympathies ofboys who were made of finer grain than Step Hen.

  And now, it seemed that something had been making an insidious changeinside the scout; when he could feel such intense interest in so triviala thing as the pluck of an obscure tumble-bug. Time was when Step Henwould have cared little whether or not he came down with his heel uponsuch an object, which ought to know better than get in his path.

  It was different now, since Step Hen had joined the scouts. His eyes hadbeen opened to many things, the existence of which he had never dreamedin those other days. And he could never again be the same indifferentfellow; he must go on advancing along the trail that led to a betterknowledge of Nature's great secrets; and above all else, the capacitythat lay within his own heart for understanding these myriads of smallbut wonderful things.

  "I'm not going to answer that question myself, Davy," said Thad, with asmile. "Fact is, I'd much rather have the candid opinion of every scouton the subject. So I'm going to put it to a vote, here and now; and Iwant you to be serious about it, small matter though it may seem; forupon such things rests the very foundations of the whole Boy Scoutmovement--observing, understanding, appreciating."

  "Whew!" muttered Giraffe, "and all this fuss about one littletumble-bug!"

  "Those who really and truly think Step Hen had a full right to turn hisbadge right side up for the interest he took in that game littlecreature's struggle to overcome what seemed unsurmountable difficulties,and for lending a helping hand in the end, raise the right hand," andThad put his up for a starter.

  Not counting Step Hen himself, there were just seven fellows presentwhen Thad asked them to show their colors. And including the scoutmasterhimself, just seven instantly raised a hand.

  Thad laughed softly. It gave him more pleasure than he could tell to seethat the boys understood the motive that had swayed their comrade. Anddoubtless this vote of confidence would urge Step Hen to go along thepath he had discovered, with ever-increasing confidence, as its charmscontinued to be revealed in ever-increasing pr
oportions day by day. Anew world would soon open up to his inquiring eyes. He would find tenthousand things of tremendous interest all around him, to which he hadup to now been as blind as a bat. Never again would he feel alone, eventhough no comrade were at his side; for he could discover innumerableobjects about him at any time, calculated to chain his attention.

  "Seems to be unanimous, fellows," remarked Thad; "and I hereby publiclycommend our comrade, Step Hen, for his action of this morning. Yes, hedid have a right to turn his badge. It was not so much _what_ he did, asthe feeling he showed in, first of all, stopping to watch the bug;second, getting tremendously interested in its never-give-up spirit;third, in applying the principal to himself; and last but not least, hisdesire to lend a helping hand. For Step Hen, boys, this has been a daythat some time later on in life, he will mark with a white stone; for hehas begun to notice things. And with the fever on him, he'll have tokeep on noticing, until he'll think it's not the same old world at allbut one filled at every turn with splendid discoveries. I know, becauseI've been through the same thing myself."

  "Hurrah!" said Giraffe, who had been considerably impressed by what thescoutmaster had said. "What did I tell you, fellows, about not missingDr. Philander Hobbs, our regular scoutmaster, on this hike? D'ye thinknow, he could have said all that one-half as good as Thad did? I guessnot. And Step Hen, I'm ashamed to say that the whole blessed day hasgone by without my ever thinking to do something good for anotherfeller, so I could turn my badge over. There she rests; and I give youall fair notice that to-morrow I'm going to start in right away to getit moving."

  "Plenty of time to-night yet, Giraffe," piped up Davy. "I happen to knowa fellow who thinks a certain knife you own would look mighty fine inhis pocket, if only you'd take the trade he offers. Now, if you made himhappy, p'raps you'd have the right to turn your badge; and he c'd doditto, making it a killing of two birds with one stone. Better think itover, Giraffe."

  The tall boy looked at Davy with a frown, and shook his head.

  "'Tain't fair to put it up to me that way, Davy," he declared,obstinately. "You just know I don't want to trade, the least bit. Now,if you'd say, that on the whole you'd concluded to quit botherin' me,that would be a good deed, and I reckon you'd ought to have the right toturn your badge."

  At this ingenious return thrust Davy subsided, with a grin, and ageneral laugh arose from the other scouts.

  But if most of the boys were merry, there was one who looked soberenough. Of course this was Bob Quail. He knew what a tremendousundertaking he had before him, and the results seemed so uncertain thatit was only natural he should feel the heavy weight resting upon hisyoung shoulders.

  First of all, he must meet his cousin, Bertha, and learn what successhad followed her efforts to discover whether the paper she had seen byaccident in her guardian's safe was the missing document which Bobbelieved Reuben had abstracted, placing another in its place. Then,later on, he had that appointment with Polly, the moonshiner's daughter,who was to bring him news concerning the mysterious prisoner.

  Yes, Bob certainly had quite enough on his young mind to make himanything but jovial. Still, he had been more or less interested in whatwas going on around him, for he was, after all, a boy.

  They were eating supper, as they chatted in this way. Night had settleddown on the scene. It promised to be a pretty dark night at that, Thadrealized, as he looked around him, and then up at the heavens, where afew stars held forth, but gave very little light.

  It was fortunate that Bob happened to be so well acquainted around thatvicinity otherwise he would never have been able to cross to the otherside of the strange little basin which they called a valley, withoutcarrying a lantern; and this in itself must be out of the question,since its light would betray him.

  While they were eating, they heard a gunshot not far away.

  "Wow! what d'ye think that means?" exclaimed Giraffe, jumping to hisfeet, and looking off in the gloom toward the back trail. "Seemed to melike it came from down that way, eh, boys."

  "It sure did," announced Davy Jones, positively.

  "And it was a gun in the bargain, with a big load. What d'ye s'pose theycould find to shoot at in the dark?" demanded Step Hen.

  "Oh! lots of things," replied Allan. "If a bobcat jumped in on us rightnow, we'd think of using our gun, wouldn't we? But it might be that shotwas some sort of signal, after all."

  "There wasn't any answer, that's sure," interposed Bumpus.

  "But seems to me I can hear somebody talking pretty loud that way,"observed the listening Thad.

  "I did too," declared Smithy; "but it's died away now, as though theexcitement might be over. I wonder what it was, fellows?"

  "Chances are, we'll never know," returned Giraffe, settling back oncemore to continue eating, for he was not yet through.

  "Lots of queer things are happening all around us, that we'll neverknow," remarked Step Hen, seriously.

  Thad looked at him curiously. This was a strange remark to come from thehappy-go-lucky Step Hen. It looked as though his one little experienceof that morning had indeed done wonders toward causing the careless ladto turn over a new leaf. He was beginning to _think_, and see what agreat big world this is after all. His horizon had been moved backhugely since he first yawned, and stretched, that same morning.

  And the queer part of it was that no one thought to joke the boy abouthis altered disposition. They seemed to understand that it was no jokingmatter. Doubtless Step Hen's reformation would not be accomplished in aday, nor a week, nor even a month; but he had taken the first step, andfrom now on must begin to arouse himself to making a good use of thefaculties with which a kindly Nature had endowed him.

  "Listen!" exclaimed Thad, a little while later, just as they were aboutdone supper.

  "I heard somebody talking, too!" declared Davy Jones; while Allan showedby his manner that the sounds had surely come to his acute hearing,trained by long service in the piney woods of his native state.

  "They're comin' this way, too; I c'n hear 'em pushin' through thebushes, and stumblin' along too." Bumpus declared, in an awed tone;looking a trifle worried, and wishing Thad would only snatch up thatgun, lying against the tree trunk, which the other did not seem at allanxious to do.

  The voices drew steadily nearer, as the boys stood and listened.

  "Hyar's a fire, Nate; we gut ter git him thar, sure's anything. I tellyuh he'll never be able tuh walk 'crost tuh the doc's cabin. He'll bleedtuh death long 'foah we gits thar with 'im. Steady now, Cliff; hyah's alight, an' we kin see how bad yuh is hurt!"

  Then, while the scouts stood and stared in amazement, a group of threemen staggered into view, two of them assisting the third, whosefaltering steps showed that he must have been injured, even if the armthat dangled helplessly at his side had not told the tale of a seriousgunshot wound!

  No wonder that the Boy Scouts felt a thrill as they watched these roughmountaineers enter their camp in this strange way.