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 "CLOSE IN ON ALL SIDES AND KEEP THEM WELL COVERED. 
 BOYS!" SAID THAD. Page SO 
 
 The Boy Scouts Along the Susquehanna.
 
 The Boy Scouts 
 
 OR 
 
 The Silver Fox Patrol Caught in a Flood 
 
 By HERBERT CARTER 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "The Boy Scouts' First Campfire." "The Boy Scouts 
 In the Blue Ridge." "The Boy Scouts On the 
 Trail." "The Boy Scouts In the Maine 
 Woods." "The Boy Scouts 
 Through the Big Timber." 
 
 "The Boy Scouts In AP 
 
 the Rockies," 
 Etc. Etc. 

 
 Copyright, 1915 
 BY A. L. BORT COMPANY 
 
 BOY SCOUTS ALONft THE SUSQUEHANNA
 
 5125911 
 
 THE BOY SCOUTS ALONG THE 
 SUSQUEHANNA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE TRAMP CHASE. 
 
 "I'M no weather sharp, boys; but all the same 
 I want to remark that it's going to rain like cats 
 and dogs before a great while. Put a pin in that 
 to remember it, will you?" 
 
 "What makes you say so, Davy?" 
 
 "Yes, just when we're getting along splendidly, 
 with the old Susquehanna not a great ways off, 
 you have to go and put a damper on everything. 
 Tell us how you know all that, won't you, Davy 
 Jones?" 
 
 "Sure I will, Giraffe, with the greatest of pleas- 
 ure, while we're sitting here on this log, resting 
 up. In the first place just notice how gray the 
 sky's gotten since we had that snack at the farm 
 house about noon!" 
 
 "Oh ! shucks ! that's no positive sign ; it often 
 clouds up, and never a drop falls." 
 
 "There's going to be quite some drops come 
 this time, and don't you forget it, Step Hen. 
 Why, can't you feel the dampness in the air?" 
 
 "That brings it a little closer home, Davy; any 
 3
 
 4 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 more reasons?" demanded the boy answering to 
 the singular name of "Step Hen," but who, under 
 other conditions, would have come just as quickly 
 if someone had shouted "Steve!" 
 
 "Well, I was smart enough to look up the 
 weather predictions before we left Cranford yes- 
 terday," replied the active boy whom they called 
 Davy, as he laughed softly to himself; "and they 
 said heavy rains coming all along the line from 
 out West; and that they ought to hit us here by 
 to-night, unless held up on the road." 
 
 "Wheel is that so? I guess you've made out 
 your case, then, Davy," admitted the boy called 
 "Giraffe," possibly on account of bis unusually 
 long neck, which he had a habit of stretching on 
 occasion to abnormal dimensions. 
 
 "Mebbe Thad knew about what was in the air 
 when he told us to fetch our rubber ponchos along 
 this trip," suggested Step Hen, whose last name 
 was Bingham. 
 
 There were just eight boys in khaki sprawled 
 along that log in various favorite positions sug- 
 gestive of comfort. They constituted the full mem- 
 bership of the Silver Fox Patrol connected with the 
 Cranford Troop of Boy Scouts, and the one desig- 
 nated as Thad Brewster had been the leader ever 
 since the start of the organization. 
 
 Those of our readers who have been fortunate 
 enough to possess any of the previous volumes in 
 this Series need not be told just who these en- 
 terprising lads are; but for the purpose of intro- 
 ducing them to newcomers, a few words may be 
 deemed necessary in the start.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 5 
 
 Besides the patrol leader there were Allan Hoi- 
 lister, a boy whose former experiences in the woods 
 of Maine and the Adirondacks made him an au- 
 thority on subjects connected with outdoor life; a 
 Southern boy, Robert Quail White, called "Bob 
 White" by all his chums; Conrad Stedman, other- 
 wise the "Giraffe," previously mentioned; "Step 
 Hen" Bingham; Davy Jones, an uneasy fellow, 
 whose great specialty seemed to lie in the way of 
 wonderful gymnastic feats, such as walking on his 
 hands, hanging by his toes from a lofty limb, and 
 kindred remarkable reckless habits ; Cornelius Haw- 
 tree, a very red- faced, stout youth, with fiery hair 
 and a mild disposition, and known as "Bumpus" 
 among his set ; and last though not least "Smithy," 
 whose real name was Edmund Maurice Travers 
 Smith, and who had never fully overcome his 
 dainty habits that at first had made him a sub- 
 ject of ridicule among the more rough-and-ready 
 members of the Silver Fox Patrol. 
 
 There they were, as active a lot of scouts as 
 could have been found from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific. They had been through considerable in 
 the way of seeing life; and yet their experiences 
 had not spoiled them in the least. 
 
 At the time we discover them seated on that 
 big log they were a good many miles away from 
 their home town; and seemed to be bent upon 
 some object that might make their Easter holi- 
 days a season to be long remembered. 
 
 When Step Hen so naively hinted that the pa- 
 trol leader may have suspected a spell of bad 
 weather was due, when he ordered them to be sure
 
 6 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 and fetch along their rubber ponchos, there was a 
 craning of necks, as everybody tried to set eyes 
 on the face of Thad. Of course Giraffe had the 
 advantage here, on account of that long neck of 
 his, which he often thrust out something after the 
 style of a tortoise when the land seems clear. 
 
 "How about that, Mr. Scout Master?" asked 
 Bumpus. 
 
 Thad Brewster had a right to be called after 
 that fashion, for he had duly qualified for the 
 position, and received his commission from scout 
 headquarters, empowering him to take the place 
 of the regular scout master, when the latter could 
 not be present. As Dr. Philander Hobbs, the 
 young man who gave of his time and energies to 
 help the cause along, found himself unable to ac- 
 company the scouts on many of their outings, the 
 necessity of assuming command frequently fell 
 wholly on Thad, who had always acquitted him- 
 self very well indeed. 
 
 Thad laughed as he noted their eagerness to hear 
 his admission. 
 
 "I'll have to own up, fellows," he went on to 
 say frankly, "that I did read the paper, just as 
 Davy Jones says happened with him; and when I 
 saw the chances there were of a storm coming 
 down on us, I made up my mind we ought to go 
 prepared. But even if we didn't have a rubber 
 poncho along I wouldn't be afraid to wager we'd 
 get through in pretty decent shape." 
 
 "That's right, Thad," commented Giraffe; "after 
 scouts have gone the limit, like we did down South 
 last winter, when the schoolhouse burned, and we
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 7 
 
 had a fine vacation before the new brick one was 
 completed, they ought to be able to buck up against 
 nearly anything, and come out of the big end of 
 the horn." 
 
 "Horn!" echoed Bumpus, involuntarily letting 
 his hand fall upon the silver-plated bugle he car- 
 ried so proudly, and the possession of which told 
 that he must be the bugler of the troop "Horn! 
 that reminds me I haven't had a chance to use 
 my dandy instrument only at reveille and taps for 
 quite some time now." 
 
 "Well, don't start in now, Bumpus, whatever 
 you do," remonstrated Step Hen. "To my mind a 
 horn's a good thing only on certain occasions. 
 Now, when I'm just gettin' the best sleep after 
 sun-up it's sure a shame to hear you tooting away 
 to beat the band." 
 
 "But none of us make any sort of a row when 
 he blows the assembly at meal times, I notice," 
 Smithy remarked sagely; and not a protest was 
 raised, showing that in this particular the members 
 of the patrol were unanimously agreed. 
 
 The last exploit of the scouts had taken them 
 into the Far South, in fact among the lagoons 
 and swamps of Louisiana; and although some 
 months had since passed, it would seem as though 
 the events of that thrilling experience were still 
 being threshed out whenever the eight boys came 
 together. 
 
 Thad was an orphan, living with an uncle, a 
 quaint old man whom everyone knew as "Daddy." 
 Acting from information that had been received in 
 a round-about way, the leader of the scout patrol
 
 8 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 had organized an expedition to go South during 
 the unexpected vacation, to look for a certain man 
 who had once worked for his widowed mother, and 
 was suspected of having been concerned in the 
 mysterious disappearance of Thad's little sister, 
 Pauline, some years back. 
 
 The boys had carried this enterprise through to 
 a successful termination; and after meeting with 
 many thrilling, likewise comical adventures, had 
 actually traced this man, and managed to recover 
 the child; who was now a happy inmate of the 
 Brewster home, the pride of old Daddy's heart. 
 
 Judging from the numerous burdens with which 
 the eight boys were weighted down it would seem 
 that they must be in heavy marching order, after 
 the manner of troops afield. Each fellow carried 
 a blanket, folded so as to hang from his shoulder, 
 and with the two ends secured under the other 
 arm. Besides, he had a haversack that looked as 
 though it might contain more or less food and ex- 
 tra clothing. 
 
 Giraffe also sported a frying-pan of generous 
 dimensions ; another scout carried a coffee pot ; and 
 doubtless the necessary tin cups, knives, forks, plat- 
 ters and spoons would be forthcoming whenever 
 needed. 
 
 The convenient log which served the boys as a 
 seat lay close to the road along which they had 
 been tramping for hours that day, making inquiries 
 whenever a chance offered, and picking up clews 
 after the fashion of real scouts. 
 
 As the reason for their coming to this part of 
 the country has everything to do with our story,
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 9 
 
 it had better be explained before we follow Thad 
 and his cnums any further along the rather muddy 
 road that led across country to the Susquehanna 
 River. 
 
 Just a couple of days before the coming of the 
 Easter holidays Thad had beeen asked over the 
 'phone to come and see Judge Whittaker, one of 
 the most respected citizens of Cranford. Wonder- 
 ing what the strange request could mean, the pa- 
 trol leader had immediately complied, after school 
 that same afternoon. 
 
 He heard a most remarkable thing, and one that 
 thrilled his nerves as they had not been stirred for 
 many a day. The Judge first of all told him that 
 he had long observed the doings of the scouts with 
 growing admiration, and finding himself in need 
 of assistance of a peculiar order, made bold to 
 call upon Thad to help him. 
 
 Shorn of all unnecessary particulars, it would 
 seem that the Judge, obeying a whim which he 
 now called the height of foolishness, and while 
 waiting for a new safe to be delivered from New 
 York to take the place of the one that had to be 
 opened by an expert because the time-lock had 
 gone wrong, had actually sewed a very valuable 
 paper in the red lining of an old faded blue coat 
 which was hanging in his closet, and which he kept 
 as a memento of the time his only son served in 
 the engineer corps of the army. 
 
 It seemed that as the Judge had married again, 
 his wife was not very fond of seeing that old blue 
 army overcoat with the red lining hanging around ; 
 and thinking it a useless ineumbrance, she had
 
 10 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 figured that it would be doing more good shielding 
 some poor tramp from the cold than just tempting 
 the moths in that closet. 
 
 And so it came about that one day, upon look- 
 ing for the army coat, the Judge discovered to his 
 utmost dismay that it could not be found. When 
 he asked his wife, she was compelled to admit that 
 three days before, after pitying a shivering hobo 
 who came to the door and asked for food, she had 
 obeyed a sudden generous instinct and given him 
 the warm if faded blue overcoat. 
 
 The Judge was in a great predicament now. 
 His first thought was to start out in search of 
 "Wandering George" himself, and buy back the 
 coat, which the hobo could not imagine would be 
 worth more than a dollar or so at the most. Then, 
 when he remembered his rheumatism, and how un- 
 fitted for such a chase he must be, the Judge gave 
 this plan up. 
 
 His next idea was to send to the city and have 
 a detective put on the track; but he had a horror 
 of doing this, because he fancied that most of 
 these professional detectives were only too ready 
 to demand blackmail if given half a chance; and 
 there was something about that paper which Judge 
 Whittaker did not want known in a public way. 
 
 And just about that time he happened to think 
 of Thad and his scouts; which gave him an in- 
 spiration. He felt sure they would be able to 
 follow the hobo who wore the faded army over- 
 coat, and in due time come up with him. Then 
 Thad was to offer him a few dollars for the gar-
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 11 
 
 ment, using his discretion so that the suspicions of 
 the tramp might not be aroused. 
 
 It promised to be a pretty chase, and already 
 they had been on the road for the better part of 
 two days, here and there learning that a man wear- 
 ing such a coat had been seen to pass along. Part 
 of the time they had tramped the ties of the rail- 
 road, but latterly the chase had stuck to the high- 
 way. 
 
 Now, acting on the suggestion of the sorrowful 
 Judge, Thad had not told any one of the scouts, 
 saving his close chum Allan, what the real reason 
 of the hunt for the lost army coat meant. The 
 others simply fancied that Judge Whittaker valued 
 the old garment highly because his only son, now 
 in Alaska, had worn it during the Spanish- Ameri- 
 can war, and was unwilling to have it come to such 
 a disgraceful end. All they thought about was the 
 fun of tracking the hobo and eventually bringing 
 back the old engineeer corps overcoat to its late 
 owner. That was glory enough for Step Hen, 
 Giraffe, Bumpus and the rest. It afforded them a 
 chance to get in the open, and imagine for a time 
 at least that they were outdoing some of those 
 dusky warriors who, in the good old days of 
 "Leatherstocking" and others of Cooper's char- 
 acters, roamed these very same woods. 
 
 "If you feel rested enough, fellows," Thad now 
 told them, "perhaps we'd better get a move on 
 again. The last information we managed to pick 
 up told us this Wandering George, as he likes to 
 call himself, can't be a great distance ahead of 
 us now. In fact, I'm in hopes that we may run
 
 12 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 across him before night comes and forces us to 
 go into camp somewhere along the river." 
 
 Accordingly, the other scouts sprang to their 
 feet, everyone trying to make out that he was as 
 "fresh as a daisy," though poor fat Bumpus gave 
 an audible groan when he pried himself loose from 
 that comfortable log. He was not built for long 
 hikes, though possessed of a stubborn nature that 
 made it hard for him to give up any object upon 
 which he had set his heart. 
 
 "Yes, we've rested long enough," admitted Gi- 
 raffe, who, being tall and slim, was known as a 
 fine runner, and long distance pedestrian. "Sorry 
 to say there won't be any wagon following us to 
 pick up stragglers; so if you fall down, Bumpus, 
 better stop at the first farmhouse you strike, and 
 wait till we come back." 
 
 This little slur only caused the fat scout to look 
 at the speaker contemptuously; but from an un- 
 expected quarter help came. 
 
 "Huh! you certainly do like to rub it into Bum- 
 pus, Giraffe, because he's built on the heavy or- 
 der," Step Hen went on to say; "but go slow, my 
 boy. Don't you know the battle isn't always to 
 the swift or the strong? Have you forgotten all 
 about the race between the hare and the tortoise; 
 and didn't the old slow-moving chap come in ahead, 
 after all? I've known Bumpus to beat you out be- 
 fore this. You may have to use a crow-bar to get 
 him started sometimes; but once he does move he 
 don't let little things balk him. Besides, it ain't 
 nice of you nagging him because he happens to
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 13 
 
 weigh twice as much as you do. Bumpus is all 
 right!" 
 
 "Thank you, Step Hen; I'll remember that," ob- 
 served the freckled- face scout, as he gave his de- 
 fender an appreciative grin. 
 
 Down the road they went, straggling along with- 
 out any particular order, because Thad knew from 
 past experiences he could get better work out of 
 his followers when they relaxed. Still, they kept 
 pretty well bunched, for whenever the conversation 
 started up none of them wished to lose a word of 
 what was said. 
 
 On the previous night they had been forced to 
 make a temporary shelter with all manner of fence 
 rails, boughs from trees, and such brush as they 
 could find. Having their blankets along, and being 
 cheered with a camp fire during the night, the ex- 
 perience had been rather delightful on the whole. 
 
 These energetic boys had been through so much 
 during the time they belonged to the Cranford 
 Scouts that nothing along ordinary lines seemed 
 to daunt them. They were well equipped for meet- 
 ing and overcoming such difficulties as might arise 
 to confront them on a trip like the present one; 
 in fact, they took keen delight in matching their 
 wits against all comers, and a victory only served 
 to whet their appetite for more problems to be 
 solved along the line of woodcraft knowledge. 
 
 For something like half an hour they pushed 
 steadily along. Bumpus, in order to positively prove 
 to the sneering Giraffe that he was in the best of 
 condition, had actually pushed ahead with the lead- 
 ers. If he limped occasionally he did his best to
 
 14 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 conceal the fact by mumbling something about the 
 nuisance of stepping on pebbles and being nearly 
 thrown off his balance; a ruse that caused the said 
 wily Giraffe to smile broadly, and wink toward 
 Sten Hen knowingly. 
 
 However, this disposition of their forces enabled 
 Bumpus to make a discovery of apparently vast 
 importance, which he suddenly communicated to 
 the rest in what he intended to be a stage whisper : 
 
 "Hey! hold on here, what's this I see ahead of 
 us, boys? Unless my eyes have gone back on me, 
 which I don't believe they have, there's the smoke 
 of a fire rising over yonder alongside the road; 
 and Thad, tell me, ain't there a couple of trampy 
 looking fellows sitting on stones cooking their 
 grub? Bully for us, fellows, I wouldn't be sur- 
 prised a bit now if we'd gone and ketched up with 
 our quarry right here and now!" 
 
 Every scout stared as Bumpus was saying all 
 of this. They saw that smoke was undoubtedly 
 rising close to the road, showing the presence of 
 a fire; while their keen, practiced eyes, used to ob- 
 serving things at long distances, told them that 
 in all probability the two men who occupied the 
 roadside camp belonged to the order of hoboes ; for 
 their clothing showed signs of much wear and tear, 
 and moreover they were heating their coffee in old 
 tomato cans, after the time-tried custom of the 
 tramp tribe the country over. 
 
 Naturally, under the circumstances, this discov- 
 ery caused their hearts to beat with additional ra- 
 pidity as they contemplated an early closing of their 
 campaign.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SIGHING FOR TROUBLE. 
 
 "WELL, I'm sorry, that's all!" ejaculated Step 
 Hen. 
 
 "What at?" demanded Giraffe; "we ought to be 
 puffed up with pride over our success, and here you 
 go to pulling a long face. What ails you, Step 
 Hen?" 
 
 "It's just this way," muttered the scout ad- 
 dressed disconsolately; "we never did run across 
 a better chance to have a great time than when 
 we started out on this hobo chase; and here it's 
 turned out too easy for anything. Shucks! a ten- 
 derfoot might have followed that Wandering 
 George right along to here; and now all we've 
 got to do is to surround the camp, and make him 
 fork over that old blue coat the judge loves so 
 well. It's a shame, that's what!" 
 
 "I feel something the same way you do, Step 
 Hen," remarked Allan; "why, I figured on doing 
 all sorts of smart stunts while we were on this 
 hike; and here, before a chance comes along, we 
 corral our game !" 
 
 "I'm just as sorry as you, suh," observed the 
 Southern boy, with the accent that stamped him a 
 true Dixie lad; "but I reckon now you wouldn't 
 have Thad tell us to sheer off, and give the hoboes
 
 16 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 a chance to run away, just to let us keep up this 
 chase. We promised to recover that old army 
 coat for the judge, and for one I'd be ashamed to 
 look him in the face again, suh, if we let it slip 
 through our fingers on account of wanting to 
 lengthen the sport." 
 
 "That's the right sort of talk, Bob White," said 
 Thad, with a nod of his head, and a sparkle in 
 his eyes. "Much as we all like the sport of show- 
 ing what we know in the way of woodcraft, duty 
 comes first. And we couldn't shirk our responsi- 
 bility in this case just to gratify our liking for 
 action." 
 
 "What's the program, then, Thad?" asked 
 Smithy, yawning as though he did not feel quite 
 as much interest in the chase as some of the others ; 
 for Smithy of late, Thad noticed with regret, was 
 apparently losing some of his former vigor, and 
 acting as though ready to shirk his duty when it 
 did not happen to appeal to him very strongly. 
 
 "We can have a little fun out of the thing by 
 planning a complete surround, can't we, Thad?" 
 asked Step Hen eagerly. 
 
 "I hope you say yes to that, Mr. Scout Master," 
 added Giraffe; "because it'll be apt to take some 
 of the sting out, after having our game come to 
 such a sudden end." 
 
 "I was going to say something along those lines, 
 boys, if you had let me," Thad told them. "So 
 far the tramps have given no sign that they sus- 
 pect our being here. We'll arrange it so as to 
 surround the camp, and then at a signal from me 
 everybody stand up and show themselves. I'll
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 17 
 
 arrange k; so that we'll make a complete circle 
 around the fire, and to do that we'll move in 
 couples." 
 
 He immediately paired them off, and each de- 
 tachment was told what was expected of it in mak- 
 ing the move a practical success. 
 
 Even in these apparently small matters Thad 
 proved himself a capable commander, for he picked 
 out the most able to undertake the difficult part 
 of the work, while to Smithy and Bumpus was 
 delegated the easier task of crawling along the 
 side of the road until they found shelter close 
 to the hoboes' fire. 
 
 Giraffe and Step Hen were ordered to cross. 
 to the other side of the road and, making a little 
 detour, came up from the north. The remaining 
 four scouts branched off to the south, and it was 
 the intention of Thad, taking Davy Jones along, to 
 continue the enveloping movement until he could 
 approach from the opposite quarter, which would 
 mean along the road in the other direction. 
 
 Meanwhile Bob White and Allan would be tak- 
 ing positions to the south, and then curbing their 
 impatience until Thad had signaled and learned 
 that all of them were in place. 
 
 This was a most interesting piece of work for 
 the boys. They delighted in just such practices, 
 and for the simple reason that it enabled them to 
 bring to bear on the matter all the knowledge they 
 had managed to accumulate connected with the 
 real tactics of scouting, as practiced by hunters 
 and Indians, as well as the advance guard of an 
 army sent out to "feel" of the enemy's lines.
 
 18 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 At a certain point Thad gave Allan and Bob 
 White the sign that they were to turn to one side, 
 and begin advancing toward the smoke again, 
 while he and Davy would keep straight on. 
 
 They did not have to creep as yet, but kept bend- 
 ing low, in order to render the risk of being dis- 
 covered as small as possible. Later on, however, 
 as they headed toward the hub of the wheel, which 
 was marked by the cooking fire, Thad and his com- 
 panion did not hesitate to flatten themselves out 
 on occasion, and do some pretty fine wriggling in 
 passing from one patch of leafless bushes to an- 
 other. 
 
 Every time they raised their heads cautiously to 
 look, Davy would give one of his little chuckles, 
 telling that the situation was eminently satisfac- 
 tory, so far as he could see. 
 
 The two men were still hovering over their mis- 
 erable little fire, which was such a poor excuse for 
 a cooking blaze that any practical scout must curl 
 his lip in disdain, knowing how easy it is to man- 
 age so as to have red coals, instead of smoky wood, 
 when doing the cooking. 
 
 Davy could see that there was no longer the first 
 question about their being genuine tramps. A 
 dozen signs pointed to this fact; and he found 
 himself wondering which of the pair would turn 
 out to be Wandering George. 
 
 He did not see the faded blue army coat on 
 either of them; but then it would be only natural 
 for the possessor to discard this extra weight when 
 keeping so close to a warm blaze. Doubtless, the 
 object of their search would b/> found nearby, used
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 19 
 
 in lieu of a blanket, to cover the form of the new 
 owner as he slept in the open, or in some farmer's 
 haystack. 
 
 Several of the scouts carried guns, even Bum- 
 pus having so burdened himself in the hope that 
 during their chase after the lost army coat they 
 might happen to run across some game worth tak- 
 ing, in order to lend additional zest to the outing. 
 
 As Thad and Davy had chosen the longest task 
 in making for the further side of the hobo camp, 
 they could take it for granted when they finally 
 reached the position the scout leader had in his 
 eye, that all of the other detachments must by then 
 have arrived. 
 
 To test this Thad gave a peculiar little sound 
 that was as near like the bark of a fox as possible. 
 Every member of the patrol had in times past 
 perfected himself in making just that sort of sound, 
 and of course they would immediately recognize 
 it as the signal of the scout master, desirous of 
 knowing whether all of them had gained their po- 
 sitions. 
 
 There came an immediate "ha! ha!" from across 
 the road, and also from deeper in the woods, where 
 Allan and Bob White were lying; but none from 
 Bumpus and Smithy. Evidently, something had 
 happened to cause a delay there. Thinking they 
 had what they might call a "snap," the two slow 
 moving scouts covering this quarter had delayed 
 their advance too long, and were now holding 
 back. 
 
 As the tramps, however, had heard those strange 
 barking sounds coming from three quarters, and
 
 20 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 jumped to their feet in alarm, Thad did not con- 
 sider it wise to delay the exposure of their pres- 
 ence any longer. Accordingly, he gave a shrill 
 whistle that was well known to the others. 
 
 Imagine the consternation of the hobo campers 
 when from behind concealing bushes they saw fig- 
 ures in khaki rise up, some of them bearing threat- 
 ening guns. Even Bumpus and Smithy followed 
 suit, though not as near the fire as the rest. 
 
 Perhaps the first thought of the alarmed tramps 
 was that they were surrounded by a detachment 
 of the militia, for the sight of those khaki suits 
 must have stunned them. Before they could gather 
 their wits together to think of resistance Thad was 
 heard to call out with military precision: 
 
 "Close in on all sides; and keep them well cov- 
 ered, boys!" 
 
 At that those who carried guns made out to aim 
 them, and their manner was so threatening that 
 both hoboes immediately elevated their hands, as 
 though desirous of letting their captors see that 
 they did not expect to offer the slightest resistance 
 
 Slowly the scouts came forward, converging 
 toward the common center, which of course was 
 the smoky fire, alongside of which those two old 
 tomato cans stood, each secured at the end of a 
 bunch of metal ribs taken from a cast-off umbrella. 
 
 That successful surround would have made a 
 picture worthy of being framed and hung upon 
 the wall of their meeting room in the home town, 
 some of the scouts may have proudly thought, as 
 they walked slowly forward, thrilled with the con- 
 sciousness of power.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 21 
 
 The tramps kept turning around, to stare first 
 at one pair of boys and then at another lot, as 
 though hardly knowing whether they were awake 
 or dreaming. 
 
 If they had guilty consciences, connected with 
 stolen chickens, or other farm products, they must 
 have believed that the strong arm of the law had 
 found them out, and that the next thing on the 
 program would be their being marched off to some 
 country town lockup. 
 
 "Aw! it's too, too easy, that's what!" grumbled 
 Step Hen disconsolately. 
 
 "Like taking candy from the baby!" added Gi- 
 raffe, who always liked to have some spice con- 
 nected with their adventures, and could not bear 
 the idea of being on a team that outclassed its 
 rival in every department; a tough struggle was 
 what appealed to him every time, though of course 
 he wanted the victory to eventually settle on the 
 banner of the Silver Fox Patrol. 
 
 "Makes me think of that old couplet we used 
 to say about old Alexander," Bumpus here thought 
 it policy to remark, just to show them that he 
 too hoped there might have been some warm action 
 before the tramps surrendered; "let's see, how 
 does she go? 'Alexander with ten thousand men, 
 marched up the Alps, and down again !' ' 
 
 "Mebbe it was Hannibal you're thinking about, 
 Bumpus," suggested Step Hen; "but it don't matter 
 much who did it, we've gone and copied after him. 
 I say, we ought to go home by a roundabout 
 course, so as to try and stir things up some. This
 
 22 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 is sure too easy a job for scouts that have been 
 through all we have." 
 
 The tramps were listening, and eagerly drinking 
 in all that was said; perhaps a faint hope had be- 
 gun to possess them that after all things might not 
 turn out to be quite as bad as first appearances 
 would indicate. 
 
 "Thad, it's up to you to claim that coat now, so 
 we can evacuate this camp," observed Smithy, who 
 was observed to be pinching his nose with thumb 
 and forefinger, as though the near presence of 
 the tattered hoboes offended his olfactory nerves, 
 for as has been said before, the Smith boy had 
 been a regular dude at the time he joined the pa- 
 trol, and even at this late day the old trait oc- 
 casionally cropped out. 
 
 Thad looked around at his comrades, and some- 
 how when they saw the smile on his face a feel- 
 ing bordering on consternation seized hold of them. 
 
 "What is it, Thad?" asked Davy Jones solicit- 
 ously. 
 
 "Yes, why don't you tell us to get what we came 
 after, and fly the coop?" demanded Giraffe, who 
 did not fancy being so close to the ill-favored 
 tramps much more than the elegant Smithy did. 
 
 "There's nothing doing, fellows," said the act- 
 ing scout master, with an eloquent shrug of his 
 shoulders that carried even more weight than hr 
 words. 
 
 "What!" almost shrieked Step Hen, "do you 
 mean to tell us that we're on the wrong trail, and 
 that neither of these gents is the one we want, 
 Wandering George?"
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 23 
 
 "That's just what ails us," admitted Thad; "we 
 counted our chickens before they were hatched, 
 that's all. Stop and remember the descriptions 
 we've had of this Wandering George, and you'll 
 see how we've been barking up the wrong tree!" 
 
 All eyes were immediately and eagerly focused 
 on the faces of the two wondering hoboes. At 
 the same time, no doubt, there was passing through 
 each boy's mind that description of the man who 
 had gone off with the faded army overcoat, and 
 which had been their mainstay in the way of a 
 dew, while following the trail.
 
 24 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WHEN BUMPUS CLIMBED OVER THE FENCE. 
 
 A BRIEF silence followed these words of the pa- 
 trol leader. Then the boys were seen to nod theii 
 heads knowingly. It was evident that, once they 
 had their suspicions aroused by Thad, every fel- 
 low could see what a dreadful mistake had been 
 made. 
 
 "Well, I should say now that Wandering George 
 was half a foot taller'n either of these fellows!" 
 declared Bumpus, being the first to control his 
 tongue, which was something remarkable, since as 
 a rule he was as slow of speech as he was with re- 
 gard to moving, on account of his weight. 
 
 "And had red hair in the bargain!" added Step 
 Hen. 
 
 "Oh! everybody's doing it now," mocked Davy 
 Jones; "and I can see that there ain't the first 
 sign of an old faded blue army overcoat anywhere 
 around this camp." 
 
 "After all, who cares?" exclaimed Giraffe, as he 
 lowered his threatening gun; an act that doubtless 
 gave the two tramps much solid satisfaction. "All 
 of us felt mean and sore because our fine tracking 
 game had come to such a sudden end. Now there's 
 still a chance we'll meet up with a few cracker-
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 25 
 
 jack adventures before we pick the prize. I say 
 bully all around!" 
 
 Davy Jones immediately threw himself into an 
 acrobatic position, and waved both of his feet wild- 
 ly in the air, as though he felt that the situation 
 might be beyond weak words, and called for some- 
 thing stronger in order to express his exuberant 
 feelings. 
 
 "Yes, all of those things would be enough to 
 convince us we've made a mistake," remarked 
 Thad; "and if we want any further proof here it 
 is right before us." 
 
 He pointed to the ground as he spoke. There 
 were a number of footprints in the half dried mud 
 close to the border of the road, evidently made 
 by the two men as they walked back and forth col- 
 lecting dead wood for their cooking fire. 
 
 "You're right, Thad," commented Allan Hoi- 
 lister, who of course instantly saw what the other 
 meant when he pointed in that way. "We set- 
 tled it long ago that we ought to know Wandering 
 George any time we came up with him, simply 
 because he's got a rag tied around his right shoe 
 to keep it on his foot, it's that old, and going to 
 flinders. Neither of these men has need to do 
 that; in fact, if you notice, they've both got shoes 
 on that look nearly new !" 
 
 At that one of the tramps hastened to speak, as 
 though he began to fear that as it was so remark- 
 able a thing for a road roamer to be wearing good 
 footgear, they were liable to arrest as having stolen 
 the same. 
 
 "Say, we done a little turn for a cobbler two
 
 26 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 days back, over in Hooptown, an' he give us the 
 shoes. Said he fixed 'em fur customers what didn't 
 ever come back to pay the charges; didn't we, 
 Smikes?" 
 
 "We told him his barn was on fire, sure we did, 
 an' helped him trow water on, an' keep the thing 
 from burnin' down. He gives us a hunky din- 
 ner, an' trows de trilbies in fur good measure. 
 But dey hurts us bad, an' we was jest a-sayin' we 
 wishes we had de ole uns back agin. If it wa'n't 
 so cold we'd take 'em off right now, and go bare- 
 footed, wouldn't we, Jake?" 
 
 "Oh! well, it doesn't matter to us where you 
 got the shoes," said Thad. "We happen to be look- 
 ing for another man, and thought one of you might 
 be him. So go on with your cooking; and, Gi- 
 raffe, where's that knuckle of ham you said you 
 hated to lug any further, but which you thought 
 it a sin to throw away? Perhaps we might hand 
 the same over to Smikes and Jake, to pay up for 
 having given them such a bad scare." 
 
 This caused the two tramps to grin in anxious 
 anticipation; and when Giraffe only too willingly 
 extracted the said remnant of a half ham which 
 the scouts had started with, they eagerly seized 
 upon it. 
 
 "It's ail right, young fellers," remarked the one 
 who had been called Smikes, as he clutched the 
 prize; "we ain't a-carin' if we gits the same kind 
 o' a skeer 'bout once a day reg'lar-like, hey, Jake? 
 Talk tuh me 'bout dinner rainin' down frum the 
 clouds, this beats my time holler. Cum agin, boys, 
 an' do it sum more."
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 27 
 
 Thad knew it was folly to stay any longer at 
 the camp, but before leaving he wished to put a 
 question to the men. 
 
 "We're looking for a fellow who calls himself 
 Wandering George," he went on to say. "Just 
 now he's wearing an old faded blue army over- 
 coat that was given to him by a lady who didn't 
 know that her husband valued it as a keepsake. 
 So we just offered to find it for him, and give 
 George a dollar or so to make up. Have either 
 !>f you seen a man wearing a blue coat like that?" 
 
 "Nixey, mister," replied Jake promptly. 
 
 "Say, I used to wear a blue overcoat, like them, 
 when I was marchin' fur ole Unc Sam in the 
 Spanish war, fool thet I was; but honest to good- 
 ness now I ain't set eyes on the like this three years 
 an' more," the second tramp asserted. 
 
 "That settles it, then, fellows!" ejaculated Step 
 Hen, with a note of joy in his voice; "we've got 
 to go on further, and run our quarry down. And 
 let me tell you I'm tickled nearly to death because 
 it's turned out so." 
 
 "WTio be you boys, anyhow?" asked Smikes. 
 "Air ye what we hears called scouts?" 
 
 "Just what we are," replied Allan. "That's why 
 we think it's so much fun to follow this Wander- 
 ing George, and trade him a big silver dollar for 
 the old coat the lady gave him when she saw he 
 made out to be cold. Scouts are crazy to do all 
 kinds of things like that, you know." 
 
 "Well, dew tell," muttered the tramp, shaking 
 his head; "I don't git on ter the trick, fur a fact.
 
 28 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 If 'twar me now, I'd rather be a-settin' in a warm 
 room waitin' tuh hear the dinner horn blow." 
 
 "Oh! we all like to hear that, let me tell you," 
 asserted Giraffe, who was unusually fond of eat- 
 ing; "but we get tired of home cooking, and things 
 taste so fine when you're in camp." 
 
 "Huh! mebbe so, when yuh got plenty o' the 
 right kind 6' stuff along," observed the man who 
 gripped the ham bone that Giraffe had tossed him, 
 "but yuh'd think a heap different, let me tell yuh, 
 if ever any of the lot knowed wat it meant tuh be 
 as hungry as a wolf, and nawthin' tuh satisfy it 
 with. But then there seems tuh be all kinds o' 
 people in this ole world; an' they jest kaint under- 
 stand each other noways." 
 
 Thad saw that the tramp was rather a queer cus- 
 tomer, and something along the order of a hobo 
 philosopher; but he had no more time just then 
 to stand and talk with him out of idle curiosity. 
 
 So he gave the order, and the scouts, wheeling 
 around, strode out upon the road, their faces set 
 toward the east. The last they saw of the two 
 tramps was just before turning a bend in the road 
 they looked back and saw that the men were ap- 
 parently hard at work dividing the remnant of 
 the ham that had been turned over by the boys 
 as some sort of solace to soothe their wounded feel- 
 ings. 
 
 Half a mile further on and the woods gave place 
 to cultivated fields and pastures, although of course 
 it was too early in the season for much work to 
 be done by the farmers, except where they were
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 29 
 
 hauling fertilizer to make ready for the first 
 plowing. 
 
 "If we get the chance, boys, to-night, let's sleep 
 in a barn," suggested Giraffe, as he rubbed his right 
 shank as though it might pain him. "Where we 
 lay last night it seemed to me a million roots and 
 stones kept pushing into my body till I was black 
 and blue this morning. And I always did like 
 to nestle down in good sweet hay. I don't blame 
 tramps for taking the chance every opportunity 
 that opens. What do the rest of you say to that?" 
 
 "It strikes me favorably," Step Hen quickly ad- 
 mitted. 
 
 "Oh! any old place is good enough for me," 
 sighed Bumpus. 
 
 "If you can only be sure there are no rats 
 around, I believe I'd enjoy sleeping in a hay mow," 
 Davy told them. 
 
 "I've never had the experience," remarked 
 Smithy with a shrug of his shoulders, and a 
 grimace ; "and I must confess I don't hanker much 
 for it. Bad enough to have to roll up in your own 
 blanket any old time; but spiders and hornets and 
 all that horrible set are to be found in haylofts, 
 they tell me. I'm more afraid of them than an 
 alligator or a wild bull. A gypsy once told me I 
 would die from poison bites, and ever since I've 
 had to be mighty careful." 
 
 Of course the rest of the scouts had to laugh 
 to hear Smithy confess that he believed in the 
 prophecy of a gypsy, or any other fake fortune- 
 teller. 
 
 "I wouldn't lie awake a minute," ventured Step
 
 30 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 Hen, "if a dozen gypsies told me I was going to 
 break my neck falling out of bed. Fact is, I'm 
 built so contrary that like as not I'd hunt up the 
 highest bed I could find to sleep on. I do every- 
 thing on Friday I can think of; and when the 
 thirteenth of the month comes around I'm always 
 looking out to see how I can tempt fate. Ain't 
 an ounce of superstition in my whole body, I guess. 
 Fortune-tellers! Bah! you ought to have been a 
 girl, Smithy." 
 
 "Oh! well, I didn't say I believed I'd die by 
 poison, did I?" demanded the other adroitly; "I'm 
 only explaining that I don't mean to let the silly 
 prophecy come true by taking hazards that are quite 
 unnecessary." 
 
 "Seems to me we've been walking like hot cakes 
 ever since we said good-by to Smikes and Jake," 
 observed Bumpus, who was puffing a little from 
 his exertions; "and Thad, would you mind if we 
 took a little breathing spell about now? Just see 
 how inviting this pile of old fence rails looks along- 
 side the road. I hope you say yes, Thad, because 
 I want to get fit to keep on the go till dark comes 
 along." 
 
 "No objections to favoring you, Bumpus," Thad 
 told him; "and if looks count for anything I rather 
 think all the rest of us will be glad of a chance to 
 rest up a little. So drop down, and take things 
 easy, boys. I'll give you ten minutes here." 
 
 "Look sharp before you sit down!" warned 
 Smithy, who had disengaged his blanket, as though 
 meaning to use it for a soft cushion time was 
 when he invariably brushed a board or other in-
 
 31 
 
 tended resting-place with his handkerchief before 
 sitting down; but the other scouts had long ago 
 laughed him out of this habit, which jarred upon 
 their nerves as hardly consistent with rough-and- 
 ready scout life. 
 
 Giraffe had a most remarkable pair of eyes. He 
 often discovered things that no one else had any 
 suspicion existed. On this account, as well as the 
 fact that he was able to see further and more 
 accurately than his chums, he was sometimes desig- 
 nated as "Old Eagle Eye," and the employment of 
 that name invariably gave him more or less pleas- 
 ure, since it proclaimed his superiority in the line 
 of observation. 
 
 Giraffe was also a great hand for practical 
 jokes. When some idea flashed into his mind he 
 often gave little heed to the possible result, but 
 immediately felt impelled to put his scheme into 
 practice, with the sole idea of creating a laugh, of 
 course with another scout as the victim. 
 
 They had hardly been sitting there five minutes 
 when Giraffe might have been heard chuckling 
 softly to himself, though no one seemed to pay any 
 particular attention to him. 
 
 He elevated that long neck of his once or twice 
 as if desirous of making sure concerning a certain 
 point before going any further. Then, when satis- 
 fied on this score, he glanced from one to another 
 of his companions, evidently seeking a victim. 
 
 When his gaze, after going along the entire line, 
 returned once more to plump, good-natured Bum- 
 pus, who had now ceased puffing, and was looking 
 rested, it might be set down as certain that there
 
 32 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 was trouble of some sort in store for the red- 
 haired, freckle- faced scout. 
 
 Now Giraffe was a sharp schemer. He knew 
 how to go about his business in a way least cal- 
 culated to arouse suspicion. 
 
 Instead of immediately blurting out what he had 
 in mind, he started to "beating around the bush," 
 seeking to first disarm his intended victim by draw- 
 ing him into a little discussion. 
 
 Before another full minute had passed Thad 
 noticed that Giraffe and Bumpus were warmly dis- 
 cussing some matter, and that the stout scout 
 seemed to be unusually in earnest. Doubtless, this 
 was on account of the sly assertions which Gi- 
 raffe inflicted upon him, the tall scout being a 
 past master when it came to giving little digs that 
 hurt worse than pins thrust into one's flesh. 
 
 "I tell you I can do it!" Bumpus was heard to 
 say stubbornly. 
 
 "Don't believe you'd ever come within a mile 
 of making it, and that goes, Bumpus." Giraffe 
 went on as though he might be a Doubting Thomas 
 who could only be convinced by actual contact; 
 "and tell you what I'll do to prove I'm in earnest. 
 If you make it in three trials, straddling the limb 
 while my watch is counting a whole minute, I'll 
 hand over that fine compass you always liked so 
 much. How's that, Bumpus ; are you game to show 
 us, or have I dared you to a standstill?" 
 
 "What, me back down for a little thing like that? 
 Well, you just watch me make you eat your words, 
 Giraffe!" 
 
 So saying the fat scout clambered up over the
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 33 
 
 rail fence, and dropped in the open pasture be- 
 yond. 
 
 "What's he going to do?" asked Thad, as they 
 saw Bumpus start on a waddling sort of gait 
 toward a tree that stood by itself some little dis- 
 tance from the fence, and with a clump of bushes 
 not far away. 
 
 He looked a little suspiciously at Giraffe, who 
 immediately stopped his chuckling, and tried to 
 draw a solemn face, though he shut one eye in a 
 humorous fashion. 
 
 "Why, he started to boast that he had been do- 
 ing some fine climbing lately," explained the tall 
 scout; "and I dared him to go over and get up 
 in that tree while I held the watch on him. He's 
 got to start climbing and make it inside of sixty 
 seconds; and between you and me, Thad, I reckon 
 now he might manage it in half that time if hard 
 pushed." 
 
 "You've got some game started, Giraffe; what 
 is it?" asked the patrol leader, as he turned again 
 and watched the portly scout moving like a pon- 
 derous machine toward the tree which Giraffe had 
 mentioned as a part of the contract. 
 
 Giraffe did not need to answer, for at that very 
 second there came what seemed to be a loud bellow 
 of rage from over in the field somewhere. Look- 
 ing hastily through the bars of the fence, the seven 
 boys saw a spectacle that thrilled them with vari- 
 ous emotions. 
 
 From out of the sheltering bushes, where those 
 keen roving eyes of Giraffe must have discovered 
 her presence, came a dun-colored cow. Possibly
 
 34 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 her calf had recently been taken from her by the 
 butcher, for she was furious toward all human- 
 kind. Her tail was held in the air, and as she ran 
 straight toward poor Bumpus she stopped for a 
 moment several times to toss a cloud of earth up 
 with her hoofs, for she had no horns, Thad noted, 
 which was at least one thing favoring Bumpus.
 
 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 GIRAFFE ADMITS THAT THE SHOE FITS. 
 
 "LooK out, Bumpus!" shrieked Davy Jones, as 
 though instantly realizing what a perilous position 
 the stout scout would be in if that angry cow 
 succeeded in bowling him over with her hornless 
 head. 
 
 "Run! run, Bumpus; a wild bull is after you!" 
 shouted Step Hen, who may have really believed 
 what he was saying with such a vim; or else con- 
 sidered that by magnifying the danger he might 
 add more or less to the sprinting ability of the 
 said Bumpus. 
 
 There was really little need to send all these 
 warnings pealing over the field, because Bumpus 
 had already glimpsed the oncoming enemy, and 
 was in full flight. 
 
 At the moment of discovery he chanced to be 
 fully two-thirds of the way over to the tree which 
 had been the special object of his attention. It 
 was therefore much easier for him to reach this 
 haven of refuge than it would have been to dash 
 for the fence with any hope of making that bar- 
 rier. 
 
 "Go it, Bumpus, I'll bet on you!" howled Gi- 
 raffe, jumping up on the fence in his great ex-
 
 36 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 citement, so that he might not miss seeing any- 
 thing of the amusing affair. 
 
 Now, possibly, the angry cow that had been be- 
 reft of her beloved calf by a late visit of the butcher 
 might have readily overhauled poor Bumpus had 
 she kept straight on without a stop, for she could 
 cover two yards to his one. For some reason which 
 only a cow or bull could understand, the animal 
 seemed to consider it absolutely necessary that with 
 every few paces she must come to a halt and paw 
 the ground again, sending the earth flying about 
 her. 
 
 That gave the stout runner his chance, and so 
 he succeeded in gaining the tree, with his four- 
 footed enemy still a little distance away. 
 
 Bumpus was evidently unnerved. He had seen 
 that terrifying spectacle several times as he looked 
 anxiously over his fat shoulder, and it had al- 
 ways caused him to put on an additional spurt. 
 
 When finally he banged up against the tree, 
 having of course stumbled as usual, his one idea 
 was to climb with lightning speed. His agreement 
 with the scheming Giraffe called for an ascent in 
 sixty seconds, but he now had good reason for 
 desiring to shorten this limit exceedingly. He 
 doubtless imagined that he would feel the crash 
 of that butting head against his person before he 
 had ascended five feet, and this completely rattled 
 him. 
 
 Left to himself and possibly he could have 
 climbed the smooth trunk within the limit of time 
 specified in his arrangement with Giraffe; but such
 
 was his excitement now that he made a sorry mess 
 of it. 
 
 The boys were shrieking all sorts of instructions 
 to him to "hurry up," or he was bound to become 
 a victim; one was begging him with tears in his 
 eyes to "get a move on him !" while another warned 
 Bumpus of the near approach of the oncoming cow, 
 and also the fact that she had "fire in her eyes!" 
 
 Twice did the scout manage to get part way up, 
 when in his tremendous excitement he lost his grip, 
 and in consequence slipped down again, amid a 
 chorus of hollow groans from the watchers beyond 
 the fence. 
 
 The avenging cow was now close up, and still 
 enjoying the situation, as was evidenced by the 
 way she made the earth fly. She could be heard 
 giving a series of strange moaning sounds pe- 
 culiarly terrifying; at least Bumpus evidently 
 thought so, for after his second fall he just sat 
 there, and stared at the oncoming enemy as if he 
 had actually lost his wits. 
 
 "Get behind the tree, Bumpus!" 
 
 That was Thad shouting, and using both his 
 hands in lieu of any better megaphone. Now, 
 since Thad had always been the leader of the pa- 
 trol ever since its formation, Bumpus was quite 
 accustomed to obeying any order which the other 
 might give. Doubtless, he recognized the accus- 
 tomed authority in those tones; at any rate, it was 
 noticed that he once more began to make a move, 
 struggling to his feet in his usual clumsy way. 
 
 "Oh! he just missed getting struck!" ejaculated 
 Smithy, as they saw Bumpus move around the tree,
 
 38 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 and heard a loud crash when the head of the charg- 
 ing cow smashed against the covering object. 
 
 The animal was apparently somewhat stunned 
 by the contact, for she stood there, looking a lit- 
 tle "groggy," as Giraffe called it. Had Bumpus 
 known enough to remain perfectly still, and allow 
 the tree to shelter him the best it could, all might 
 have gone well ; but something that may have been 
 boyish curiosity impelled the fat scout to thrust 
 out his head. Why, he had so far recovered from 
 his fright, thanks to the substantial aid of that 
 tree-trunk, that he actually put his fingers to his 
 nose, and wiggled them at the cow! 
 
 She must have seen him do it, and immediately 
 resented the implied insult; for all of a sudden 
 she was seen to be in motion again. There was 
 a flash of dun-colored sides, and around the tree 
 the cow sped, chasing Bumpus ahead of her. 
 
 Of course the scout did not have to cover as 
 much ground as the animal, but the fact must be 
 remembered that he was a very clumsy fellow, 
 and apt to trip over his own feet when excited, so 
 that the danger of his falling a victim to the rage 
 of the mother cow was as acute as ever, despite the 
 sheltering tree. 
 
 Giraffe seemed to be enjoying the game im- 
 mensely. He sat there, perched on the rail fence, 
 and dapped his hands with glee, while shouting 
 all manner of brotherly advice at Bumpus. This 
 of course fell on deaf ears, because just then the 
 imperiled scout could think of only one thing at 
 a time, and that was to keep out of reach of that 
 battering ram.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 39 
 
 Thad knew that something must be done to help 
 Bumpus, who if left to his own resources never 
 would be able to extricate himself from the bad 
 fix into which he had stumbled, thanks to that 
 love of a joke on the part of Giraffe, and his own 
 blindness. 
 
 "Hi, there, Bumpus, she thinks you look like the 
 butcher that took her calf away, that's what's the 
 matter!" cried Step Hen. 
 
 "Pity you ain't a cow puncher, Bumpus," Giraffe 
 went on to say; "because then you could throw 
 that poor thing easy. Huh! think I could do it 
 with one hand!" 
 
 "Then suppose you get off that fence and do it!" 
 said Thad severely. "You got poor old Bumpus 
 in that hole, and it ought to be your business to 
 rescue him!" 
 
 Giraffe looked dubious. When he spoke so con- 
 fidently about believing himself able to down the 
 raging cow he certainly couM not have meant it. 
 
 "Oh! he ain't going to get hurt, Thad," he 
 started to say; "if I saw him knocked down, course 
 I'd jump and run to help him. The exercise ought 
 to do Bumpus good, for he's been putting on too 
 much flesh lately, you know. You'll have to ex- 
 cuse me, Thad, sure you will. I'll go if things look 
 bad for him ; but I hate to break up the game now 
 by interfering." 
 
 Thad paid no more attention to Giraffe, since he 
 knew that the other's inordinate love for practical 
 joking made him blind to facts that as a true scout 
 he should have kept before his mind.
 
 40 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "Hello! Bumpus!" the patrol leader once more 
 shouted. 
 
 "Yes T-had, what is it?" came back in a wheezy 
 voice, for to tell the truth Bumpus was getting 
 pretty well winded by now, thanks to the rapid 
 manner in which he had to navigate around that 
 tree again, with the active bovine in pursuit. 
 
 "Take off that red bandanna from your neck, 
 and put it in your pocket!" ordered the patrol 
 leader. 
 
 Strange to say no one else saving possibly the 
 artful Giraffe had once considered this glaring 
 fact, that much of the cow's anger was excited 
 by seeing the hated color so prominently displayed 
 by the boy who had invaded the pasture at such 
 an unfortunate time in her life of frequent be- 
 reavements. 
 
 Taking it for granted that Bumpus would obey 
 the first chance he got to unfasten the knot by 
 which his big bandanna was secured around his 
 neck, Thad clambered over the fence and started 
 to run. 
 
 He did not head directly for the tree around 
 which this exciting chase was being carried on, 
 but obliquely. In doing this Thad had several 
 reasons, no doubt. First of all he was more apt 
 to catch the attention of the angry cow, for he 
 was waving his own red handkerchief wildly as he 
 ran, and doing everything else in his power to 
 attract notice. Then, if he did succeeed in luring 
 the animal toward him he would be taking her 
 away from the tree at such an angle that when 
 Bumpus headed for the spot where his other chums
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 41 
 
 were gathered the cow would not be apt to see 
 him in motion and give chase. 
 
 Thad knew how to work the thing nicely. He 
 succeeded in attracting the attention of the cow, 
 for he saw her stop in her pursuit of Bumpus, and 
 start to pawing the turf again. 
 
 "She's coming, Thad!" roared Allan. 
 
 As he spoke the cow started on a full run for 
 the new enemy. That flaunting red rag bade her 
 defiance, apparently, and no respectable bovine 
 could refuse to accept such a gage of battle. 
 
 Thad had not gone far away from the fence 
 at any time. He was not hankering to play the 
 part of a bull-baiter, and run the chance of being 
 tossed high in the air, or butted into the ground. 
 
 He had, like a wise general, also marked out 
 the way of retreat, and when the onrushing ani- 
 mal was fully started, so that there seemed to be 
 little likelihood of her stopping short of the .fence, 
 Thad nimbly darted along, and just at the proper 
 time he was seen to make a flying leap that landed 
 him on the top rail, from which he instantly 
 dropped to the ground. 
 
 He continued to flaunt the red handkerchief as 
 close to the nose of the cow as he could, so as to 
 hold her attention ; while she butted the fence again 
 and again, as only an angry and baffled beast 
 might. 
 
 Thad was meanwhile again shouting his direc- 
 tions to the dazed Bumpus, who, winded by his 
 recent tremendous exertions, had actually sunk 
 down at the base of the friendly tree as though 
 exhausted.
 
 42 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "Get moving, Bumpus!" was what the patrol 
 leader told him. "Back away, and try to keep the 
 tree between the cow and yourself all you can. 
 Don't waste a single minute, because she may break 
 away from me, and hunt you up again! Get a 
 move on you, Bumpus, do you hear?" 
 
 Finally aroused to a consciousness of the fact 
 that he was not yet "out of the woods" so long as 
 no fence separated him from that fighting cow, 
 Bumpus started in to obey the directions given 
 by the leader of the Silver Fox Patrol. 
 
 It was no difficult matter to back away, keeping 
 in a line that would allow the tree to cover him, 
 and the fat scout in this manner drew steadily 
 closer to where his comrades awaited him. 
 
 He was near the fence when the cow must have 
 discovered him again, for the first thing Bumpus 
 knew he heard Davy shrieking madly. 
 
 "Run like everything, Bumpus! Whoop! here 
 she comes, licketty-split after you! To the fence, 
 and we'll help you over, Bumpus ! Come on ! Come 
 on!" 
 
 Which Bumpus was of course doing the best 
 he knew how, not even daring to look over his 
 slioulder for fear of being petrified by the awful 
 sight of that "monster" charging after him, and 
 appearing ten times as big as she really was. 
 
 Arriving at the fence he found Davy and Gi- 
 raffe awaiting him, for the latter, possibly ar- 
 riving at the repentant stage, had begun to realize 
 that a joke may often be very one-sided, and that 
 "what is fun for the boys is death to the frogs." 
 
 Assisted by their willing arms the almost breath-
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 43 
 
 less fat scout was hustled over the fence. There 
 was indeed little time to spare. Hardly had Davy 
 and Giraffe managed to follow after him, so that 
 all three landed beyond the barrier, when the baf- 
 fled bovine arrived on the spot, to bellow with 
 rage as she realized that her intended prey had 
 escaped for good. 
 
 Bumpus was hardly able to breathe. He was 
 fiery red in the face, and quite wet with perspira- 
 tion; but nevertheless he looked suspiciously at Gi- 
 raffe, as though a dim idea might be taking shape 
 in that slow-moving mind of his. 
 
 "Oh, no, Bumpus! You don't get that compass 
 this time," asserted the tall scout, shaking his head 
 in the negative, while he grinned at Bumpus. 
 "You never climbed the tree at all, you know. Our 
 little wager is off!" 
 
 "If I thought you knew about that pesky cow, 
 Giraffe I'd consider that you played me a low- 
 down trick!" said Bumpus, between gasps. 
 
 Giraffe made no reply. Perhaps the enormity of 
 his offense had begun to trouble him, because Bum- 
 pus was such a good-natured fellow, with his sunny 
 blue eyes, and his willing disposition, that it really 
 seemed a shame to take advantage of his confiding 
 nature. So Giraffe turned aside, and amused him- 
 self by thrusting his hand, containing his own red 
 bandanna, through the openings between the rails of 
 the fence, and tempting the cow to butt at him, 
 when, of course, he would adroitly withdraw from 
 reach in good time. 
 
 When Bumpus had fully recovered his breath, 
 the march was resumed. Giraffe loitered behind a
 
 44 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 bit. He knew from the signs that he was in for 
 what he called a "hauling over the coals" by the 
 patrol leader, and fully expected to see Thad drop 
 back to join him. The sooner the unpleasant epi- 
 sode was over with the better that was Giraffe's 
 way of looking at it, and he was really inviting 
 Thad to hurry up and get the scolding out of his 
 system. 
 
 Sure enough, presently Thad dropped back and 
 joined him. Looking up out of the tail of his eye, 
 Giraffe saw that the other was observing him se- 
 verely. He fully expected to hear something un- 
 pleasant about the duty one scout ought to assume 
 toward his fellows. To his surprise Thad started 
 on another tack entirely. 
 
 "I want to tell you a little story I read the other 
 day, Giraffe," he said quietly, "and, if the shoe fits, 
 you can put it on." 
 
 "All right, Thad ; you know I like to hear stories 
 first rate," mumbled Giraffe, glad at least that the 
 others of the party were far enough ahead so that 
 none of them could hear what passed between him- 
 self and the patrol leader. 
 
 "I think," began Thad, "it was told to illustrate 
 the old saying that 'curses, like chickens, come home 
 to roost.' The lecturer went on to say that when 
 a boy throws a rubber ball against a wall it bounds 
 back, and, unless he is careful, it's apt to take him 
 in the eye; and that's the way everything we do 
 comes back to us some time or other." 
 
 "Sure thing it does; and p'raps some day I ex- 
 pect Bumpus will be getting one over on me to 
 pay the score," admitted Giraffe; but Thad did not
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 45 
 
 pay any attention to what he said, only went on 
 with his story. 
 
 "There was once a boy, a thoughtless boy, with 
 a little cruel streak in his make-up, who always 
 wanted to find a chance for a good laugh, without 
 thinking of what pain he might be causing others," 
 Thad went on, at which Giraffe winced, for the 
 shaft went home. "One day he was playing on a 
 hillside with their big dog, Rover. He would roll 
 a stone down the hill, and Rover would obediently 
 run after it, and bring it back. He seemed to be 
 enjoying the sport as much as the boy. 
 
 "Then all at once the boy discovered a big hor- 
 net's nest almost a foot in diameter, hanging low 
 down on a bush. He saw a chance to have a great 
 lark. He *vould roll a stone so as to hit the nest, 
 and send Rover after it. Then the hornets would 
 come raging out, and it would be such a lark to 
 see them chasing poor Rover down the hill. 
 
 "Well, the stone he rolled went true to the 
 mark, and came slam against the hornet's nest. 
 Rover was in full pursuit, and he banged up against 
 it, too. Out came a black swarm of furious hor- 
 nets, and of course they tackled poor Rover like 
 everything. 
 
 "The boy up on the hill laughed until he nearly 
 doubled up, to hear Rover yelp, and whirl around 
 this way and that. He thought he had never had 
 such a bully time in all his life as just then. Rover 
 was a fine dog, and the boy thought just heaps of 
 him; but then it was so comical to see how he 
 twisted, and bit at himself, and he howled so
 
 46 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 fiercely, too, that the boy could hardly get his 
 breath for laughing. 
 
 "But all at once he saw to his alarm that poor 
 Rover, unable to help himself, was running up the 
 hill straight to his master, as though thinking that 
 the boy could save him. Then the boy stopped 
 laughing. It didn't seem so funny then. And, 
 Giraffe, inside of ten seconds there was a boy run- 
 ning madly down the hill, fighting a thousand mad 
 hornets that stung him everywhere, and set him 
 to yelling as if he were half crazy. When he got 
 home finally, and saw his swollen face in the glass, 
 and felt Rover licking his hand as if the good fel- 
 low did not dream that his master had betrayed him 
 so meanly, what do you suppose that boy said to 
 himself, if he had any conscience at all?" 
 
 Giraffe looked up. He was as red in the face 
 as any turkey that ever strutted and gobbled. 
 Giraffe at least had a conscience, as his words 
 proved beyond any doubt. 
 
 "Served him right, Thad ; that's what I say ! And 
 I thank you for telling me that story. It's a hum- 
 mer, all right, and I won't ever forget it, either, I 
 promise you. It was a cruel joke, and some time 
 I'm going to make up for playing it. That's all I 
 want to say, Thad." 
 
 And the wise patrol leader, knowing that it would 
 do Giraffe a lot more good to commune with him- 
 self just then, rather than to be taken to task any 
 further, walked away, to rejoin Allan, who was at 
 the head of the expedition. Nor did Giraffe make 
 any effort to hasten his footsteps so as to catch up 
 with the rest, until quite some little time had elapsed.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 47 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CAMP IN THE HAYMOW. 
 
 "THERE'S a farmhouse over yonder, Thad; and 
 night's coming on pretty fast now !" called out Davy 
 Jones later on, after the expedition had covered 
 several more miles of ground, and seemed to be 
 descending an incline that would very likely shortly 
 take them to the bank of the winding Susquehanna. 
 
 "I hope we decide to bunk in a haymow, and not 
 out in the open to-night," added Step Hen. "Not 
 having any tents along makes it a poor business try- 
 ing to keep off the rain, if she should drop in on 
 us. How about it, Thad?" 
 
 "I reckon, suh, we're all of one mind there," re- 
 marked Bob White. 
 
 "Just as you say, boys," Thad announced. "We'll 
 turn in here, and see if the farmer will allow us 
 to camp in his barnyard." 
 
 "And mebbe he might sell us a couple of fat chick- 
 ens, and some fresh milk or cream to go with our 
 coffee. That would be about as fine as silk, I'm 
 telling you," and Giraffe, who had rejoined his com- 
 rades, looking just the same as ever, rubbed his 
 stomach as he said this, by that means implying 
 that the prospect pleased him even more than words 
 could tell. 
 
 Accordingly the line of march was changed.
 
 48 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 They abandoned the road, and started up the lane 
 that led to the farmhouse. A watchdog began bark- 
 ing furiously, and at the sound several people came 
 out of the house, and the big barn as well ; so that 
 while the scouts had clustered a little closer to- 
 gether, as though wishing to be ready for an attack, 
 they knew there was now nothing to fear. 
 
 Three minutes later and they were talking with 
 the grizzled farmer, his good wife, a couple of girls, 
 and the stout young hired help named Hiram, all 
 of whom were fairly dazzled by the sight of eight 
 khaki-clad young fellows, some of whom carried 
 shotguns, grouped in their dooryard. 
 
 Thad explained that they were a patrol of Boy 
 Scouts from Cranford, on a hike, and not having 
 tents along with them, made bold to ask the farmer 
 if they might sleep in his haymow, and cook their 
 supper in the open space before the barns. 
 
 There was something inviting about Thad Brews- 
 ter's manner that drew most people toward him. 
 That same farmer might have been tempted to say 
 no under ordinary conditions, for he looked like a 
 severe man; but somehow he was quite captivated 
 by the manly appearance of these lads. Besides, he 
 had doubtless read considerable about the activities 
 of the scouts, and felt that the chance of hearing 
 something concerning them at first hand was too 
 good to be lost. 
 
 "I ain't got the least objection to you boys sleep- 
 ing in my hay, if you promise me not to light 
 matches, or do any smokin' there," he said. 
 
 "I'll look out for that, sir," replied Thad 
 promptly, "and we all promise you that there wilJ
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 49 
 
 be no damage done from our staying over. We will 
 want to make a cooking fire somewhere, but it can 
 be done at a safe distance from the barn, and to 
 leeward, so that any sparks will go the other way." 
 
 "And if so be you could spare us a couple of 
 chickens, mister," put in Giraffe, "we'd be glad to 
 pay you the full market price ; as also for any milk 
 or cream or eggs you'd let us have." 
 
 "Oh! you can fix that with the missus," returned 
 the farmer; "she runs that end of the farm. I look 
 after the crops and the stock. Now, if you wanted 
 a four-hundred-pound pig I've got a beauty to offer 
 you." 
 
 "Thanks, awfully," returned Step Hen quickly, 
 giving Giraffe, who was a big eater, a meaning 
 look ; "but I reckon we're well supplied in that way 
 already." 
 
 Arrangements were quickly made with the farm- 
 er's wife, and under charge of the willing Hiram, 
 who never could get over staring at the uniforms 
 of the scouts with envy in his pale eyes, some of 
 the boys gave chase to a couple of ambitious young 
 roosters that were trying their first crow on a near- 
 by fence, finally capturing and beheading the same. 
 
 Thad meanwhile accompanied the good woman 
 to her dairy, and returned with a brimming bucket 
 of morning's milk, as well as a pitcher of the thick- 
 est yellow cream any of them had ever gazed upon. 
 
 The girls brought out some fresh eggs, and alto- 
 gether the sight of so much riches caused Giraffe 
 to smile all over. 
 
 Giraffe was the acknowledged leader when it came 
 to making fires, and that duty as a rule devolved
 
 50 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 upon him. He had made a particular study of the 
 art, and in pursuing his hobby to the limits was able 
 to get fire at his pleasure, whether he had a match 
 or not. And in more than a few times in the past 
 this knowledge had proved very useful to the tall 
 scout, as the record in previous stories concerning 
 the doings of the Silver Fox Patrol will explain. 
 
 Accordingly Giraffe had chosen to make a neat 
 little fireplace out of smooth blocks of stone which 
 happened to lie handy. This he had built at the 
 spot selected by Thad as perfectly safe; for what 
 little wind there was would blow the sparks in a 
 direction where they could do no possible damage. 
 
 When Hiram came back he forgot all about any 
 chores that might be waiting. Never before had 
 he been given such a glorious chance to witness the 
 smart doings of Boy Scouts. He observed every- 
 thing Giraffe did when he made that cunning little 
 out-of-doors cooking range, and noted that while 
 the double row of stones spread wide apart at one 
 end, just so the big frying pan would set across, 
 they drew much closer at the other terminus, like 
 the letter V, so that the coffee pot could be laid there 
 without spilling. 
 
 Then Giraffe started his fire. Hiram noticed how 
 he picked certain kinds of wood from the abundant 
 supply over at the chopping block. Giraffe liked to 
 be in the lime light; and he was also an accommo- 
 dating chap. He saw that the farmhand was in- 
 tensely interested, as well as quite green at all such 
 things ; but the fact of his "wanting to know" was 
 enough to start the scout to imparting information. 
 
 So he told Hiram how certain kinds of wood are
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 51 
 
 more suitable for cooking purposes, since they make 
 a fierce heat, and leave red ashes that hold for a 
 long time; and it is over such a bed that the best 
 cooking can be done, and not when there is more 
 or less flame and smoke to interfere. 
 
 Allan and Davy had been very busy plucking the 
 fowls during this time, while Bumpus busied him- 
 self getting some fresh water from the well near 
 by, and fixing the coffee ready to go on the fire 
 when Giraffe gave the word that he was prepared. 
 
 One of the girls brought a loaf of fresh home- 
 made bread, and a roll of genuine country butter 
 that was as sweet as could be. Fancy with what 
 impatience those boys waited while supper was be- 
 ing cooked. The odors that arose when the cut-up 
 chicken was browning in the pan along with some 
 slices of salt pork, and the coffee steaming on one 
 of the stones alongside the fire, made a combination 
 that fairly set several of the fellows wild, so that 
 they had to walk away in order to control them- 
 selves. 
 
 Finally the welcome signal was given by Bumpus, 
 and never had those silver notes of the "assembly" 
 sounded sweeter in mortal ears than they did that 
 night in the barnyard of that Susquehanna farm, 
 with the eight khaki-clad scouts sitting on logs, and^ 
 any other thing that offered, and every inmate of* 
 the farmhouse gathered near by to watch opera- 
 tions. 
 
 They had a feast indeed, and there was plenty 
 for every one and to spare. Indeed, Hiram had ac- 
 cepted the invitation of Giraffe to hold off supper, 
 and join them, and the big fellow seemed to be en-
 
 52 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 joying his novel experience vastly, if one could 
 judge from the broad grin that never once left his 
 rosy face. 
 
 After the meal was over they found seats, and 
 as the fire sparkled and crackled merrily Thad told 
 them all that he possibly could about the aims and 
 ambitions of the scout movement. He found a 
 very attentive and appreciative audience ; and it was 
 possible that seeds were planted in the mind of 
 Hiram on that occasion calculated to bear more or 
 less good fruit later on in his life. 
 
 Of course Thad had to explain to some extent why 
 they were so far away from home, and this necessi- 
 tated relating the story about the old army over- 
 coat that had been turned over to a tramp through 
 the desire of the judge's second wife to get rid of it. 
 Thad of course only went so far as to say that the 
 judge mourned the loss of an article which he really 
 valued highly on account of its association with 
 his only son's army life years before; and he made 
 out such a strong case that those who heard the 
 story could easily understand why the gentleman 
 should wish to recover the garment again, if it were 
 possible. 
 
 None of them could remember having seen any 
 party wearing such a coat; and it would seem that 
 if the hobo had passed along that way, he might 
 have applied at the farmhouse for a meal, though 
 the presence of the dog usually deterred those of 
 his kind from bothering the good farm wife. 
 
 "Guess they've got the chalk mark on your gate 
 post, mister," commented Step Hen, when he heard 
 this; "I've been told these hoboes leave signs all
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 53 
 
 along the way for the next comer to read. Some 
 places they say are good for a square meal : then at 
 another place you want to look sharp, for the farm- 
 er's wife will ring pies on you that are guaran- 
 teed to break off a tooth in trying to bite 'em. Now, 
 like as not there's a sign on your post that says: 
 'Beware of the dog ; he's a holy terror !' ' 
 
 "I hope there is," replied the farmer; "and if I 
 knew what it was I'd see it got on every post I own, 
 for if there's one thing I hate it's a tramp. I've 
 had my chickens stolen, my hogs poisoned, and my 
 haymow out in the pasture burned twice by some of 
 that worthless lot. They kind of know me by now, 
 and that I ain't to be trifled with." 
 
 The evening passed all too quickly; and when 
 Step Hen happened to mention that Bumpus was 
 the possessor of a beautiful soprano voice of course 
 the country girls insisted that he entertain them. 
 Bumpus, as has been remarked before, was an ac- 
 commodating fellow, and he allowed himself to be 
 coaxed to sing one song after another, with all of 
 them joining in the chorus, until he was too hoarse 
 to keep it up. Then they spied his lovely silver- 
 plated bugle, and nothing would do but he must 
 sound all the army calls he knew, which added to 
 the enjoyment considerably. 
 
 Taken in all, that was the most novel entertain- 
 ment any of them had ever experienced; and es- 
 pecially those who lived in the lonely farmhouse. 
 It must have been a tremendous and pleasant break 
 in the monotony that usually hangs like a pall upon 
 all farm work. No wonder, Thad thought, all of 
 them looked so happy when they were bidding the
 
 54 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 boys good night, and admitted that they had en- 
 joyed the coming of the expedition greatly. 
 
 Hiram could not be "pried loose," as Giraffe said. 
 He insisted on seeing all he could of these new and 
 remarkable friends, and had announced his inten- 
 tion of accompanying the scouts to the hay, and 
 sleeping near them. 
 
 No one offered the least objection. Indeed, by 
 this time, after such an exhausting march as they 
 had been through since sun-up, all of them were 
 pretty tired, and their one thought was to snuggle 
 down in the hay, with their blankets wrapped 
 around them, and get some sleep. 
 
 "Still cloudy and threatening," remarked Allen, 
 as he and Thad took a last look around ere turn- 
 ing in. 
 
 "Yes, it's holding off in a queer way," replied the 
 other, "but when it does hit us, look out for a down- 
 pour. I'd be glad if we ran on that Wandering 
 George before the rain starts in, because it'll be 
 hard getting around when the whole country is 
 soaked and afloat." 
 
 "I'm told the river is already close to flood stage, 
 owing to so much snow melting at headwaters," ob- 
 served Allan. 
 
 "Yes, we had an unusual lot last winter, you re- 
 member ; and when the weather turned actually hot 
 a few days back it must have started the snow melt- 
 ing at a furious rate. If we get a hard rain now 
 there'll be a whopping big flood all along the Sus- 
 quehanna this spring." 
 
 "Everything seems all right around here, doesn't 
 it?" asked Allan, as he bent down over Giraffe's
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 55 
 
 fireplace, with the caution of a hunter who knew 
 how necessary it always is to see that no glowing 
 embers have been forgotten that a sudden wind 
 could carry off to cause a disastrous conflagration. 
 
 "I saw Giraffe throw some water over the coals," 
 remarked Thad. "He loves a fire better than any- 
 one I know, but you never find him neglecting to 
 take the proper precautions. Yes, it's cold to the 
 touch. Let's hunt a place to bunk for the night, 
 Allan. With our blankets, a bed in the soft hay 
 ought to feel just prime." 
 
 Nine of them burrowed into the big haymow, 
 with all sorts of merry remarks, and a flow of boy- 
 ish badinage. Finally they began to get settled 
 in their various nooks and the talking died down 
 until in the end no one said a single word, and 
 already Bumpus and perhaps several others began 
 to breathe heavily, thus betraying the fact that they 
 had passed over the border of dreamland. 
 
 Thad of course had more to think about than 
 most of his mates, because, as the patrol leader, and 
 head of the present expedition, he found problems 
 to study out that did not present themselves to such 
 happy-go-lucky fellows as Bumpus, Step Hen, 
 Davy, and perhaps Giraffe. So Thad lay there for 
 quite some time, thinking, and trying to lay out 
 some plan of campaign to be followed in case the 
 expected rain did strike them before they came up 
 with the fugitive tramp. 
 
 It was very comfortable, and the hay was sweet- 
 smelling, so that even the fastidious Smithy had 
 not been heard to utter the least complaint, but had 
 burrowed with the rest. Possibly he may have
 
 56 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 swathed his face, as well as his body, in the folds 
 of his blanket, in order to prevent any roving spider 
 from carrying out the gypsy's evil prophecy; but 
 if so no one knew it, since all of them but Allan 
 and Thad had made separate burrows. 
 
 The young scout master remembered that his 
 thoughts became confused, and then he lost his 
 grip on things. 
 
 It seemed to him that his dreams must be won- 
 derfully vivid, for as he suddenly struggled up to 
 a sitting position he could fancy that he heard some 
 one calling at the top of his voice. Then shrill 
 screams in girlish tones added to the clamor. 
 
 "What's that mean, Thad?" demanded Allan, as 
 he clutched the arm of his chum, at the same time 
 sitting up. 
 
 "I don't know," replied Thad shortly. "There 
 must be something wrong up at the farmhouse. 
 The other fellows are stirring now, so let's crawl 
 out of this in a big hurry, Allan !" 
 
 Both scouts made all haste to escape from the 
 tunnel under the hay, kicking their way to freedom. 
 No sooner had they gained their feet than they 
 started out of the barn, for the haymow was un- 
 der the shelter of a roof. 
 
 Only too well did Thad know what was the mat- 
 ter, when he burst from the door of the barn, and 
 saw that the darkness of the night was split by a 
 glare from up in the direction of the farmhouse 
 on the rise. Through the bare branches of the trees 
 he could see tongues of flames. 
 
 "The house is on fire, Allan!" he shouted. "We 
 must get all the boys out, and do what we can to
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 57 
 
 fight the flames. Hi ! everybody on deck Giraffe, 
 Step Hen, Davy, and the rest of you, hurry out 
 here and lend a hand ! You're wanted, and wanted 
 badly into the bargain !"
 
 58 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 FEELING sure that the rest of the scouts, as 
 well as Hiram, the overgrown country boy who 
 worked on the farm, would be along shortly, Thad 
 and Allan seized upon a couple of buckets, filled 
 them at the watering trough near by, and hastened 
 toward the burning building. 
 
 The farmer, partly dressed, was doing valiant 
 work already, and his wife kept up a constant 
 pounding of the pump, filling buckets as fast as the 
 man of the house emptied them. 
 
 When the two scouts got to work things began 
 to look more hopeful, though with the flames mak- 
 ing such rapid headway it promised to be a hard 
 fight to win out. 
 
 Thad wondered why the fire should have gained 
 such a tremendous headway, but later on the mys- 
 tery was explained, and he understood the reason. 
 When kerosene is dashed around it offers splendid 
 food for fire, once the flame is applied. 
 
 Now came all of the other fellows, eager to lend 
 a helping hand. The farmer had been neighborly 
 and kind, and his folks had helped to make a pleas- 
 ant night for their unexpected but nevertheless wel- 
 come guests, and on this account alone Thad and 
 his chums felt that they must do all in their power
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 59 
 
 to save the house. Then again they were scouts, 
 and as such had cheerfully promised to always as- 
 sist those in trouble, whether friends, strangers, or 
 even enemies. 
 
 They found all manner of vessels capable of hold- 
 ing more or less water. Bumpus even manipulated 
 a footbath, although on one or two occasions he 
 had to stumble as usual, and came very near being 
 drowned in consequence, since he deluged himself 
 from head to foot with the contents. 
 
 When such a constant stream of water was being 
 poured upon the fire it could not make much head- 
 way. 
 
 "Keep her going!" yelped Giraffe, whose long 
 legs allowed him to make more frequent trips back 
 and forth than any of the others; "we've got her 
 at a standstill now, and the next thing you know 
 she'll cave under. More water this way! Every- 
 body's doing it ! Hi ! Bumpus, don't upset that ocean 
 over me ; it's the fire that wants putting out, not me. 
 Whee! look at that, would you; he smothered it 
 with that deluge. Bully for you, Bumpus! Do it 
 some more, boy ! You're sure a brick !" 
 
 They worked like beavers, every fellow acting as 
 though the success of the undertaking depended 
 wholly upon his individual efforts. When the good 
 woman fell back, completely exhausted with her ef- 
 forts, the two girls nobly responded to the call, and 
 pumped away as only sturdy country lassies could, 
 filling the buckets that came their way as speedily 
 as possible. 
 
 It was very lively while it lasted, and none of 
 those who took part in that midnight battle with
 
 60 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 the devouring element would soon forget their ex- 
 citing experience. 
 
 The fire seemed to be confined to the room in 
 which it had started, so that the damage would not 
 be extended, which was one satisfaction at least. 
 
 To the boys it was next door to a picnic. They 
 just gloried in participating in such an exciting 
 event as this, and some of them may even have felt 
 a little disappointment because the battle with the 
 devouring element promised to be of such short 
 duration, though of course that did not mean 
 they would have been glad to have seen further 
 disaster overtake their friend the farmer. 
 
 Thad and Allan would not allow anyone to re- 
 lax their efforts in the slightest degree, even when 
 it became positive that they were quickly putting 
 out the last of the fire. Until every spark had been 
 properly extinguished there must be no stoppage to 
 the good work. A fire is only put out when there 
 is no longer any danger of its awakening to new 
 life when one's back is turned. 
 
 Finally the work was done, and they could rest 
 themselves. The man had gone into the kitchen and 
 started a blaze in the stove there, for the night air 
 seemed chilly, and none of them was dressed any 
 too warmly. 
 
 "Well, this old tramp promises to make a new 
 record along the line of excitement for our crowd, 
 and that's a fact !" declared Step Hen, as he took a 
 drink of cold water, for his recent exertions had 
 "warmed him up inside," he remarked. 
 
 "I should remark it did," added Giraffe; "and 
 who can say what lies ahead of us yet? One thing
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 61 
 
 follows another like a procession. But I'm glad we 
 happened to be here at the right time, so we could 
 help save the farmhouse. These people have been 
 mighty kind to us, and it's nice to be able to pay 
 'em back." 
 
 "Say, Thad, I hope now we didn't have anything 
 to do with that fire?" remarked Davy, who lowered 
 his voice as he spoke, as though unwilling to have 
 anyone outside of his comrades hear what he said. 
 
 "Well, I reckon we had a heap to do with ex- 
 tinguishing the same, anyhow," Giraffe told him; 
 "but what do you mean, Davy ? Don't act so mys- 
 terious, but blurt it out." 
 
 "Are you sure you didn't leave any fire where 
 you cooked supper, Giraffe, that could have been 
 scooped up by the rising wind, and carried to the 
 house up here ? That's what's bothering me." 
 
 "Don't let it worry you a whit any longer then," 
 Thad told him promptly ; "because Allan and I made 
 sure to examine the fireplace, and we found that 
 Giraffe, like a true scout, had thrown water on the 
 last spark. It was cold and dead. So you see, 
 Davy, we couldn't have had anything to do with 
 its starting." 
 
 "Then what happened?" asked Smithy, who evi- 
 dently did not know that he had a ridiculous long 
 black smooch down one side of his face, or he would 
 not have looked so well satisfied, because Smithy 
 still cared a great deal for his personal appearance, 
 and sometimes even brushed his hair on the sly 
 when in camp. 
 
 "We'll have to find that out from the farmer/' 
 said Thad.
 
 62 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 They looked in the kitchen where the owner of 
 the house had last been seen, but he was not there. 
 Just then they heard him calling them. 
 
 "Come in here, boys!" he kept saying; and pres- 
 ently they located the voice as coming from the liv- 
 ing room, where the fire had been confined, thanks 
 to their energetic labors. 
 
 As they pushed in there they saw that it was 
 pretty much of a wreck; but as the farmer's wife 
 had already told Thad they were fully insured, the 
 result would be more of an inconvenience, and the 
 loss of family treasures, than any great amount of 
 pecuniary damage. 
 
 The farmer was standing at an old desk that 
 was part bookcase. It had somehow managed to 
 escape the flames that came upon most of the con- 
 tents of the sitting-room. 
 
 "They got my little pile, all right," he started to 
 say, as the scouts crowded into the damaged and 
 blackened room, now several inches deep with wa- 
 ter; "but I'm glad it wasn't very much. If this had 
 happened three weeks ago I'd have stood to lose 
 several thousand dollars, because I sold a patch of 
 land, and had the cash overnight in this same desk, 
 though I banked it next day." 
 
 Thad was immediately deeply interested. He 
 saw in these significant words of the farmer an 
 explanation of the mystery as to how the fire could 
 have started. 
 
 "Do you mean to tell us that you have been 
 robbed, sir?" he asked; and the old man nodded his 
 head. 
 
 "I woke up, and thought I heard the low sound
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 63 
 
 of voices downstairs here," he went on to explain ; 
 "so I got out of bed, after waking Nancy, picked 
 up my gun, and came down the stairs. They creak 
 like all get-out, and must 'a' told the scamps some- 
 body was coming. Just as I got to the door I saw 
 two men by the desk here, that they had forced 
 open; and I guess they'd copped my little roll of 
 bills about that time. Well, I was struck dumb at 
 the sight at first, and then I remembered my gun; 
 but before I could swing it up to my shoulder one 
 of them swept the lighted lamp from the table to 
 the floor. 
 
 "The flash that came blinded me, and I forgot 
 all about the robbers in thinking about saving my 
 house. Then Nancy she came down, and we got 
 busy. All at once I remembered you boys in the 
 barn, and Hiram, and I started to yellin' at the 
 top of my voice, but pitchin' water all the while. 
 That's how the fire started, you see ; and we're sure 
 beholdin' a heap to you boys for helpin' put it out 
 as smart as we did. It looks tough, for a fact, but 
 sho! it might 'a' been heaps worse." 
 
 "But the dog what d'ye reckon they could have 
 done to him?" asked Giraffe. 
 
 "It might be they pizened Toby," replied the 
 farmer; "I wouldn't put it past that tough pair to 
 do anything. But chances are the dog's off to the 
 woods huntin' rabbits. He often runs away like 
 that and stays all night long. If I tie him up he 
 barks enough to set us crazy. I'll have to get rid 
 of him, and find a better watchdog." 
 
 "Well, things are getting warmer right along, 
 aip't they?" Step Hen wanted to know. "A fire
 
 64 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 was bad enough, but when you find out that it was 
 started by thieves, and that they actually robbed the 
 house first, it gets more and more exciting. Now 
 the Silver Fox Patrol has done something along 
 lines like that before; and mebbe we might again, 
 given half a fair chance." 
 
 "I suppose the two men didn't wait to see what 
 happened after they had knocked the lamp over, 
 and the flames shot up?" remarked Allan, thought- 
 fully ; and the farmer was quick to reply. 
 
 "They cleared out in a big hurry, because I didn't 
 see anything more of the pair," he admitted. "But 
 then they got what they came after, and that satis- 
 fied the rascals. And I don't reckon there's a single 
 chance in ten I'll ever recover that fifty dollars, 
 barring twenty cents, that I got for the last two 
 loads of hay I took into town. But then my house 
 is left, and we'll get some insurance to pay for re- 
 pairs, so I'm not complaining. There's only one 
 thing that makes me mad." 
 
 "What was that, Mr. Bailey ?" asked Davy, deeply 
 interested. 
 
 "That I was so stunned at sight of them fellers 
 robbin' my desk I forgot I had an old Civil War 
 musket in my hands. I had ought to've let fly, 
 and knocked one of the pizen critters silly. I'll 
 never forgive myself for bein' so slow to act." 
 
 Thad had his own ideas about that. Had the 
 farmer fired that long-barreled musket at such close 
 range he would possibly have killed one of the men ; 
 and whether such a tragedy would have been jus- 
 tified under the circumstances was and must remain 
 an open question. If his life had been threatened
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 65 
 
 of course the farmer would have done right to 
 defend himself to the utmost; but Thad believed 
 that had it been him he would have allowed the 
 men to get some distance away before sending a 
 load of shot at them, his object being to wound 
 and not slay. 
 
 It was certainly good, however, to find that Mr. 
 Bailey took things so philosophically all around. 
 Some men would have been bewailing their mis- 
 fortune, and never once seeing how much they had 
 to be thankful for. 
 
 "Do you think you would know either or both of 
 them again if you happened to set eyes on them, 
 sir?" asked the patrol leader, with an object in 
 view. 
 
 "I saw them faces as plain as I do yours, my 
 boy," responded the farmer, soberly, "and I'm dead 
 sartin I'd know 'em again. Why whatever am I 
 thinkin' about, to be sure? Say, you boys ought 
 to know that you've got nigh as much interest in 
 findin' them tramps as I feel. You wonder why I 
 say that, do you? I'll explain it to you in a jiffy. 
 Listen then. One of the thieves had red hair, and 
 he was wearin' an old faded blue army coat with 
 red lining in it. That's why !" 
 
 It seemed as though every one of those eight 
 scouts drew a deep breath that had the sound of a 
 sigh. They looked at one another, at first with 
 wonder in their faces, and then Giraffe was heard 
 to give vent to what he intended should be a joyous 
 chuckle. The sound was contagious, for immedi- 
 ately broad smiles began to appear here and there, 
 and there was a general hand-shaking as though
 
 66 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 the news were deemed important enough to make 
 them congratulate each other. 
 
 It was a fact calculated to make them feel that 
 the long chase had not been useless, when they 
 thus learned so suddenly that the man they hunted 
 had been almost in their power half an hour before.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 67 
 
 g 
 
 t 
 
 f- 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ON THE RIVER ROAD. 
 
 "WELL, wouldn't that give you a heart-ache, 
 now?" remarked Giraffe, making a wry face, as he 
 looked at his seven mates. 
 
 "Just to think of it!" exclaimed Bumpus, "we 
 were all sleeping sweetly like babes in the woods, 
 out there in the hay, while our game passed us by. 
 A healthy lot of scouts we seem like, don't we? 
 When people hear of this they'll vote us a leather 
 medal. Always on guard, hey? Never letting a 
 single thing worth while slipping through our fin- 
 gers? Oh! my stars, somebody fan me!" 
 
 Thad laughed at the fat scout. 
 
 "I wouldn't feel so bad if I were you, Bumpus," 
 he remonstrated ; "there's nothing on us that I can 
 see. This happened to be an accident that we 
 couldn't help. How were we to guess that the man 
 we came after would drop in here and rob the 
 farmer? The fortunes of war, Bumpus. Besides, 
 it gives us a pointer. We know now that Wander- 
 ing George isn't far ahead of us; and we're going 
 to catch up with him before a great while." 
 
 "That's the way to talk, Thad !" commented Step 
 Hen. "We never give up when we get started on 
 a game. Keeping everlastingly at it is what wins 
 most of all. George was kind to leave his card
 
 68 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 behind him; and in the morning we'll start out 
 fresh on the trail." 
 
 It would appear from this that none of the others 
 felt at all depressed because of the strange happen- 
 ing ; and realizing this even Bumpus was soon look- 
 ing satisfied again. The farmer declared he would 
 not try to sleep any more that night, but as for the 
 scouts they could see no reason why anyone else 
 should follow his example, when that sweet hay 
 called so loudly. 
 
 The consequence was that before long there was 
 an exodus to the barn, for since the small hours of 
 the morning had come the air was decidedly cool, 
 and none of them felt comfortable. 
 
 Nothing more developed during the remainder of 
 that night, and the first thing some of the sleepers 
 knew they were hearing the bugle sounding the 
 reveille. Bumpus had been aroused by Allan poking 
 him in the ribs, and telling him it was sun-up; for 
 somehow the two had bored into the hay together 
 the second time. 
 
 Giraffe attended to the fire, as usual, and as every- 
 body wanted to get warm there was no lack of 
 cooks. The work of the farm had started long 
 before, and already the girls were coming in with 
 full buckets of new milk ; while the cackling of many 
 hens announced that the biddies were giving an 
 account of themselves. 
 
 As the boys gathered around and started to par- 
 take of their breakfast the farmer and his family 
 poured out of the house bearing all manner of addi- 
 tions to the menu, even to a couple of apple pies, 
 which seems to be a standard early morning dish
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 69 
 
 in the country along the Susquehanna, even as 
 doughnuts are in New England. 
 
 Of course the boys fared like kings, and would 
 not soon forget that splendid breakfast. When 
 they packed their kits ready to make a fresh start, 
 the girls insisted on pressing various little addi- 
 tions to their larder upon them, so that what with 
 the apples, cookies, and the like, some of the boys 
 could hardly manage to strap up their haversacks. 
 
 And there was Hiram looking so forlorn over 
 their going that Thad took pity on the poor fellow. 
 
 "I'm going to remember you, Hiram," he told the 
 farmhand, as he squeezed his b'g hand warmly, 
 "and after we get home I'll send you a bunch of 
 reading matter in connection with this scout move- 
 ment, as well as several cracking good books that 
 have been written covering the activities of our 
 Silver Fox Patrol." 
 
 "Gosh! I hope yeou do that same!" ejaculated 
 Hiram, brightening up; " 'cause I'm jest bustin' to 
 larn all about it. I'd give a heap if I ever hed a 
 chanct to wear a suit like them be, an' camp out in 
 the woods. I hearn thar be a troop o' scouts 
 a-formin' over in Hicksville, an' by jinks I'm a-goin' 
 to put in a application, as sure's my name's Hiram 
 Spinks!" 
 
 "I hope you do, Hiram," the patrol leader told 
 him, "and if I can do anything at any time to help 
 out, let me know. First of all I'm going to mail 
 you an extra handbook or Boy Scout Manual I've 
 got knocking around home; and if you're feeling a 
 touch of the fever now, that's guaranteed to give 
 it to you ten times worse."
 
 70 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 So they said good-by to the hospitable farmer 
 and his family, none of whom would accept a single 
 cent in return for what they had done for the 
 scouts. Indeed, they vehemently declared they were 
 heavily in the boys' debt on account of their having 
 helped save the farmhouse after it had been set 
 on fire by the action of the hobo thieves, surprised 
 at their work of robbing the farmer's desk. 
 
 Thad had been off somewhere while the rest were 
 finishing their packing. When he came back Allan, 
 who noticed the expression on the face of the patrol 
 leader, guessed he must have met with a certain 
 amount of success. Apparently he knew what the 
 other had started out to find; at least his first re- 
 mark made it look that way. 
 
 "Well, was it there, Thad ?" he observed. 
 
 "As plain as print," came the immediate reply, 
 accompanied with a smile of 'satisfaction, such as a 
 fellow may assume when he is in a position to say 
 "I told you so!" 
 
 "That is, the track of a broken shoe which has 
 the sole held in place by a rag bound about it, hobo 
 fashion?" continued Allan. 
 
 "Yes, and belonging to the right foot at that, just 
 as we learned long ago was the case with Wander- 
 ing George," Thad continued. 
 
 "Where did you run across the trail?" questioned 
 Allan. 
 
 "I'll show you when we're leaving here," he was 
 told. "It's so plain even a tenderfoot couldn't miss 
 seeing the same. And when the road is reached 
 you can follow it for some little distance." 
 
 "Toward the river, Thad ?"
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 71 
 
 "Yes, in an easterly direction," answered the 
 leader of the patrol; "and that just suits us right 
 up to the notch, you know. But the boys are ready 
 to start, so we'd better be hiking out." 
 
 The last they saw of the farmer and his family 
 the two girls were waving their sun-bonnets wildly, 
 while the older people contented themselves with 
 making use of their hands. This little visit of the 
 scouts had made a very enjoyable break in the 
 monotony of their lives, and would not be soon 
 forgotten. 
 
 As for Hiram, he had received permission to ac- 
 company the boys for a mile along the road ; though 
 Thad had solemnly promised the farmer to send him 
 back in due time, for there were daily chores to be 
 looked after that could not be neglected. 
 
 While some of the others, notably Bumpus and 
 Smithy and Davy, were paying attention to answer- 
 ing the fervent signals of the jolly country girls, 
 Thad was showing Allan, Giraffe, Bob White and 
 Step Hen the plain impression of the marked shoe 
 belonging, as they very well knew, to the particular 
 tramp whom they were so anxious to overtake. 
 
 How Hiram did listen eagerly to every word 
 that was uttered,, and even got down on his hands 
 and knees to scrutinize that impression. He had of 
 course hunted at times, as every country boy does, 
 and shot his quota of small game like rabbits, squir- 
 rels, quail and woodcock ; yet knew next to nothing 
 concerning the real delights of woodcraft. But the 
 seed had taken root in Hiram's soul, and would 
 sprout from that time on. The coming of these 
 scouts had aroused an ambition within him, and he
 
 72 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 could never again be the same contented plodder 
 that he had seemed to be in the past. 
 
 Down the road the boys walked at a brisk pace, 
 chatting and joking as they went on. Those in the 
 van of course had the task of keeping in touch with 
 the tracks and every once in a while they made 
 sure that these could still be discovered in the rather 
 soft soil alongside the road. 
 
 When the mile had been passed and more Thad 
 reminded Hiram of his promise, and in turn every 
 scout pressed the big fellow's hard hand warmly. 
 So they passed out of Hiram's life; but the result 
 of his meeting these wide-awake scouts was destined 
 to mark an epoch in the career of that country boy, 
 a turning point in his destiny as it were. 
 
 The day was another gloomy one. 
 
 It seemed as though Nature might be frowning 
 her worst, and giving all sorts of portentous signs 
 concerning what was coming before long. If any- 
 thing the damp feeling in the air had grown more 
 pronounced than before, which would indicate to a 
 weather prophet the approach of wet weather. 
 
 It takes considerable to dampen the enthusiasm 
 of lively scouts, however ; and as the morning crept 
 along they continued to make merry as they plodded 
 on their way. 
 
 It was about eleven o'clock when a shout from 
 Giraffe in the front announced a discovery of some 
 moment. Trust "Old Eagle Eye" for finding out 
 things ahead of others; he was not gifted with that 
 keenness of vision for nothing. 
 
 "What is it, the river at last?" called Bumpus,
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 73 
 
 between puffs, for the pace was fast enough to 
 make the stout scout breathe hard. 
 
 "That's what it is, as sure as you live !" exclaimed 
 Step Hen. 
 
 "And let me tell you, suh, she looks mighty fine 
 to me," remarked Bob White, who was particularly 
 fond of the water, and a good boatman as well as 
 canoeist. 
 
 "Whew! Strikes me the old Susquehanna must 
 be on a tear already!" came from Bumpus, as he 
 caught his first glimpse of the wide expanse of 
 flowing water. 
 
 "It is pretty high for a fact!" Smithy admitted; 
 "I'm somewhat familiar with the river, because I 
 visited here several summers; and I never saw so 
 much water running down between its banks." 
 
 The road they were following, upon drawing 
 near the river, turned sharply to the south. After 
 that the boys knew they must be within reaching 
 distance of the water as long as they kept to that 
 thoroughfare; though of course should they learn, 
 through the tracks they followed, that the hobo 
 wearing the old army coat had taken to a side path 
 they would be compelled to do the same. 
 
 Occasionally they came to an isolated house, and 
 once passed through a small hamlet ; but made sure 
 to find the trail beyond, showing that Wandering 
 George had safely navigated through the outpost 
 of civilization, and not been locked up. In fact, 
 Thad was of the opinion that the pair of nomads 
 must have circled around the village on general 
 principles. After having been discovered in the 
 act of robbing the farmer's home bank they may
 
 74 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 have feared arrest ; and while one hid in the thickets 
 the other possibly ventured into the village in order 
 to purchase supplies, principally strong drink at the 
 tavern. 
 
 No matter what their tactics may have been,, 
 the pair still held to the river road, and that was 
 sufficient for the scouts who followed the trail. 
 
 "What do you make of it, Thad ?" asked Giraffe, 
 after he had seen the leader and Allan closely exam- 
 ining a pretty fair footprint left by the tramp; 
 "and are we a long ways behind right now?" 
 
 "It isn't an easy thing to say," he was told, "be- 
 cause we haven't much to go by, you see, and have 
 to figure it out on general principles; but we've 
 concluded that this print is about two hours old; 
 and that the men are taking it fairly easy as tramps 
 walk." 
 
 "Every once in so often they stop, and sit down 
 on a log that looks inviting, as you see they did 
 here," Allan added, pointing as he spoke. "We 
 figure they must have invested some of the stolen 
 money in whisky at that village tavern, and that 
 every time they stop they indulge themselves in a 
 good swig." 
 
 "Just what they do, Allan!" announced Step 
 Hen, who had been aimlessly prowling around on 
 the border of the road back of the log where the 
 tramps had rested; "see here what I've picked up. 
 That flask must have held a full pint, and it's been 
 drained to the last drop. More where that came 
 from; and chances are before long we may run 
 across our men sprawled out in the bushes in a 
 drunken sleep."
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 75 
 
 "Well, as most tramps can soak in any amount 
 of bug juice without showing signs of it," Giraffe 
 ventured, "you mustn't count too heavy on that 
 same ; though it'd be a bully good thing for us, as 
 we could get back the Judge's blue overcoat without 
 any row. The question is, ought we to arrest 
 the hoboes on account of what they did up at 
 Bailey's farm?" 
 
 "We won't cross that river till we come to it, 
 Giraffe," laughed Thad; but all the same some of 
 the scouts felt positive their leader had his plan of 
 campaign mapped out already, because that was his 
 invariable rule, so as not to be taken unawares. 
 
 Another half hour passed. Just ahead of them 
 was a small cabin between the road and the river. 
 A fenced-in patch showed where the occupants man- 
 aged to have a little garden in season. 
 
 "What ails that woman standing there and call- 
 ing out, d'ye suppose?" remarked Step Hen, as they 
 were passing the cottage. 
 
 "She seems to be bothered some, if you can judge 
 by the way she waves her hands, and keeps on beck- 
 oning," Giraffe went on to say, becoming interested. 
 "She's facing out on the river, too, you notice. 
 Now, I wouldn't be surprised if she's got a cub of 
 a boy who's gone out further than he ought to 
 on the swift current in some tub of a boat, and 
 she's trying to make him come ashore. There, 
 didn't you hear her yell to Johnny to come back 
 at once? And here's where the bushes end, so we 
 can see for ourselves." 
 
 It turned out that Giraffe was correct, for there 
 was a makeshift of a boat out on the current of the
 
 76 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 river, containing a boy who was clumsily trying 
 to turn its head in the direction of the shore. The 
 obstructions in the Susquehanna make it a very 
 treacherous stream, with eddies and stealthy cur- 
 rents that take one unawares, and "Johnny" was 
 making a sorry mess of his work, Thad saw at a 
 glance. 
 
 "He's apt to get upset if he doesn't take care!" 
 exclaimed Bob White, who knew the signs all too 
 well. 
 
 The woman kept shouting and no doubt this dis- 
 tracted the boy more or less, causing him to lose 
 his head. In fact he did just what he should never 
 have done ; for when the bow of his boat ran up on 
 a partly submerged rock he let go the oars, picked 
 one up, and rising to his feet stepped forward to 
 push the craft off again. 
 
 "Sit down!" shouted Thad, between his hands; 
 but if the boy heard he gave no sign of obeying, 
 his one thought being to push his oar against the 
 obstruction, and get the boat moving free again. 
 
 Then came a shriek from the poor mother. The 
 current had got in its treacherous work, just as 
 Thad and some of his chums had expected would 
 be the case. 
 
 "He's gone in, and the boat turned turtle !" cried 
 Step Hen, aghast. 
 
 "Help! oh! somebody save my poor Johnny, be- 
 cause he can't swim a stroke !" shrieked the woman, 
 wringing her hands, and appealing to the detach- 
 ment of scouts, of whose presence near the spot of 
 the tragedy she had just become aware.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 77 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 THAT was a time for rapid action, and not talk. 
 No one knew this better than the leader of the 
 Silver Fox Patrol. At the same time, if he wished 
 to render assistance to the imperiled lad it was 
 necessary that he give a few quick directions to his 
 chums, so they could all work together toward 
 that end. 
 
 "Allan, the rest of you hurry along and get be- 
 low ! Giraffe, back me up, will you ? I know what 
 you can do in cold water. We've just got to save 
 that boy, and that's all there is to it. Come along, 
 Giraffe." 
 
 The tall scout never hesitated for even a single 
 second. He understood that it would be necessary 
 for both of them to plunge into that flood of water, 
 cold from the melting snows further toward the 
 source of the river ; but Giraffe was known for his 
 boldness, and a little thing like that could not 
 frighten him. Why, on one occasion he had plunged 
 into a burning woods, and performed prodigies of 
 valor ; what was an ice- water bath to him but a little 
 episode ? 
 
 Both boys as they hurried toward the brink of 
 the river commenced to shed their outer garments, 
 having discarded other impedimenta like their
 
 78 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 haversacks the first thing. In this way Thad knew 
 he would be "killing two birds with one stone," for 
 they must be impeded with clinging clothes when 
 swimming; and after they came out it was bound 
 to feel very cold, so that these dry garments must 
 come in handy. 
 
 "Jump in here, Giraffe, and I'll drop down a 
 little further!" he shouted, as the two of them 
 came upon the river bank. 
 
 A quick look out on the rolling current had shown 
 him how affairs stood just then. He saw that the 
 frantic boy was clinging to the overturned boat, 
 which was swirling around in the eddies, and swing- 
 ing downstream at quite a rapid rate. He lost his 
 grip even as Thad looked, and the heart of the 
 scout seemed to leap into his throat with dread. 
 Then the boy somehow managed to regain his hold, 
 but he seemed to be so excited and frightened that 
 there was danger of his slipping away again at any 
 second; and being weakened by exposure the 
 chances of his once more recovering his slender 
 hold could not be worth much. 
 
 Thad did not waste a single second. He was 
 hurrying along even when taking this look toward 
 the scene of the catastrophe and figuring just where 
 to jump into the water at the same time. 
 
 In deciding this he had to take into considera- 
 tion the length of time that might ensue before he 
 could expect to push out to where the overturned 
 boat was going to pass; also the strength of the 
 current that was bringing the wreck down toward 
 him. 
 
 Although the water felt like ice when he started
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 79 
 
 in Thad did not allow that fact to bother him a 
 particle. He shot a glance upstream, and saw that 
 already Giraffe had reached deep water so that he 
 was compelled to swim. The sight of him buffeting 
 the waves gave Thad considerable satisfaction; 
 though he feared that the boy clinging to the slip- 
 pery bottom of the boat might disappear before 
 either of the intended rescuers could reach him. 
 
 Meanwhile the other six scouts had started on a 
 run down the road, it being the intention of Allan 
 to have them where they could render assistance 
 in getting the others ashore, because those in the 
 water would likely be exhausted, even if all went 
 well. 
 
 Then Thad reached a "step-off" and plunging in 
 over his head was compelled to swim for it, which 
 he did right valiantly, constantly keeping tabs on 
 the oncoming boat, and still hoping that the boy 
 might maintain his hold until either Giraffe or him- 
 self could lend a helping hand. 
 
 All at once he felt a chill that was not caused by 
 the icy water, for the poor fellow had again slipped 
 back into the churning water. But Thad and 
 Giraffe were closing in on him, with the latter in a 
 position to glimpse the still struggling lad ere he 
 finally went down. 
 
 With the crisis upon him Thad dived, while 
 Giraffe started to tread water, and hold himself in 
 readiness to help should his chum meet with any 
 success. It seemed an interminable time to the 
 lengthy scout before he saw Thad reappear. At 
 first he feared the patrol leader must have missed 
 connections with the drowning boy; and then he
 
 80 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 made the pleasing discovery to the contrary, for 
 Thad was gripping Johnny tightly with one arm, 
 as he swam with the other. 
 
 Giraffe shot toward him as fast as he could go, 
 and in another moment the two scouts were putting 
 into practice something that all scouts learn as a part 
 of their preparedness, when trying to rescue a com- 
 rade who has been seized with a cramp while swim- 
 ming holding the unconscious lad between them, 
 with his head kept well above the water, they started 
 toward the bank, swimming with sturdy and well- 
 regulated strokes. 
 
 When they drew near enough for one of the 
 others who had waded in up to his waist to reach 
 out a hand, it came easier; and in this way they 
 bore the rescued boy ashore. 
 
 Thad was already shivering with the cold, but 
 he kept his wits about him, and gave such orders 
 as he saw were necessary. 
 
 Allan and several of the other scouts were di- 
 rected to try and resuscitate the apparently drowned 
 boy; while Bumpus and Smithy started as big a 
 fire as they could manage, so that all of them might 
 warm up. 
 
 Meanwhile Thad and Giraffe jumped around, and 
 slapped their arms furiously in the endeavor to get 
 up a good circulation of blood. 
 
 The poor woman came upon them at this unfor- 
 tunate moment, while Allan kneeling over the wet 
 form of her boy was kneading his chest after the 
 most approved fashion known to life-savers; and a 
 couple of the other fellows were working his arms
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 81 
 
 back and forth above his head as though they 
 gripped pump-handles. 
 
 "Oh ! he's dead, my boy Johnny is dead !" wailed 
 the mother, starting to throw herself upon the 
 group ; when Bob White, although full of sympathy 
 for her harrowed feelings, knew that to stop the 
 proceedings just then might end what hope there 
 existed for saving a life. 
 
 Accordingly, he caught her in his arms, and in- 
 sisted in restraining her, at the same time speaking 
 words of hope and cheer. 
 
 "You mustn't interfere with them, ma'am," he 
 told her soothingly; "they've got the water out of 
 his lungs, and are trying to start artificial breath- 
 ing by pumping him that way. There's lots of hope 
 he'll come out all right, because he wasn't under the 
 water long. Why, I believe I saw his eyelid flutter 
 right then. Yes, suh, it did the same again. It's 
 a fact, and you're bringing him along handsomely, 
 fellows. So you see, ma'am, you're not going to 
 lose Johnny after all!" 
 
 The woman knelt there, awed, and watched the 
 slow recovery of her boy. After a little while he 
 began to breathe naturally; then his eyes opened, 
 and he even made an effort to struggle, possibly 
 being still impressed with the horror of his recent 
 peril. 
 
 Before that time the fire had got to burning splen- 
 didly, and both boys who had been in the river 
 crowded as close to the warmth as possible, feeling 
 much better on account of it. Thad, too, could 
 think again, and direct his chums what to do. One 
 of them ran to the cabin and came back with a
 
 82 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 blanket, which was wrapped around the now re- 
 covered but shivering Johnny; after which Step 
 Hen and Allan assisted the small boy to reach his 
 home, with the rejoicing mother following at their 
 heels, crying now, but with happiness. 
 
 Allan told her just what to do in order that no 
 ill effect, such as pneumonia, should follow the 
 immersion, and she promised to keep him in bed, 
 and give him warm liquid food until he was feeling 
 himself again. 
 
 When the two scouts turned to leave her the poor 
 woman kissed them both, much to their confusion; 
 for they felt that the thanks were due to Thad and 
 Giraffe, if anybody, since they were the ones who 
 had risked something in order to save the drown- 
 ing boy. 
 
 Of course this was going to detain them for per- 
 haps an hour, because those who had been in the 
 water wished to thoroughly dry their clothes, at 
 least such as they had taken with them into the 
 river. 
 
 Both had been wise enough to tear off leggins and 
 shoes before leaving the shore, as swimming would 
 have been next to impossible otherwise; and this 
 counted considerably in their favor now. 
 
 While they sat around the blaze, waiting until 
 Thad gave the signal for another start, the boys 
 thought it wise to make their noonday meal, so they 
 would not have to stop again. 
 
 Of course the talk was pretty much all upon the 
 subject of rescuing persons who were in danger of 
 being drowned ; and also of resuscitating those who
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 83 
 
 had been pulled out of the water apparently far 
 gone. 
 
 Thad, as usual, did not let the chance slip to de- 
 liver a few telling remarks connected with a knowl- 
 edge of certain kinds which all scouts are required 
 to attain before they can become shining lights in 
 the profession, or hope to rise to the position of 
 second or first class scouts. 
 
 "If there's one splendid thing this scout business 
 has done for boys above another," he went on to 
 say, as they sat around the fire, "I think it is the 
 fact that every tenderfoot has to learn how to swim 
 during his first season in camp. How many thou- 
 sands of lives might have been saved in the past 
 if all boys over eight years of age had been taught 
 how to keep themselves afloat in the water. If 
 the movement had never done a single thing more 
 than that it would deserve to be reckoned the finest 
 thing that ever happened for American youth." 
 
 "Yes," Giraffe went on to add, "and think how 
 many a fellow has been saved from drowning, just 
 as little Johnny here was, first by being taken from 
 the water, and then in having the spark of life 
 coaxed back. You worked that as fine as anything 
 I ever saw, Allan, and the rest of you. Thad and 
 me felt so shivery cold I'm afraid we couldn't have 
 done it alone by ourselves. A whole lot of the 
 credit goes to the rest of you, and we want you to 
 know that. It was a patrol rescue, and something 
 the boys of the Silver Fox can be proud of always." 
 
 That was just like Giraffe, who could be one of 
 the most generous-hearted fellows ever known when 
 he wanted to. That he felt considerable remorse
 
 -84 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 because of his reckless way of sending poor Bum- 
 pus into that field with the angry mother cow 
 had been patent to Thad early that morning, when 
 he saw Giraffe asking Bumpus to lean on him, after 
 the stout scout had mentioned the fact that he was 
 feeling somewhat stiff following his unusual ex- 
 ertions of the previous day. 
 
 "According to my notion," Step Hen broke in 
 with, "no boy should ever be allowed to go out in 
 a boat on the water unless he knows how to swim." 
 
 "I agree with you there, Step Hen," the patrol 
 leader added; "and yet how often you see boys 
 taking the greatest kind of chances, when if an 
 upset comes along they're as helpless as babies. 
 That mother has learned a lesson; and chances are 
 Johnny never goes in a boat again till he can swim 
 like a fish." 
 
 "But boys are not the only ones who take such 
 chances," Allan argued ; "why, in the days gone by 
 when nearly all ships were sailing vessels, and not 
 steamers, it wasn't a strange thing to find dozens 
 of old jack tars who had spent their whole lives 
 at sea, and yet never swam a stroke. It seems queer, 
 and hard to believe, but I've heard men tell that 
 who knew." 
 
 "Things are going to be different after this, 
 then," said Davy, "because every Boy Scout has got 
 to learn how to swim, or he'll stay a tenderfoot all 
 his days; and no one wants to do that, you know." 
 
 "What happened to the boat ; none of you thought 
 to rescue that at the same time?" Smithy wanted 
 to know. 
 
 "Oh! it wasn't worth saving," Giraffe told him;
 
 85- 
 
 "and after what happened, Johnny's mother would 
 never want to see it again. We had our hands too 
 full getting him to the bank to bother about that 
 cranky old junk. It'll bring up somewhere below, 
 like as not, or else float out on the Chesapeake Bay 
 around Havre de Grace, where they used to have 
 such great duck shooting years ago, because of 
 the wild celery beds that grew there." 
 
 Giraffe was fond of hunting, and knew con- 
 siderable in connection with his favorite sport, 
 which information he delighted to Impart to his- 
 chums at divers times and on sundry occasions. 
 Once upon a time he had been like most thought- 
 less boys, so intent on filling his gamebag, or catch- 
 ing a record number of fish, that slaughter counted 
 little with him ; but after joining the troop Giraffe- 
 had learned what a true sportsman should be, and 
 since then was never known to inflict needless pain, 
 or destroy game or game fish when they could not 
 be used for food. 
 
 These numerous useful things which scouts learn 
 have the knack of curbing the half savage instinct 
 that seems to repose within nearly all boys' breasts ; 
 and which they say must have descended to them 
 from far-back ancestors. 
 
 By the time lunch had been dispatched Thad and 
 Giraffe declared they were as good as new again, 
 since every particle of their clothes had been thor- 
 oughly dried. There was a general scrutiny on the 
 part of all hands, so as to make sure nothing had 
 been forgotten in the excitement. Thad had sent 
 several of them back over the ground, to pick up
 
 86 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 every object thrown aside in that mad scramble, 
 from guns and knapsacks to clothes and shoes. 
 
 Outside of a little delay, which they expected 
 would not matter much, they had not suffered in 
 the least because of this sudden and unexpected 
 call upon their services. And to have saved a hu- 
 man life was certainly worth ten times as much 
 as they had done. 
 
 Bumpus at a signal from the leader sounded his 
 bugle, and once more the little detachment of khaki^ 
 clad boys started along the river road, headed south- 
 east, and with a positive assurance that the man 
 whom they sought, the hobo wearing the old blue 
 army overcoat, was somewhere ahead of them. 
 
 In this manner they tramped for several miles, 
 constantly on the lookout for any signs of their 
 quarry. Thad frequently searched for the marked 
 footprint, and as often discovered it plainly marked 
 in the yielding mud close to the road ; so that they 
 had no fear of overlapping the fugitive. 
 
 It was about this time that Bumpus was heard 
 grumbling to himself. 
 
 "What's wrong now, Bumpus; want a little help 
 on account of that stiff leg?" asked Giraffe, turning 
 around. 
 
 " 'Taint that," returned the other quickly, as if 
 scorning to show signs of fatigue when the others 
 were capable of keeping up the pace. 
 
 "Well, what are you grunting about, then, tell 
 us?" demanded Step Hen, who was himself limping 
 a little, because of a pebble that had managed to 
 work into his shoe despite the protecting legging,
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 87 
 
 and hurt his foot before he bothered getting it 
 out. 
 
 "Why, you see," began Bumpus naively, "it's 
 started to rain at last, that's all!"
 
 88 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ANY PORT IN A STORM. 
 
 "HURRAH for Bumpus, who's made a first dis- 
 covery!" exclaimed Giraffe, pretending to show 
 great enthusiasm by waving his campaign hat about 
 his head. 
 
 "Well, I don't see that it's anything to laugh at," 
 Smithy was heard to remark, with a lugubrious 
 expression on his face; "if it comes down on us 
 while we're on the tramp, and without any sort of 
 protection, we'll soon be all mussed up, and in a 
 nice pickle. I'd be considerably better pleased to 
 have Bumpus discover the sun peeping out at us be- 
 fore setting." 
 
 "What can't be cured must be endured, you know, 
 Smithy," Thad told the former dandy of the troop, 
 who was every now and then showing traces of his 
 old faults, though he had been cured of numerous 
 shortcomings. "If it rains we'll have to get our 
 rubber ponchos over our shoulders, and then look 
 for a place to spend the night. Things are never 
 so bad but what you'll find they could be worse." 
 
 That indeed was the whole secret of Thad's suc- 
 cess, and the cheerful spirit he invariably displayed 
 when up against difficulties; and every boy who 
 makes up his mind to look at his troubles in the 
 same hopeful spirit will surely profit from such a
 
 89 
 
 course. Things are never at their worst, though 
 we may temporarily think so. The few drops that 
 came down did not last and as the scouts continued 
 to push along the river road they kept their eyes on 
 the watch for some valley farm, where they might 
 possibly find shelter against the coming storm. 
 
 It began to look as though they must have struck 
 a portion of the country where, for some unknown 
 reason, farms were few and far between, which is 
 not often the case along the picturesque Susque- 
 hanna, since most of the land is under some kind 
 of cultivation. 
 
 Thad even began to fear that as the evening was 
 now close at hand they might be compelled to aban- 
 don their hope of rinding a house, and use the little 
 time remaining in building some sort of rude shel- 
 ter. 
 
 The idea did not appeal very strongly to him, 
 because he knew that if a heavy downpour came 
 upon them it might last for twenty-four hours ; and 
 such a primitive camp would prove a dismal refuge 
 indeed, with no fire to cheer them, and dripping 
 trees all around, not to speak of a rapidly rising 
 river. 
 
 On this account he was determined to keep push- 
 ing on until the darkness became too dense to allow 
 further progress. When they found themselves up 
 against such a snag as this it would be time to con- 
 sider the last resort, which must consist of shelter 
 under some outcropping rocks, or a rustic hang- 
 out made of branches and every other sort of thing 
 available. 
 
 The boys were not talking so much latterly. It
 
 90 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 seemed as though they might be feeling too tired 
 for merriment, or else the increasing gravity of 
 their situation began to impress them. 
 
 One thing Thad regretted very much. This was 
 the fact that after the rain had come and gone they 
 could hardly expect to follow the man who wore 
 the old blue army coat by means of the tracks he 
 left behind him, for these would have been ut- 
 terly obliterated. They must then depend on in- 
 formation given by the inmates of such houses as 
 they came upon along the road. 
 
 "It's sure commencing to get dark, Thad," grum- 
 bled Giraffe, after a while, as if to explain why he 
 had stubbed his toe, when by rights all that clumsy 
 business was supposed to be monopolized by poor 
 Bumpus. 
 
 "That's partly because we happen to be passing 
 under a big patch of woods here on the right," the 
 patrol leader explained; "which helps to shut out 
 more or less of the light from the west. Over there 
 across the river the sky is so gloomy you couldn't 
 expect it to help out any." 
 
 "But inside of half an hour at the most it'll be 
 so black you can't see a hand before your face," 
 Step Hen observed. 
 
 "I suppose you mean we ought to be thinking 
 of stopping," Thad returned, "and I'm of the same 
 mind; but I hate to give up the hope of striking 
 some farm, where we could get another chance to 
 sleep in the haymow. But give me ten minutes 
 more, boys, and if we fail to strike what we want 
 I'll call a halt." 
 
 "Whew! I've got a hunch we're going to run
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 91 
 
 up against an experience before long that we won't 
 forget in a hurry, either !" volunteered Davy. 
 
 "Here, none of that croaking, Davy Jones!" 
 cried Bob White. "We've all been through so 
 much that it doesn't become any member of the 
 Silver Fox Patrol to show the white feather, suh." 
 
 "Nobody's thinking of doing that same, Bob 
 White," retorted Davy; "I was only trying to fig- 
 ure out what sort of a night we had ahead of us. 
 If it comes to knocking up against trouble, I reckon 
 I'm as able to hold up my end of the log as the next 
 one. My record will prove that." 
 
 "We're all in the same boat, Davy," Step Hen 
 told him, in order to "smooth his ruffled feathers," 
 as he called it. 
 
 "And I'll time you on that promise, Thad," re- 
 marked Allan, as he took out his little nickel watch, 
 and held it close up to his face in order to see where 
 the hands pointed, which action in itself proved the 
 contention of Giraffe that the daylight was cer- 
 tainly growing quite dim. 
 
 They continued to plod along, now and then some 
 one making a remark, and all of them looking con- 
 tinually to the right, in hopes that they might dis- 
 cover a haven of refuge in the shape of some sort 
 of house, they cared little how unpretentious it 
 might be. 
 
 Indeed, just then there was not one scout pres- 
 ent but who would have hailed the appearance of 
 even an old abandoned shanty having a leaky roof 
 with delight; for with their ingenuity a worn-out 
 roof could easily be made to shed rain; and a sup- 
 ply of firewood was to be gathered in a hurry.
 
 92 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 The formation of the country was not favorable 
 in one respect, and they failed to run across any- 
 thing in the shape of an outcropping ledge, under 
 which they might find shelter. This had saved 
 them from a ducking on more than one former 
 occasion, as they well remembered; but fortune 
 was not so kind to-day. 
 
 Minute after minute dragged on. 
 
 Once Allan even took out his watch, and ex- 
 amined its face, only to laugh. 
 
 "Beats all how you get fooled when you're count- 
 ing the minutes," he remarked. 
 
 "You mean we haven't been walking that ten 
 Thad allowed us?" asked Step Hen. 
 
 "Just six to the dot, boys," the timekeeper told 
 them. 
 
 "Oh! dear, I thought it was closer on half an 
 hour," sighed Bumpus, who was dragging his feet 
 along as though each one weighed a ton. "Four 
 whole minutes left! But Allan, mebbe that watch 
 of yours has stopped! I had one that used to play 
 tricks like that on me, 'specially in the mornings, 
 when by rights I ought to have been out of bed. It 
 was the most accommodating thing you ever saw; 
 I'd wake up, take a look and see it stood at a quar- 
 ter to seven, and then roll over for another little 
 snooze. Then I'd look again after a while, and 
 see it was still a quarter to seven, which allowed 
 me to have another nap. And when my dad came 
 up to ask me if I was sick, I'd tell him he'd have 
 to get me a better watch than that if he expected 
 me to rise promptly." 
 
 "And did he?" asked Davy.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 93 
 
 Bumpus shrugged his fat shoulders as he replied : 
 
 "I climb out of bed every morning now when a 
 great big alarm clock rattles away close to my ear. 
 Dad sets it there before he retires, and I can't chuck 
 it out of the window, either. So you see watches 
 go back on their best friends sometimes." 
 
 "Well, mine is running like a steam engine right 
 now," Allan remarked, "and the four minutes are 
 nearly down to three. Keep a stiff upper lip, 
 Bumpus, and the day's hike will soon be over, no 
 matter what the night brings." 
 
 That was the thing that bothered them all, for 
 the night was setting in so gloomily that it filled 
 their hearts with secret misgivings and forebodings. 
 The lonesomeness of their surroundings had some- 
 thing to do with this feeling, perhaps, although 
 these boys were used to camping out, and had in- 
 deed roughed it many times in far-distant regions, 
 where wild beasts roamed, and made the night 
 hideous with their tongues. 
 
 At least nothing of that kind might be expected 
 here along the peaceful Susquehanna. Their suf- 
 ferings were apt to come mostly from the severity 
 of the weather, and their unpreparedness to meet 
 a storm such as now threatened. 
 
 The three minutes had certainly dwindled to two, 
 and might be even approaching the last figure to 
 which their progress was limited, when suddenly 
 Giraffe gave a shout. 
 
 "We win, boys!" was the burden of his an- 
 nouncement; "because, as sure as you live, I 
 glimpsed a light ahead there. Look, you can see it 
 easy enough now. We're going to have a roof
 
 94 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 over our heads to-night, after all! What a lucky 
 thing it was you said ten minutes, Thad. Suppose, 
 now, you'd just notched it off with five, why, we'd 
 have missed connections, that's what !" 
 
 "But hold on, Giraffe, don't you see that light's 
 on the wrong side of the road," remonstrated Al- 
 lan. "It ought to be on the right, but instead it 
 lies close to the edge of the water. Now, no man 
 would be silly enough to build his farmhouse on 
 the river bank, where any spring rise might wash 
 it away." 
 
 "It must be a boat of some kind !" Thad now de- 
 clared; "yes, I can begin to get a glimpse of the 
 same through that thin screen of bushes." 
 
 "Wow! looks like a houseboat to me, boys, or 
 what out on the Ohio and the Mississippi they call 
 a shanty boat, which is a cabin built on a monitor or 
 float !" was what Step Hen announced. 
 
 "I believe you're right there, Step Hen," Allan 
 put in; "but no matter, any port in a storm; and 
 when a crowd of scouts are hard pushed they can 
 squeeze in small quarters. We'll fix it somehow 
 with the owner of that craft to let us pile in with 
 him till the clouds roll by." 
 
 All sorts of loud remarks followed, as the party 
 hastened their footsteps, some of the boys even 
 laughing, for the improved prospects made Bum- 
 pus and Smithy temporarily forget their troubles. 
 
 All of them quickly saw that the object of their 
 attention was really a clumsy-looking houseboat. 
 It seemed to be moored to the bank with a stout 
 rope, and, judging from the fact that a light shone 
 from a small window, it must be occupied.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 95 
 
 Laughing and jostling one another, the eight 
 boys pushed on. It was not so dark as yet but what 
 they could have been seen after passing the screen 
 of leafless bushes, had any one chanced to look out 
 of that window. 
 
 Thad led the way aboard. No dog barked, nor 
 did they hear any sort of a sound inside the cabin. 
 
 "Give 'em a knock, Thad!" said Step Hen. 
 
 This the patrol leader did, but there was no re- 
 ply. Thad waited half a minute, and, hearing noth- 
 ing, once more rapped his knuckles on the door. 
 
 "All asleep, or else up the road somewhere; 
 s'pose you open the door yourself, Thad!" sug- 
 gested Giraffe impatiently. 
 
 When he had knocked a third time, and received 
 no reply, Thad proceeded to open the cabin door, 
 after which the rest of the scouts were so eager 
 to enter that he was actually pushed ahead of them 
 into the place. 
 
 They stared around in bewilderment, for while 
 a small lamp was burning on a table screwed to 
 the wall on hinges, and some supper was cooking 
 on a small stove, there did not seem to be the first 
 sign of any human presence. There was something 
 so strange and uncanny about this that the scouts 
 looked at one another uneasily.
 
 96 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE DESERTED SHANTY BOAT. 
 
 "NOBODY home, Thad!" remarked Giraffe pres- 
 ently. 
 
 "It looks that way," admitted the patrol leader, 
 for the light of the little lamp allowed them to see 
 every part of the interior; and some of the scouts 
 had even bent down to look under the table, and 
 behind an old trunk, without result. 
 
 "If he's stepped out to go on an errand down the 
 road, where there may be some sort of a house, it 
 looks queer to me that he'd leave his supper cook- 
 ing on the stove here," and as Allan said this he 
 pushed back a frying pan that seemed to contain 
 fried potatoes so nearly done they would have 
 started to burn in a few more minutes. 
 
 "Gosh! don't this mystery beat everything!" 
 Bumpus was heard to mutter; and since the stout 
 scout seldom expressed himself forcibly it could 
 easily be understood that he was now well worked 
 up; at the same time he warmed his hands by the 
 fire, and even stooped down to take a closer whiff 
 of the cooking food which must have appealed irre- 
 sistibly to a hungry scout, who was also reckoned 
 a champion feeder. 
 
 "He'd better be hurrying back, then," Step Hen
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 97 
 
 interposed, "if he don't want to get his jacket wet, 
 because she's started in to rain, boys, you hear !" 
 
 Sure enough, they caught the increasing patter 
 of descending drops on the roof of the cabin, show- 
 ing that the long-delayed storm had broken bounds 
 at last 
 
 "Woof! talk to me about luck, we've got it in 
 big chunks," said Giraffe, grinning, as he relieved 
 himself of his haversack, and immediately began 
 to open the same, as though bent on considering 
 their own supper. 
 
 "How kind of the storm," said Smithy; "it held 
 off until we had run upon this haven of refuge. I 
 hope now the owner will allow us to stay with him 
 over night, for it would break my heart to have to 
 step out of this comfortable place into the nasty 
 wet." 
 
 "Don't worry, Smithy," asserted Giraffe; "it'd 
 have to be a charge of dynamite that'd hoist me 
 out of this. Possession is nine points of the law, 
 they say; and we're here to stay, even if we have 
 to pay three prices for accommodations. And I 
 want to tell you that with that jolly fire so handy 
 we'll be silly to delay getting our own supper 
 ready." 
 
 "Don't bother with what is on the stove," warned 
 Thad; "only shove it back, for when the owner of 
 the boat does come home he'll want it. Plenty of 
 room for our purpose, isn't there, boys?" 
 
 They assured him on this point, and then both 
 Giraffe and Bumpus busied themselves. The con- 
 tents of the various haversacks soon disclosed a 
 quantity of eatables, and the cooking of supper was
 
 98 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 deemed a "snap" by those in charge, since they had 
 the rare privilege of doing their work on a real 
 stove, with plenty of wood handy. 
 
 Let the rain beat upon the roof overhead, until 
 it made such a racket they had at times to fairly 
 shout in order to be heard who cared, with a cabin 
 to shield them from the fury of the storm? 
 
 Thad hardly anticipated that the absent owner 
 of the boat would return while the rain was com- 
 ing down in such torrents, though if it relaxed its 
 violence later on they might expect to see him. 
 Some of the other boys did not have quite so much 
 confidence, for whenever there was a sudden move- 
 ment of the boat, as some gust of wind struck the 
 upper end, the more nervous ones would hastily 
 .glance toward the door, as though half expecting to 
 see it thrown open, and an angry boatman push in, 
 demanding to know what they meant by taking pos- 
 session during his absence. 
 
 But supper was cooked and placed upon the table 
 without any interruption of this sort taking place. 
 There was not room for them all to gather around 
 the table; indeed, they filled the small cabin pretty 
 well, eight of them in space that was really in- 
 tended for two or three; but that did not interfere 
 with everyone getting his share of food, though he 
 had to sit cross-legged like a Turk on the floor to 
 devour it 
 
 All of them were in fairly high spirits now. The 
 solving of the problem as to where they were to find 
 shelter from the storm did considerable to lift them 
 to this plane. Then again the enjoyment they found 
 in satisfying their hunger with good things had
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 99 
 
 its share, as well as the warmth of the cabin, which 
 was certainly a feature worth considering. 
 
 Supper done, and still no let-up to the downfall 
 of rain, which was beating the liveliest kind of a 
 tattoo upon the roof. Thad was glad to discover 
 no signs of a leak anywhere, which spoke well for 
 the tidiness of the owner. 
 
 Giraffe, noticing how Thad looked up and 
 around, must have guessed what the other was 
 thinking about, to judge from the remark he made. 
 
 "No use talking, Thad, the chap who owns this 
 boat can't be that Irishman who when some one 
 asked him why he didn't mend his leaky roof said 
 that when the weather was dry he didn't think to 
 bother with it ; and when it rained why he couldn't 
 mend it. This one is as tight as a drum. We're 
 a lucky lot of scouts again ; and I'm only sorry that 
 the mysterious owner isn't here to enjoy the hos- 
 pitality of the shanty boat." 
 
 Once Thad walked over to the door, which he 
 found could be secured inside with a bar. It also 
 had a padlock on the outside, showing that it might 
 be the habit of the owner when he left his home for 
 a time to fasten it securely. 
 
 "I'm glad that padlock wasn't in use when we 
 struck here," remarked Allan, who had followed the 
 leader over. "We'd have been compelled to break 
 in, and that's a serious offense against the law, if 
 you're caught, though we'd have left money to pay 
 for our housing." 
 
 Thad opened the door, and they looked out into 
 the pitch darkness of the night, though neither of 
 them essayed to step beyond the sill. The storm
 
 100 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 was now in full blast, and the river seemed to be 
 rushing past the moored shanty boat with foam on 
 the little waves formed by the sweeping wind. 
 
 "Looks pretty ugly, doesn't it ?" said Thad. 
 
 "I never would have believed the Susquehanna 
 could get on such a rampage as this," Allan re- 
 marked in turn. "I always had an idea it was a 
 peaceful sort of river, with beautiful banks, and the 
 canal running along in places parallel to the river; 
 but I declare you'd think it was the big Mississippi 
 right now, what we can see of it, from the way our 
 light shines on the water." 
 
 "It's on the boom, you know," Thad told him, 
 "and there's an unusual amount of water in the 
 channel ; but from the way the rain's coming down 
 it'll be a flood before twenty-four hours, if ever 
 there was one along here." 
 
 "Lucky we struck a boat then, instead of some 
 shanty close to the bank ; because in that case, Thad, 
 we might have been washed away before morning, 
 as the river kept on rising a foot an hour perhaps." 
 
 Thad closed the door again. 
 
 "Looks a whole lot better inside than out," he ob- 
 served, "which makes me feel glad we're not cower- 
 ing under a branch shelter, and taking a ducking. 
 Even with the rubber blankets we couldn't expect to 
 keep half way dry when it's pelting down as steady 
 as that." 
 
 "I've been trying to figure out what happened 
 here," said Allan. "There was some man in this 
 cabin, and he was getting supper when we gave 
 that first shout. Now, it might be he looked out, 
 and glimpsing a bunch of fellows in khaki suits and
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 101 
 
 carrying guns, running this way, he thought we 
 were soldiers. He may have had some good reason 
 for not wanting to meet up with the State troops, 
 and so cut and ran for it. That's the thing I've 
 made my mind up to." 
 
 "And according to my way of thinking you're 
 close to the truth, Allan," he was told by the patrol 
 leader. 
 
 "I noticed that you dropped that bar in place, 
 Thad, after you'd shut the door ; what was the idea 
 of doing that?" 
 
 "Well, it doesn't seem to be just the right thing, 
 fastening a man's own door against him," laughed 
 the other; "but as we all want to get some sleep 
 to-night, being tired, I thought it might be best to 
 fix things so we'd have ample warning if the owner 
 of the boat did turn up. Let him knock, and we'll 
 be only too glad to open up; only we don't want 
 him to walk in on us and catch us napping. There's 
 no telling how unpleasant he might make it for us."" 
 
 This sound reasoning appealed favorably to Al- 
 lan. 
 
 "The window you see has got a stout iron bar 
 across it," he went on to say; "and a fellow would 
 have the time of his life trying to crawl through 
 such a small space ; so it's all right ; we can lie down 
 to sleep without worrying." 
 
 They were in fact pretty well played out, having 
 been up a good part of the previous night, it will 
 be remembered, and the day's tramp had been any- 
 thing but a picnic to certain members of the party 
 who need not be mentioned by name. 
 
 Accordingly, about an hour after they had fin-
 
 102 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 ished supper there began to be a movement on foot 
 looking to finding accommodations for spreading 
 Hankets on the hard floor of the cabin. 
 
 Space was somewhat at a premium, since there 
 were eight of the scouts. The owner of the shanty 
 boat had some sort of contraption in the way of a 
 cot which in the daytime could be fastened up 
 against the wall, and in this manner avoid taking 
 up a considerable amount of space, to be dropped 
 when needed. None of the boys considered for a 
 moment using that cot, all of them preferring to 
 make sure of the protection of their own clean 
 blankets on the floor. 
 
 Bumpus, while very tired, was afraid that he 
 might not get to sleep as easily as he would have 
 liked, because of the way his mind was worked 
 up. Giraffe, in talking about matters, had happened 
 to suggest that possibly the man owning the boat 
 may have been seized with a fit when he was stoop- 
 ing over to draw some water from the river in a 
 bucket, and had fallen overboard; and the thought 
 of such a terrible thing happening filled the mind 
 of tender-hearted Bumpus, who never liked to see 
 anyone suffer if he could help it. 
 
 But although the roar of the storm and the dash 
 of the waves against the side of the boat, causing it 
 to rock from time to time, bothered some of the 
 scouts in the beginning, they finally grew more ac- 
 customed to the chorus of sounds, and in the end 
 all of them slept as only exhausted boys may. 
 
 Thad had remained awake after the last of his 
 chums yielded to the drowsy feeling that overcame
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 103 
 
 them; but finally he, too, found forget fulness in 
 sleep. 
 
 He was aroused by some one clutching him des- 
 perately, and realized that Giraffe, who chanced to 
 have lain down alongside the leader, was calling his 
 name wildly. 
 
 All was darkness around them, for they had seen 
 fit to put out the little lamp, wishing to save the 
 oil as much as possible. The bellowing storm still 
 held full sway without, and while there had been 
 no thunder and lightning, as must have been the 
 case had it happened in midsummer, the forces of 
 Nature were fiercely contending, and combined to 
 make a terrible noise. 
 
 But Thad immediately became aware of the fact 
 that there was a new motion to the shanty boat on 
 which they had found such welcome refuge. It 
 rocked violently, and pitched very much after the 
 manner of a bucking broncho trying to unseat a 
 rider. 
 
 Thad could give a quick guess what this signi- 
 fied, though it chilled him to the very marrow to 
 realize the new horror that had come upon them. 
 
 The other boys were all aroused by now, even 
 Bumpus, who usually had to be rolled violently be- 
 fore he would open his eyes ; and their various ex- 
 clamations of alarm began to be heard all around 
 him in the gloom of the cabin interior. 
 
 "What is it, Thad?" 
 
 "My stars ! just feel the old boat jumping, would 
 you?" 
 
 "I'm beginning to be seasick already!" com- 
 plained Smithy.
 
 104 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "Thad, what d'ye think, has she broken away 
 from her moorings?" demanded Giraffe; and the 
 anxious listeners felt a shock when they heard the 
 patrol leader reply: 
 
 "I'm afraid that's just what's happened, boys, 
 and that we're adrift on the flood."
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 105 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ADRIFT ON THE FLOOD. 
 
 "WHAT can we do, Thad?" cried Bumpus, as a 
 lurch of the boat caused him to bang up against 
 some of the others. 
 
 "Hold on, don't smash me against the side of the 
 cabin, you elephant!" roared Davy, who had been 
 unfortunate enough to serve as a buffer for the 
 stout scout. 
 
 Thad struck a match, and somehow even the 
 small glow thus afforded seemed to give the boys 
 new cheer. 
 
 "Thank goodness the tin lamp hasn't been 
 knocked over and the glass broken !" said Step Hen, 
 as he reached out, and just saved the article in 
 question from slipping off the table. 
 
 "Here, let me put this match to the wick," said 
 Thad; "things won't seem quite so bad then as in 
 the pitch dark." 
 
 After that they fixed it so the precious tin lamp 
 could not be spilled; and so long as the oil held 
 out they meant to keep it burning. 
 
 When the door was opened so that they could 
 look out, it was a dreadful sight the scouts saw. All 
 before them lay heaving water, that had a sicken- 
 ing motion to it, but did not seem to be rushing 
 past as they had noticed it do before.
 
 106 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "Why, the old river's standing still, I do de- 
 clare!" cried the astonished Bumpus, as he thrust 
 his head out of the open doorway to see. 
 
 "It looks that way because we're moving along 
 with it, Bumpus," Giraffe told him; ordinarily the 
 tall scout would most likely have jeered scorn- 
 fully at the innocent for suspecting such a thing, but 
 now he seemed to feel that he owed Bumpus a debt 
 on account of the trick he had played, which could 
 only be paid by his being unusually kind. 
 
 "Can we do anything, Thad?" demanded Step 
 Hen. "Is there a push pole on board so some of us 
 might start the old tub back to the bank again?" 
 
 "There is one, but it seems to be broken, and 
 wouldn't be worth a continental cent in all this 
 flood," Thad told him. "Unless we feel desperate 
 enough to jump over and try to swim for it, we'll 
 have to stay aboard, and take our chances." 
 
 "Oh ! I hope now you won't decide to try that !" 
 s-aid Bumpus, whose failings were well known to 
 his chums, and a lack of the knowledge pertaining 
 to the art of swimming happened to be one of them. 
 
 Indeed, when they looked at that terrible water 
 all of the scouts shrank back, and not a single voice 
 was raised in favor of the plan. There might be 
 worse things even than finding themselves adrift 
 on the flood in a houseboat. 
 
 "Do you think that thick rope broke under the 
 strain, Thad?" asked Allan presently, as they still 
 stood there, looking out, not liking to close the door 
 lest something terrible happen to the boat, and all 
 of them be caught in the cabin to drown like rats 
 in a trap.
 
 107 
 
 "That's what must have happened, Allan, though 
 when I looked it over I thought it could stand any 
 sort of strain. But it must have been part rotten 
 in some part; and a rope's like a chain, you know, 
 only as strong as its weakest link or strand. But 
 no matter what the cause may have been, all we 
 have to think of is the effect. It's too late to pre- 
 vent the accident; and we'll hope the worst isn't 
 going to happen to us now." 
 
 "What d'ye mean by the worst, Thad?" asked 
 Bumpus, almost piteously. 
 
 "This river, you know, is full of rocks," ex- 
 plained the other. "In the summertime when the 
 water's low they stick tip everywhere; but in case 
 of a flood most of them are under water, and act 
 like snags to punch holes in boats that may be un- 
 lucky enough to be caught afloat. Then again 
 there's always danger of being crowded up on a 
 sliding shelf of rock, when the wind and the sweep 
 of the current might upset us all !" 
 
 "Gosh!" 
 
 After that last exclamation Bumpus remained 
 silent, but he certainly found plenty of food for 
 thought in what he had heard Thad say. Every 
 new lurch of the boat was apt to give him a fresh 
 quiver of anxiety. He kept his eyes fixed on Thad, 
 just as though he believed that if they were to be 
 saved at all, it must inevitably be through the in- 
 strumentality of the patrol leader. 
 
 It might readily be assumed that none of those 
 eight scouts would ever forget that wild voyage 
 down the flooded Susquehanna, in the inky dark- 
 ness of that Spring night. The floating shanty boat
 
 108 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 kept performing all manner of remarkable gyra- 
 tions under the influence of wind and waves. Some- 
 times one end would be upstream, and in a little 
 while the craft would spin around so that the door 
 had to be temporarily closed in order to keep the 
 driving rain from deluging them. 
 
 In the midst of this dreadful suspense they sud- 
 denly felt that their onward motion had ceased. At 
 the same time they discovered the forward part of 
 the boat to be rising. 
 
 "We're ashore!" shouted Giraffe, looking ready 
 to plunge out of the door and take any sort of a 
 ducking rather than stay aboard, to risk death in 
 the flood. 
 
 "Hold on!" cried Thad, clutching him just ir> 
 time to prevent any rashness; "you don't want to 
 leap before you look. There's water on this side 
 where the shore ought to be. I think the boat's 
 only shoved up on a sunken rock! If you jumped 
 now you'd find yourself in the river !" 
 
 "Yes, and she's swinging around right now, let 
 me tell you, Giraffe!" added Davy Jones; "look at 
 the other side coming up, would you ?" 
 
 "Oh! I hope she don't turn turtle, that's all!" 
 bellowed Bumpus ; "keep the door open, Thad, and 
 let me have a chance to get out if the worst comes, 
 because I need more time than the rest of you do." 
 
 Giraffe was seen to edge closer to the stout scout, 
 as though he had made up his mind to give Bum- 
 pus, who knew so little about swimming, all possi- 
 ble assistance should the worst come to pass. 
 
 "No dr.nger this time," sang out Thad, "for there
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 109 
 
 she slides off the rock, and our interrupted voyage 
 is on again." 
 
 True enough, the shanty boat began to move, 
 rocked violently for a brief period, and then seemed 
 to be floating once more along the rolling current 
 on an even keel, greatly to the relief of Bumpus, 
 who was holding his breath with the dreadful sus- 
 pense. 
 
 "How long do you suppose now we can keep sail- 
 ing like this?" Step Hen asked. 
 
 "If nothing happens to us until morning comes," 
 replied Triad, "we'll find some way to get ashore, 
 when we can see how to work." 
 
 "Sure thing!" added Davy. "But I hope now we 
 don't strike any old cataract or falls, where we'd 
 be swept over a dam, and get wrecked. Seems to 
 me I've heard of such things along the Susque- 
 hanna." 
 
 His words must have brought a new spasm of 
 alarm to the heart of Bumpus, for he clutched 
 Thad's sleeve, as though imploring him to set that 
 fear at rest. 
 
 "If there are," the patrol leader told them, "it 
 must be a good deal further upstream than where 
 we are. While the Susquehanna isn't called a 
 navigable river, except down near its mouth, where 
 it empties into the bay, it's an open stream for a 
 long distance. Don't bother thinking about mill- 
 dams and that sort of thing. The worst terror 
 we've got to face is the everlasting snags all around 
 us. If one punched a hole in the lower part of the 
 boat we'd be apt to sink." 
 
 "Wish we had life preservers, then," remarked
 
 110 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 Bumpus; "I thought every boat was compelled to 
 keep such things aboard." 
 
 "They are, if they carry a certain number of 
 passengers," Thad told him. 
 
 "Yes," added Giraffe, as he reached up and took 
 some small object from a shelf, where it had re- 
 mained all this while, in spite of the movements 
 of the boat, "and this craft was well provided, too, 
 for you can see that this is an empty bottle, the mate 
 to the one the tramps threw away. They all seem 
 to patronize the same brand around this section, 
 too, because it's as like that other flask as two 
 peas in a pod." 
 
 Thad looked at the emptied bottle, but made no 
 remark. Had Giraffe been observing the patrol 
 leader closely, however, instead of keeping his eyes 
 fixed on what he was exhibiting, he might have won- 
 dered what the little flash of intelligence passing 
 over Thad's face could mean, and whether the 
 other had conceived a sudden thought of some kind. 
 
 They must have entered upon a section of the 
 river where the cross currents became stronger than 
 ever, for the drifting shanty boat's progress became 
 more erratic. Several times the boys found them- 
 selves flung in a heap by an unheralded stoppage of 
 the boat, or an unusually wild movement sideways. 
 
 "Say, this is getting tougher and tougher the 
 further we go, and I must admit I don't fancy it 
 for a cent!" grumbled Step Hen, after he had 
 picked himself up for the third time and rubbed 
 his knees as though they pained him. 
 
 "The worst I ever met up with, suh!" declared 
 Bob White, steadying himself by clutching hold of
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 111 
 
 a hook that was fastened to the wall for some pur- 
 pose or other. 
 
 "Think of me," groaned Bumpus; ''when I come 
 down it's like a load of brick!" 
 
 "Yes, that's what I say," added Davy; " 'specially 
 to the fellow underneath you, Bumpus. Why don't 
 you sit down all the time, and save yourself the 
 trouble of falling so much? You nearly crunched 
 me last time." 
 
 "Yes, and it don't hurt him to fall the same way 
 it does me," Giraffe wanted the rest to know, "be- 
 cause he's padded all over like a football player." 
 
 Instead of diminishing, the erratic gyrations of 
 the whirling boat seemed to continually increase, if 
 such a thing were possible. Even Thad became 
 worried, for it was impossible to guess what would 
 happen next. Then again that impenetrable black- 
 ness with which they were enveloped on all sides 
 must be anything but reassuring to even the bravest 
 heart. If they could only see out, and prepare for 
 each new and surprising shock, it might not be quite 
 so bad. 
 
 Minutes dragged along until they seemed almost 
 like hours to the scouts who, imprisoned in that 
 small cabin, found themselves at the mercy and 
 sport of the flood that was pouring down the Sus- 
 quehanna. Why, sometimes it seemed to Bumpus 
 he must be living in the time of old Noah, and that 
 this was the ark of refuge, with the forty days of 
 solid rain beating down upon it. Yes, and he could 
 almost fancy that he had some of the animals that 
 were taken in, two by two, around him, judging 
 from the queer attitudes which Davy Jones was
 
 112 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 striking, for he was on all fours about half the 
 time. 
 
 Thad had figured out what they must do in case 
 of a wreck. This was to stand by the boat as long 
 as she remained afloat, and only strike out for the 
 shore in case of a complete collapse. He knew the 
 terrible risk all of them would run if they attempted 
 to swim that swollen stream, without daylight to 
 give them cheer, or show them their bearings; and 
 it was the last thing he wanted to try. 
 
 Perhaps nearly half an hour may have elapsed 
 since the boat had struck that sloping shelf of hid- 
 den rock, when once again the same experience came 
 upon them. 
 
 This time they seemed to have been driven with 
 such speed that the boat slid far up on the rock, 
 and immediately careened toward the larboard. 
 
 "We're going over this time, sure!" shouted Gi- 
 raffe ; and there was not one of his companions but 
 whose mind was filled with the same fear; for it 
 seemed as though nothing could prevent such a ca- 
 tastrophe from happening.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 113 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HEARTS COURAGEOUS. 
 
 IT was a time of terrible suspense as the boat 
 tilted so far on one side that one or two of the boys 
 slipped, and fell, as though they were straddling 
 a bobsled, and on a steep down grade. 
 
 Higher still reared the one side of the cabin, un- 
 til it seemed as though the hearts of some of the 
 boys were in their throats. 
 
 "Get on the other side, everybody, quick!" Thad 
 was shouting now, and the sound of his clarion 
 voice thrilled them as nothing else could have done. 
 
 It was not so easy to obey, such was the dread- 
 ful slope to the floor of the cabin ; but Giraffe gave 
 a helpful hand to struggling Bumpus, and on the 
 other side Allan fastened a good grip on the stout 
 one, so that between them both he was speedily 
 landed where he would do the most good. 
 
 Immediately the effect of this change of base be- 
 gan to make itself felt, for instead of continuing 
 to rear up, that side of the boat settled slowly back. 
 
 "She's slipping, and turning around!" cried Gi- 
 raffe; "we're going to get off the old turtle-back 
 rock, don't you forget it! Whoop!" 
 
 As he gave that last yell the shanty boat did in- 
 deed settle on an even keel, and once more there 
 was a buoyancy and motion to her. This told even
 
 114 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 Bumpus, who was not supposed to know a great 
 deal about boats, that they were free from all en- 
 tangling alliances, and once more racing madly 
 down the river at the mercy o'f the flood. 
 
 Such was the hysterical excitement under which 
 all were laboring that regardless of what might still 
 be awaiting them in the near future the boys be- 
 gan to yell, in order to relieve their pent-up feel- 
 ings. 
 
 They soon stopped that sort of thing, however, 
 when their first exultation had passed, for, as Bum- 
 pus remarked, "it was just to begin over again, and 
 perhaps get upset after all." 
 
 "Better keep that till we're safe ashore," Giraffe 
 went on to remark. "You know the old saying in 
 pioneer days used to be that an Indian never ought 
 to yell till he was in the woods; and a white man 
 till he was out of the woods. So we'll keep our 
 breath a while. It's all going to come out right, see 
 if it ain't." 
 
 Giraffe undoubtedly added these concluding re- 
 assuring words for the particular benefit of Bum- 
 pus, who was looking, as the tall scout privately in- 
 formed Step Hen back of his hand, "just as limp 
 as a dish rag, so to speak." 
 
 "I hope so, Giraffe; I surely hope so," the fat 
 scout told him. "Why, I believe I could face being 
 burned up in a forest fire better than being 
 drowned. It's always been an awful idea to me to 
 float along on the water, and have the little fishes 
 and turtles nibbling at you all the while. Thank 
 you for saying we've still got a fighting chance.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 115 
 
 Giraffe. It was kind of you, and I won't forget it, 
 either." 
 
 \\fhen Giraffe looked up he saw Thad nodding his 
 head toward him, and he knew the explanation of 
 the encouraging smile on the patrol leader's face. 
 It meant that Thad understood why he had taken 
 the trouble to say what he did, and wished to en- 
 courage all such efforts to the limit, as being worthy 
 of the best traditions of scoutcraft. 
 
 "Giraffe, will you do me a favor?" asked Davy, 
 after another period of alternate hope and fear had 
 passed by. 
 
 "To be sure I will, Davy, if it's in my power; 
 only I hope you won't ask me to jump overboard, 
 and try to tow the old tub ashore, or anything like 
 that." 
 
 "Just take a look at my head, please," suggested 
 the other, bending forward as he spoke. 
 
 "Well, I don't see that it's swelled any since the 
 last time," remarked Giraffe ; "and, besides, strikes 
 me you haven't been doing any great stunts lately 
 that'd be apt to make you have the big head. What- 
 ever do you want me to do, Davy?" 
 
 "Tell me if it's changed white," replied the other 
 pleadingly, "because I reckon the scares we've had 
 thrown into us this last half hour have sure been 
 enough to turn any poor fellow's hair. Will they 
 know me at home, if I'm ever lucky enough to get 
 back there again; or can I expect to have the door 
 shut in my face, and our old dog Tige chase me 
 over the back fence?" 
 
 "Oh! you haven't changed much," Giraffe as- 
 sured him, "except that there's an anxious look
 
 116 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 stamped on your face like it'd never come off again. 
 I'm surprised at you, Davy; why don't you grin 
 and bear it like I do? This is only going to be 
 another of our experiences, and before long you'll 
 look back at it, and laugh at the whole business. 
 Wheel there she rises again, fellows. Everybody 
 climb!" 
 
 They were becoming quite expert now with re- 
 gard to executing what Giraffe called a "flank 
 movement ;" for even Bumpus was able to scramble 
 up the sloping floor before anyone could take hold 
 of his arms. 
 
 Again they felt more or less concerned while the 
 boat hung in a state of uncertainty, as though un- 
 decided whether to keep on turning until the upset 
 came, or slide off again into deep water. 
 
 When the latter came to pass all of them breathed 
 easy again. 
 
 "And to think," said Smithy, taking a full breath, 
 "this sort of thing has got to continue for hours, 
 before morning comes. Why, we'll be out of our 
 minds, I'm afraid." 
 
 "We're lucky to have any minds at all, to go 
 out of," Giraffe told him. "Some fellows would 
 be that way to start with present company always 
 excepted, you know." 
 
 Giraffe was one of those kind of boys who would 
 have his little fling at a joke, no matter what sort 
 of a scrape he might be in. Such a buoyant nature 
 helped to keep the spirits of his comrades up, and 
 so far it was useful, at least. 
 
 "What time is it, anyway?" demanded Step Hen.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 117 
 
 "Seems to me we've been banging around like this 
 for a whole week or so." 
 
 "Five o'clock!" announced Allan. 
 
 "We ought to have daylight at seven, even on 
 such a bad morning," remarked Thad, "which 
 would mean about two more hours of it before we 
 can make any sort of a move to get ashore." 
 
 "Two whole hours!" sighed Bumpus, looking as 
 though he feared he would be mashed into a mere 
 pulp by that time. 
 
 "Let's try and forget our troubles," remarked 
 Giraffe; "suppose, now, Bumpus here could start 
 one of his jolly songs, and we'd all come in heavy 
 on the chorus. That'd be something worth while 
 remembering in future days, when we wanted folks 
 to know how scouts could face trouble bravely." 
 
 "Ugh!" cried Bumpus, starting up, "that makes 
 me think of stories I've read how the British crew 
 on the battleship Campertown lined up as she was 
 sinking, and with the band playing went down in 
 the ocean. Do you really think that's what's going 
 to happen to us here, Giraffe; and is it a funeral 
 dirge you want me to start?" 
 
 "Not a bit of it, but the liveliest song you know, 
 old fellow; so get busy, and it'll make us feel bet- 
 ter all around," the tall scout assured him. 
 
 Bumpus swallowed hard several times, as though 
 not at all sure about his voice, and then he started 
 in. At first there was a decided tremolo noticeable, 
 but as he went on he gained assurance, and pres- 
 ently was doing nobly. When the proper time came 
 for the chorus every one of them joined in, so that 
 the volume of sound must have arisen well above
 
 118 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 the noise of the rushing waters and the wild blasts 
 of the wind through the leafless trees ashore. 
 
 Had anyone by chance been within hearing dis- 
 tance and caught the clamor of boyish voices that 
 swelled forth from the cabin of that shanty boat, 
 drifting down on the bosom of the mighty flood, 
 they might well have been pardoned if they found 
 themselves wondering whether some asylum had 
 yielded up its inmates, the whole thing appeared so 
 remarkable. 
 
 Giraffe was right, and Thad, knowing it, had not 
 attempted to raise a hand to prevent the carrying 
 out of the singular compact. That song cheered 
 them up wonderfully indeed; by the time it was 
 ended even Bumpus felt quite sanguine that they 
 were bound to pass through the fresh trial un- 
 scathed. He was ready to carry on the good work 
 as long as his voice held out. 
 
 So he started a second school song that was 
 familiar to them, and being in better practice now, 
 they all did more justice to the theme. 
 
 It was interrupted by the surging boat striking 
 a rock, so that the sudden jar tumbled them in a 
 heap; but upon scrambling to their feet once more 
 the singing was taken up again as though nothing 
 had happened. 
 
 Thad was wondering whether any damage could 
 have been done when that last hard knock came 
 against the timbers of the boat. He did not know 
 what they could stand in the way of resistance. 
 They might be old, and weather-beaten, ready to 
 yield if harshly treated.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 119 
 
 And so, as his comrades sang on at a vociferous 
 rate, Thad was trying to discover whether there 
 were any signs of the boat foundering, which was 
 apt to happen in case of a puncture below the water 
 line. 
 
 Of course he could not make absolutely sure, but 
 so far as he was able to tell there did not seem to 
 be anything wrong; the boat floated as buoyantly 
 as before the collision. 
 
 When all of the boys found themselves getting 
 more or less hoarse from their strained singing 
 they stopped; but Bumpus by this time felt so 
 heartened that his next move was to clutch his be- 
 loved bugle, and proceed to run the gamut of 
 everything he knew, from military calls to " 'Way 
 Down on the Suwanee River," "Old Black Joe," 
 and a dozen other melodies that he could execute 
 with considerable feeling and sweetness on the sil- 
 ver-tongued instrument^ 
 
 In this fashion possibly another half hour passed. 
 When Smithy asked for the time, and they heard 
 Allan say there was still a terribly long spell ahead 
 of them, the scouts were at a loss to know just what 
 to do in order to forget their troubles, and make the 
 minutes seem to pass quickly. 
 
 They were spared the necessity of inventing some 
 way, for just then there came one of those sudden 
 halts in the forward progress of the drifting shanty 
 boat. 
 
 "Another snag!" shouted Giraffe, as though the 
 frequency of these mishaps was beginning to take 
 their terror away.
 
 120 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "But notice that this time we don't seem to tilt 
 over to one side; and it feels firmer, too!" Step 
 Hen wanted them to understand. 
 
 "Then chances are we're stuck here for a while, 
 till the river rises, and sets us free!" commented 
 Davy. 
 
 Allan and Thad exchanged significant looks. 
 
 "Do you think there's anything in that, Thad, or 
 can it be land?" asked the former, as he saw his 
 chum start for the door, which was partly open at 
 the time. 
 
 "The rain seems to have let up some, anyway!" 
 proclaimed Smithy, as though he did not want them 
 to think he was behind the rest in noticing things 
 worth while. 
 
 When the two scouts reached the door and thrust 
 their heads out, they saw the same old gloom there, 
 "thick enough to cut with a knife," as Giraffe would 
 have said. But Thad discovered something more. 
 
 "Look up against the sky, Allan!" he cried joy- 
 ously. 
 
 "Trees, as sure as you live!" shouted the other, 
 almost immediately. 
 
 "What's that you say?" roared Giraffe, pushing 
 alongside ; "trees, is it, and us out in the middle of 
 the flooded Susquehanna? How's that come, Thad? 
 Is this an old island we've bumped against?" 
 
 "I calculate that's just what it is, Giraffe," was 
 the reply of the patrol leader; and at hearing this 
 astonishing as well as pleasing news the rest of the 
 inmates of the cabin broke out into a shout that 
 under ordinary conditions might have been heard 
 a full mile away.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 121 
 
 "Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah, and a tiger!" was 
 what Giraffe called for and the cheers were giver 
 with a vim that took their breath awav.
 
 122 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE ISLAND OF HOPE. 
 
 "GiVE me the solid ground every time," Bumpus 
 burst out with; and from the broad grin on his 
 face, no longer pallid, it was easy to see that he 
 meant what he said. 
 
 "You need it!" Step Hen told him dryly, which 
 of course was a little thrust at the heft of the stout 
 scout. 
 
 "When do we expect to go ashore, Thad, may I 
 ask?" Smithy wanted to know. 
 
 "The rain is stopping, as sure as anything, and 
 that's one comfort," declared Davy, knowing the 
 aversion felt by the particular member of the patrol, 
 who belonged to the great Smith family, to get- 
 ting his nice suit wet. 
 
 "The best we can do," came the reply from the 
 chief of the expedition, "is to get our duffel ready, 
 and if there's any sign of the boat moving off, why 
 we could disembark in a big hurry." 
 
 "Granny governor! do you really think she may 
 take a sudden notion to start out again on another 
 cruise?" asked Bumpus, looking anxious. 
 
 "That's hard to say," he was told, "because it 
 depends a whole lot on what the wind does. It's 
 blowing great guns right now, but so long as it 
 holds down-river way I think the shanty boat will
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 123 
 
 stick here on this point. But there's a chance of it 
 changing more into the northwest, and then noth- 
 ing could hold the boat here." 
 
 "But couldn't we tie her up somehow to one of 
 those trees, you know?" demanded Smithy. 
 
 "Yes, if we had the cable to do it with," Thad 
 informed him. 
 
 "But there was a rope, seems to me?" contin- 
 ued Smithy. 
 
 "Take a look at it, Allan, and let's hear what you 
 think," said the leader. 
 
 At that Allan darted outside, despising the scanty 
 rain that was still coming down, though decreasing 
 constantly. Hardly had half a minute elapsed be- 
 fore the scout was back inside again. 
 
 "Well, what's doing?" asked Giraffe impatiently. 
 
 "There's a piece of cable there, all right," came 
 the reply; "I dragged it out of the water where it's 
 been ever since we broke away up above. Seems to 
 be a pretty hefty rope, too, even if it did give way 
 under that terrific strain; but for all that, boys, it 
 won't do." 
 
 "You mean there isn't enough of it, don't you, 
 Allan?" asked Thad, who apparently had foreseen 
 just such an answer. 
 
 "Lacks many feet of being worth while," replied 
 the other; "so you see, Smithy, a rope's something 
 we haven't got." 
 
 " 'A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse/ only 
 in this case it's a bully old half-inch cable we want 
 most of all," Giraffe asserted. 
 
 "Well, I think we'd better take Thad's advice, 
 and get our stuff together, so if it comes to a case
 
 124 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 of jump we'll be ready to skip out of this," Bumpus 
 remarked; for he evidently dreaded another siege 
 similar to the last, with the shanty boat whirling 
 down the agitated river, subject to innumerable 
 risks, such as kept one's heart jumping up toward 
 his throat in a most uncomfortable way, to say the 
 least. 
 
 It did not take them long to do this, for besides 
 their haversacks, blankets, guns, and the few cook- 
 ing utensils they had with them, their possessions 
 did not amount to much. 
 
 "How about the stuff aboard the old boat had 
 we ought to commandeer that ?" asked Giraffe, who 
 did dislike to see anything in the shape of food get 
 away from him, when it might just as well be saved. 
 
 "I should think we had a right to grab what food 
 there is. It don't amount to a great deal, and 
 we'd be only too glad to pay for the same if ever 
 we ran across the owner of the tub," ventured 
 Bumpus, also having an eye to the future, and a 
 strong dislike for the first gnawing of hunger. 
 
 They all looked to Thad to decide that point. 
 
 "Since the chances are the boat will either be 
 wrecked on some of these ugly jagged rocks that 
 lie in wait all along the course, or else fall into the 
 hands of boys who may be watching the flood for 
 driftwood and such stuff, it seems all right to me 
 to take what we want." 
 
 "The right of first discoverers!" remarked 
 Smithy grandly. 
 
 "There's a piece of breakfast bacon, suh, hanging 
 up behind the stove," quickly announced Bob White, 
 who apparently clung to the ways of his beloved
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 125 
 
 South, where the ordinary salt pork is always called 
 "bacon," and the smoked sides go under the name 
 he mentioned. 
 
 "And a package of grits as you call the fine 
 hominy corn, in that box under the table, Bob, 
 which ought to make you as happy as a king. What 
 more could a fellow from Dixieland want more 
 than hog and hominy?" Allan laughingly an- 
 nounced. 
 
 They gathered the things wanted near the door, 
 and every scout knew exactly what his identical 
 share of the burden was going to be. This was 
 done so that if there should be any need for a hur- 
 ried desertion of the boat there might not ensue 
 any disastrous confusion that would cost them 
 dearly. 
 
 "I reckon now the old cheese-box-on-a-raft would 
 turn out too heavy for us to drag any further up 
 on the shore, so even the wind couldn't take her 
 off?" Step Hen chanced to remark, after they had 
 finished their preparations for departure, and hud- 
 dled near the door, taking frequent observations 
 concerning the state of the weather outside. 
 
 "I'm afraid so," Thad returned, "though we 
 might give it a try when we do drop ashore, and see 
 what we can do>\ These scows weigh tons, you 
 know, and get logy in the bargain from being so 
 long in the water. We'd need a block and tackle to 
 manage it decently." 
 
 "Well, it's a pity we didn't think to bring one 
 along, then," commented innocent Smithy, at which 
 remark the rest set up a yell. 
 
 "I can see you staggering along with the whole
 
 126 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 outfit on your back, Smithy," he was told by Gi- 
 raffe; "why, the blocks alone would faze you, not 
 to mention the rope itself. If you've got a boat 
 to carry it in, then it's all right to have the same 
 along. But we started off light on this trip, you 
 remember." 
 
 "Like fun we did," grunted Bumpus ; "that pack 
 of mine weighs an awful lot ; and then the old cof- 
 fee pot keeps cracking my shins every time I trip. 
 But of course," he hastened to add, as though he 
 hoped they would not believe he was complaining, 
 "we couldn't think of going without our refreshing 
 Java for breakfasts. Life'd be pretty dreary to 
 Giraffe, and a few of the rest of us, if we didn't 
 have their favorite beverage mornings." 
 
 "But look out there, fellows, and tell me if you 
 don't think it's really getting some lighter," Step 
 Hen besought them. 
 
 "Well, you can see the trees a heap better than 
 before," admitted Giraffe; "but that might come 
 from our eyes getting more accustomed to looking 
 into the darkness." 
 
 "No, it's full time for day to break," they were 
 assured by Allan, who had immediately turned to- 
 ward the friendly little lamp so as to examine his 
 watch. 
 
 A general sigh as of relief followed this welcome 
 announcement. That had been a terribly long 
 night, and one those scouts were hot apt to forget 
 in a hurry. They may have been through consid- 
 erable in the way of adventure in the past, but some- 
 how that experience of being carried headlong 
 downstream on the wild flood, with frequent alarms
 
 as the boat struck treacherous shoals and half-hid- 
 den rocks, made a deep impression on their minds, 
 from the leader down to Bumpus. 
 
 "Do you think it's going to clear up?" asked 
 Smithy, who did not pretend to be a weather sharp, 
 and always depended on some of his mates when in 
 need of information along these lines. 
 
 "I don't believe it's raining a single drop now," 
 Davy informed them, after stepping outside on the 
 deck, and holding up his face to learn the truth. 
 
 "But it's just as gray overhead as ever," added 
 Giraffe, who could be a pessimist when he chose, 
 and always see the dark side of things. 
 
 "I move we have a bite to eat while we're waiting 
 for morning to come," suggested Allan; and from 
 the way both Giraffe and Bumpus started eagerly 
 up, as though they heartily approved of the idea, it 
 was plain that both of them had been thinking along 
 these same lines though not wishing to betray their 
 inclinations, for fear of having the finger of scorn 
 pointed at them. 
 
 The suggestion seemed to meet with popular 
 favor; at least it aroused no objections, for all of 
 them realized that with such a deluge, dry wood 
 was going to be a scarce commodity ashore for part 
 of the ensuing day at least; and it was only policy 
 for them to take advantage of the chance they had 
 of obtaining a splendid cooking fire aboard the boat. 
 
 The operation of preparing breakfast did not 
 take them a great while, for long experience made 
 them experts along these lines. And while they 
 were doing this the darkness without gradually 
 gave way to the gray dawn.
 
 128 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 While the immediate prospect ahead of them was 
 far from cheerful, it seemed such a vast improve- 
 ment over what they had recently faced that every 
 one of the eight boys felt ready to joke and laugh 
 as they partook of the meal. 
 
 Step Hen was up to his old tricks again, and ac- 
 cusing his chums of hiding some of his possessions 
 that afterward turned up in the very place he had 
 put them. It was generally that way, for Step Hen 
 forgot, which was his most cardinal sin. And even 
 when he found that he had his bandanna tied around 
 his neck, though tucked out of sight, after asking 
 Giraffe if he had purloined the same, he indignantly 
 wanted to k iow who had played that mean trick Cfi 
 him, so as to make him believe he had lost his most 
 cherished possession. 
 
 "Step Hen," said Giraffe gravely, "you make me 
 think of one of those pearl divers that go down in 
 the Indian Ocean for oysters. When a big shark 
 waits for him to rise from the bottom what does 
 the native do but stir up the sand, and make the 
 water so roily that the man-eater just can't see him 
 when he shoots to the surface." 
 
 "Oh ! so I'm a shark, am I ?" demanded Step Hen 
 indignantly. 
 
 "No, you're the smart pearl diver," retorted Gi- 
 raffe ; "for when you find yourself caught in a hole, 
 and that all the while you're wearing the lost hat 
 or the bandanna, you accuse us of having put it 
 there, so as to blind everybody's eyes." 
 
 "Yes," added Allan, with a laugh, "Step Hen is 
 like the thief being chased by a mob; and who yells 
 out at the top of his voice, 'Stop, thief !' so every-
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 129 
 
 body he meets will think he's the man who's been 
 robbed; and in the confusion he gets off. You're 
 the guilty one who poked that red rag under the 
 collar of your flannel shirt, and the less you say 
 about it the better." 
 
 Whereupon Step Hen, finding himself routed, 
 only grinned, and wisely held his peace, realizing 
 that the boys were "on to him," as Giraffe put it. 
 
 So breakfast was eaten, and at least they all felt 
 in better trim to face what new troubles the day 
 might bring in its train. 
 
 Bumpus would never be happy so long as they 
 remained aboard that clumsy craft. He haunted 
 the deck, and kept watching the rushing river, as 
 well as the way the furious wind blew. 
 
 Whenever a gust bore down upon them that 
 caused the boat to move he would hurry inside, 
 and give Thad a look of mute appeal that was very 
 forceful. It meant that Bumpus wanted the leader 
 to give the word to disembark. Though the island 
 presented but a dismal prospect for the castaways, 
 anything was better than running the risk of being 
 blown adrift again. And Bumpus did want to feel 
 solid ground under his feet again more than words 
 could say. 
 
 Thad, however, did not mean to desert their com- 
 fortable quarters so easily, and had made up his 
 mind to wait until the danger became more real and 
 apparent. This must all depend upon the force 
 and direction of the wind, which, however, all of 
 them could see was steadily veering toward the 
 northwest
 
 130 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 STILL SURROUNDED BY PERILS. 
 
 "WE'RE lucky to be here and not out there on 
 that water," Thad said, in the ear of the stout 
 scout, as he came upon him standing in the lee of 
 the cabin, and looking across the river, which 
 seemed very wide at this point, though probably 
 extremely shallow despite the flood. 
 
 "I should say we were," admitted Bumpus, shak- 
 ing his head. "Looks ugly, doesn't it, with the wind 
 flaws rushing over the water every little way, and 
 making a dark streak with each squall? But don't 
 you think she's still rising, Thad?" 
 
 "No doubt about it," he was told. "When I came 
 out here a while ago it stood six inches below that 
 black mark on the rock you can see there, and look 
 what it is now." 
 
 "Not more'n three," muttered Bumpus appre- 
 hensively; "but, Thad, you don't really think she's 
 going to keep on rising, and that some time the 
 whole island'll be covered, do you?" 
 
 Seeing what had been worrying Bumpus, Thad 
 did not do as was Giraffe's usual habit, add to his 
 fears by portentous suggestions. On the contrary 
 he sought to dissipate all such uneasy thoughts by 
 plain common sense. 
 
 "That could hardly happen, Burnpus," he told the
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 131 
 
 other plainly; "if you use your eyes you'll see the 
 land keeps on rising as it leaves the water, so that 
 it stands to reason there's quite an elevation about 
 the middle of the island. And as the rain has 
 stopped, with signs of the clouds breaking over in 
 the northwest, I figure that while the river may 
 continue to rise all day, the increase will get less 
 and less, so that by another morning it ought to be 
 back in its regular banks again." 
 
 "Well, I'm sure glad to hear you say that, Thad, 
 because, you know, I'm not near as spry as Davy 
 about climbing trees. He's a born monkey, if ever 
 there was one, and likes nothing better than to hang 
 by his toes from a limb fifty feet up. Now, I'd 
 look nice doing that, wouldn't I ? So what you tell 
 me eases my mind a whole lot." 
 
 "We ought to be feeling thankful we passed 
 through all we did without any serious accident," 
 Thad told him. "This flood may have caught a lot 
 of people not prepared, along the low lands of the 
 river, and I expect to see pig-pens and chicken 
 roops sailing past here to-day." 
 
 "Oh! and if we could only lasso some of those 
 coops, why, we might find a few feathered song- 
 birds inside the same, which would be a great addi- 
 tion to our menu while we're marooned on this 
 island," Bumpus suggested gleefully. 
 
 "But as we haven't any rope to use as a lariat," 
 Thad told him, "I'm afraid that lovely scheme won't 
 pan out very well. Still, I'm glad to see that you're 
 awake to the necessity of invention. Thinking up 
 things is going to do anyone lots of good, even if 
 there's no practical result."
 
 132 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "But what about the wind, Thad?" 
 
 "Still shifting, and going to do the business for 
 this old boat, sooner or later, if it keeps blowing 
 as hard as it is now," the patrol leader replied. 
 
 "I was thinking I'd like to be the first to set foot 
 on the island ; not that I'm afraid, I hope you'll be- 
 lieve, Thad; but just from a sort of sentimental 
 reason, you know." 
 
 "Well, chances are we'll all be doing it pretty 
 soon, Bumpus; so if you really want to, go ahead," 
 Thad told him, keeping a straight face while speak- 
 ing, but at the same time much amused, for he 
 knew that despite the solemn protest of his com- 
 panion Bumpus was very uneasy. 
 
 Ten minutes later and Giraffe called out : 
 
 "Say, what d'ye think, fellows, we've been left 
 in the lurch. Bumpus has deserted us, and is 
 camped ashore right now, spread his blanket out on 
 a log, and is sitting there like the king of the can- 
 nibal island. He must have felt the boat getting 
 wobbly, and thought he'd make sure not to be in 
 the last rush when she broke away." 
 
 "I told him to go ashore," Thad informed them; 
 "and I guess the rest of us would be wise to fol- 
 low his example. So get your stuff and come on, 
 the whole lot of you." 
 
 "I just hate to leave all that nice dry kindling 
 wood behind me," complained Giraffe, whose spe- 
 cialty was fires of any and all kinds, and who never 
 failed to keep an eye out for a chance to have one 
 started. 
 
 "All right, then, there's nothing to hinder you 
 from coming back after it," Thad told him. "Get
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 133 
 
 Step Hen or Davy to lend a hand. If we have to 
 stay on the island for twenty-four hours, more or 
 less, we might as well have all the comforts going, 
 and at that they won't swamp us." 
 
 "I'll do that same as sure as you live," asserted 
 the lengthy scout, pleased with the suggestion. 
 
 So after they deposited their belongings, together 
 with what they had appropriated from the owner's 
 scanty stock of food, Giraffe spoke up. 
 
 "Davy, Thad says you might go back with me 
 and help land something we can make good use of, 
 if the boat should be drifted away." 
 
 "What! you don't want the old cracked stove, I 
 hope?" ejaculated Davy, guessing that it must 
 have something to do with cooking, or Giraffe 
 would not be displaying so much eagerness about it. 
 
 "What ! me carry a stove on shore when I know 
 a dozen ways to cook on a regular camp fire ?" cried 
 the tall scout derisively ; "well, I should say nothing 
 doing along that line. But we'll have trouble get- 
 ting dry wood to start things with, and so Thad 
 says we might as well throw all that lot on shore 
 here." 
 
 Davy was a reasonable fellow, and he saw the 
 good sense of such a move at once; so he readily 
 agreed to go aboard the abandoned shanty boat 
 with Giraffe, and take possession of the fuel supply. 
 
 As the wind carried more or less spray across 
 the exposed place where the boys had landed, it 
 was later on agreed that they would do well to go 
 further ashore. The trees were bare, and there 
 would be no drip, as might have been the case in 
 summertime.
 
 134 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "Makes me think of a gypsy caravan on the 
 tramp!" Step Hen announced, after all of them were 
 on the move, laden down with their various bur- 
 dens, Giraffe even carrying a small package of 
 extra-fine kindling, with which he meant to start his 
 first fire, and Davy "toting" the old ax. 
 
 "But that wind is something fierce when it comes 
 with a rush and a roar," Smithy was saying, as he 
 watched some of the trees swaying under the blast; 
 "I hope now this isn't going to be a case of dodg- 
 ing one peril to hit another. You know there used 
 to be a rock and a whirlpool that the old Grecian 
 mariners dreaded, for if they missed being piled 
 up on Scylla, they had to run the risk of being 
 sucked into Charybdis. We call it 'jumping out of 
 the frying pan into the fire.' ' 
 
 "Now, whatever are you thinking about, 
 Smithy?" demanded Bumpus, who had been feeling 
 so well satisfied lately that he disliked to hear any 
 dark hints about new perils hovering over their 
 heads. 
 
 "We'll keep close by, Smithy, and be ready to 
 grab you if the wind tries to carry you away any 
 old time," Giraffe assured the other scout. 
 
 "Oh ! it isn't that, Giraffe ; I was only wondering 
 if one of those tall trees took a notion to topple 
 over while we were walking underneath it, why, 
 with all these bundles on our backs, we couldn't 
 very well get out of the way in time." 
 
 "Wheel that's so!" Bumpus admitted, as he be- 
 gan to turn his head from one side to the other in 
 the endeavor to cover the ground, without thinking
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 135 
 
 that the peril could only come from windward, if 
 it existed at all. 
 
 Now, while Thad hardly believed they had any- 
 thing to fear from this source, he did not think it 
 wise to take unnecessary chances; and even before 
 Smithy voiced his sentiments the patrol leader was 
 so shaping his course as to avoid every tree that 
 had a suspicious look. 
 
 "The one thing that keeps bothering me, outside 
 of our limited stock of provisions, which is always 
 a serious matter," Giraffe broke in at that moment, 
 "is the fact that all our fine tracking work counts 
 for nothing." 
 
 "I reckon, suh, you mean that we're bound to 
 lose the object of our chase'"' remarked Bob White. 
 
 "Why, yes, the hobo with the old blue army coat 
 is going to get such a start on us, before we escape 
 from this river trap, that we never will be able to 
 run him down. I'm sorry as anything, too, be- 
 cause I was hoping another big scoop was headed 
 our way. Now, we'll have to go home like so many 
 dogs, with their tails between their legs." 
 
 "Speak for yourself, Giraffe," declared Allan, 
 "because none of the rest of us feel a bit that way. 
 We've done the best we could, and no one is re- 
 sponsible when they run counter to a storm like 
 the one we've struck." 
 
 "Besides," added Thad, who did not like the way 
 the tall scout talked, "nobody but the judge really 
 knows a thing about our chase of that hobo who got 
 the old army coat from Mrs. Whittaker; and if we 
 fail to recover the same he isn't the one to give it 
 away. So we can say we had a great hike, got
 
 136 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 caught in a flood, and let it go at that. But all the 
 same I don't give up hopes of finding this Wan- 
 dering George yet." 
 
 "Which I'm glad to hear you say, suh," Bob 
 White admitted. "There's nothing like a sticker 
 in my estimation; and I can well remember plenty 
 of times when holding out to the bitter end brought 
 victory along." 
 
 "Oh! we've all got a touch of that in our make- 
 up, Bob," Giraffe told him; "even Bumpus here can 
 be as obstinate as a mule when he chooses. Just 
 yesterday I was trying to coax him to give me that 
 fine new waterproof match safe he carries, and d'ye 
 know he actually refused me three separate times." 
 
 "Oh! yes," commented Bumpus, hearing this, 
 "you make me think of the Irishman on the jury 
 who, when they were discharged for failing to 
 agree, upon being asked how it happened, said there 
 were eleven of the most pig-headed obstinate men 
 on that jury he ever saw, and that try as hard as he 
 could they refused to come around to his way of 
 thinking. If the shoe fits, Giraffe, put it on." 
 
 Giraffe laughed just as loud as any of them, for 
 he could at least enjoy a joke that was aimed at 
 himself, which was one of his best qualities. 
 
 The ground did seem to rise more or less the 
 further they got away from the northern end of the 
 island, just as Thad had told Bumpus when the lat- 
 ter member of the marooned patrol was expressing 
 his fears of being overwhelmed in the advancing 
 flood. 
 
 Now and then they had glimpses of the river, and 
 somehow they felt an irresistible temptation to gaze
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 137 
 
 out over the wind-swept water whenever the oppor- 
 tunity arose. 
 
 "Just look at that squall coming across, would 
 you?" ejaculated Bumpus; "why, it is scooping the 
 water up, and throwing it around like mist. Ain't 
 I glad we're on solid ground right now ? And wait 
 till it strikes the shore. Let me tell you it's a good 
 thing this island's firmly anchored, or it'd be blown 
 away. Hold tight to your hats, fellows, I warn 
 you!" 
 
 There was a sudden swoop, and a mighty roar, 
 as the squall broke among the trees around them. 
 When there came a startling crash the scouts hud- 
 dled together and stared in the direction of the 
 sound, being just in time to see one of the tallest 
 trees come toppling over, with a roar that seemed 
 to shake the ground beneath their very feet.
 
 138 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE RETURN OF GIRAFFE. 
 
 STANDING there, gripping their hats as the fierce 
 wind continued to sweep past, the scouts exchanged 
 serious looks. The fall of that tree had given them 
 a feeling of thankfulness that they were not under 
 it at the time. 
 
 "Oh! how that would have squashed us!" ex- 
 claimed Bumpus, when he could catch his breath. 
 
 "Do you know," ventured Smithy, "I had my eye 
 on that big chap, and was wondering whether he'd 
 hold up against the next squall. So you see I wasn't 
 so silly, after all, when I mentioned such a thing." 
 
 "Nobody said you were, Smithy," admitted Gi- 
 raffe; "but, Thad, how'd it do to stop near where 
 that tree crashed down?" 
 
 "Why do you pick out that place in particular?" 
 queried Step Hen. 
 
 "Oh! first of all they say lightning never strikes 
 twice in the same place, and so there'd be no danger 
 of another tree dropping on us. Then, again, don't 
 you understand what a lot of chopping it'll save us, 
 having all that good wood ready." 
 
 "Guess you're right about that, Giraffe," returned 
 Step Hen; "for it made an awful crash when it hit 
 the ground, and must have busted in many parts.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 139 
 
 It certainly takes you to think up all kinds of kinks 
 connected with fires and fuel supplies." 
 
 "Well, somebody's got to do the thinking for the 
 crowd, you know," returned the other, assuming an 
 air of importance; "and when others shirk their 
 duty it comes harder for us faithful members." 
 
 The patrol leader thought so much of Giraffe's 
 sensible suggestion that he gave the word for a 
 halt; and so they selected a place that looked as 
 though it would make a pretty decent camp. 
 
 Here their burdens were only too willingly 
 dropped. 
 
 "We get a fair amount of shelter from the wind, 
 you see," remarked Thad, as he looked around him. 
 
 "But, Thad, it took that tree over like a shot," 
 remonstrated Bumpus. 
 
 "Yes, because it had a clear sweep at its top," 
 he was told, "for these other trees are not nearly 
 so tall as the one that went down. Then if you 
 examine the stump you can see that it was rotten 
 at the heart, though it didn't show outside to any 
 extent. That's the way with lots of men who, as 
 they say, can smile and smile again, and yet be 
 villains." 
 
 "When we go to write up this trip for our log 
 book," Davy observed at this juncture, "I think it 
 ought to go down as a sort of Robinson Crusoe 
 story. Because right now we're wrecked on a 
 desert island, with a limited amount of stuff along, 
 and may be compelled to resort to all sorts of things 
 for a living." 
 
 "I wonder if there's any game over here to help 
 out, if we have to stay a long time?" ventured O'-
 
 140 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 raffe, the hunter instinct strong within him. 
 "Course we couldn't expect to find wild goats, like 
 Robinson did, but then there might be rabbits, and 
 even squirrels and raccoons." 
 
 "Ugh! I'd just like to see myself eating a part of 
 a raccoon!" exclaimed the particular scout, lifting 
 both hands to further indicate his disgust. 
 
 "Well, you may have that pleasure, if we stay 
 here long enough, Smithy," he was assured by Gi- 
 raffe; "now, as for me, I'd as soon partake of a 
 'coon as I would a young pig. 'Possum I know is 
 fine, and I reckon the other would go all right." 
 
 "And I happen to have several fishhooks in my 
 haversack that I forgot to remove after our last 
 trip, when we went South with Thad; so you see 
 we might pull in some fish if we got real hard 
 pressed," and Bumpus smiled contentedly as he 
 made this statement, for which he was applauded 
 by Giraffe and Davy. 
 
 "Speaking about Robinson Crusoe," said Thad, 
 "our case runs along a good deal like his for other 
 reasons than that we're stranded on an island. You 
 know he hewed out a boat so big that he couldn't 
 get it down to the water; and we've got one on our 
 hands so heavy that all of us couldn't budge her 
 an inch when we tried to drag the same further up 
 on the shore." 
 
 "Wonder if the case is going to keep on in paral- 
 lel lines," mused Bumpus; "for you know how old 
 Robinson found the footprints of savages on 
 the sand one morning. What if we do here on our 
 island?" 
 
 "Oh! shucks! what would we care, so long as
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 141 
 
 we're heavily armed, and eight of us all told, when 
 poor old Crusoe was alone? I'd give something 
 just to run across a footprint that wasn't made by 
 one of us, and that's straight, fellows." 
 
 No one doubted but what Giraffe meant every 
 word, for his boldness had never been reckoned 
 a questionable article. Indeed, on some occasions 
 he had even shown bravery bordering on reckless- 
 ness, so that the scout leader found it necessary to 
 take him to task. 
 
 Giraffe soon amused himself in taking stock of 
 their available supply of food, and listing the same 
 in his methodical way. He would soon know just 
 how many meals they could count on before being 
 Compelled to hustle for further supplies. 
 
 "Now, since we've never struck this island be- 
 fore, and ain't supposed to know a single thing 
 about what sort of animals inhabit it, if any, I'm 
 expecting to hang the eatables out of harm's way. 
 That's why I fetched this leavings of the old cable 
 along with me. I'll take time to unravel the kinks, 
 and untwist the windings, so in the end I'll have 
 quite a fine stout cord that's going to be mighty 
 useful in a whole lot of ways." 
 
 Giraffe was happy only when busily employed. 
 At other times he was apt to seem restless, and 
 much like a tiger pacing up and down in its cage. 
 
 They were making themselves as comfortable as 
 possible under the strange conditions that prevailed. 
 All scouts are drilled in the art of observation, and 
 constantly keeping their eyes on the alert in order 
 to better their situation. So it was first one fel- 
 low who would decide to do a thing this way; and
 
 142 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 then another would go him one better, always with 
 a spirit of healthy rivalry that was productive of 
 results. 
 
 "There's the sun!" announced Smithy suddenly, 
 for he had seen it glint on the agitated water far out 
 on the eastern side, where there was an opening in 
 the brush through which it was possible to glimpse 
 the river. 
 
 "Welcome, stranger!" called out Giraffe, dra- 
 matically saluting; "we hope your stay with us may 
 be long and happy." 
 
 "It feels real good, too, after so much gloomy 
 weather, and all that downpour," Bumpus declared, 
 as he opened his coat to let the warm rays strike 
 him more fully. 
 
 Giraffe of course had his fire going; life would 
 be shorn of much of its bright features if he were 
 prevented from pursuing his favorite hobby. The 
 old ax served to supply them with heavier fuel, 
 which seemed to burn splendidly after being in 
 part dried out. 
 
 Seeing Thad beckoning, the tall scout stepped 
 over beside him. 
 
 "Do you want to do an errand for me, Giraffe?" 
 asked the patrol leader. 
 
 "Every time, if only you don't ask me to walk on 
 the water to the shore, which is a little more than I 
 can manage," replied the other promptly. 
 
 "I'll tell you about an idea that struck me all of a 
 sudden, as I was sitting on this log here," an- 
 nounced Thad. "I hardly know what put it in my 
 mind to think of that shanty boat again. Perhaps 
 it was our joshing about what Robinson Crusoe
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 143 
 
 would be likely to do, if he found himself located 
 like we are. But no matter, I suddenly remembered 
 I had meant to examine that boat better, and then it 
 happened that something put it out of my mind." 
 
 "Examine the shanty boat better, do you mean, 
 Thad?" 
 
 "Yes. I remembered noticing what looked like a 
 square consisting of plain cracks, on the floor of the 
 cabin. The more I get to thinking of it, Giraffe, 
 the stronger it strikes me that there may be some 
 sort of trap door there. The boat must be hollow, 
 that stands to reason, and if the water could be 
 kept from getting in, such a place would be a good 
 hiding-place. 
 
 "Gee whiz ! do you mean for extra grub supplies, 
 or something else, Thad?" 
 
 "I was thinking of something else," came the re- 
 ply. "You remember how we found supper cook- 
 ing on the stove when we broke into that boat cabin, 
 yet never a solitary soul around? Well, supposing 
 the man who was doing the cooking heard us when 
 we let out those wild yells, and seeing soldiers com- 
 ing down on him like wild cats, he just dodged be- 
 low, and stayed there?" 
 
 "You mean all night long, Thad ?" 
 
 "Yes, right up to the time we left the boat this 
 morning," the patrol leader went on to say solemnly. 
 
 "But could he stand it all that time?" asked Gi- 
 raffe dubiously. 
 
 "It may not have been the most comfortable 
 thing going," admitted Thad; "but a fellow can 
 stand for a whole lot when he just has to." 
 
 "You mean he'd do it, rather than risk coming
 
 144 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 out, and being gobbled up by the militia, is that it, 
 Thad?" 
 
 "You've caught my idea, Giraffe." 
 
 "But, Thad, just think how he must have suf- 
 fered all the while we rocked in the cradle of the 
 deep like we did?" ventured the other, shaking his 
 head as though he could hardly bring himself to be- 
 lieve it possible. 
 
 "It would take a good deal of grit to hold out, 
 for a fact, but then he might be so much afraid of 
 arrest that of two evils he chose the lesser," Thad 
 continued. 
 
 "And what do you want me to do?" queried the 
 tall scout. 
 
 "Just go to where we left the boat, and see if 
 those cracks mean some sort of trap leading to the 
 hold of the float. Be careful how you open it, be- 
 cause if the owner is hiding in there he may try to 
 do something desperate. Perhaps you'd better take 
 Step Hen along with you." 
 
 "Guess not, unless you insist, Thad. I'll carry 
 a gun, and with that I'll be equal to any refugee that 
 ever walked on two legs." 
 
 Giraffe liked nothing better than to be dispatched 
 on a mission of this kind. He said nothing to any 
 of the others, only picked up his gun, sang out to 
 Bumpus not to let the fire die down for lack of 
 fresh wood, and then walked away. 
 
 Some of the rest looked after him curiously, and 
 wondered what he was up to ; but as Step Hen had 
 seen him in consultation with Thad he told them 
 it was none of their business, but that the tall scout
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 145 
 
 had undoubtedly been sent off on an 'errand by the 
 commander. 
 
 Bumpus, feeling a certain sense of responsibility 
 on account of having been especially designated as 
 the guardian of the fire, took it upon himself to 
 make certain that there was a plentiful supply of 
 wood handy. It was a comical sight to see him 
 swing the old ax, and hear him give a loud grunt 
 every time he sent it home. But nevertheless he 
 managed to keep things going, for he was very per- 
 sistent, and hated to let any object escape him, once 
 he had set his mind on accomplishing the same. 
 
 It was perhaps fifteen minutes later that they 
 heard a shout, and looking up discovered some one 
 running toward them, waving his arms wildly. 
 
 "There comes Giraffe, like hot cakes," announced 
 Bumpus. 
 
 "And he looks wild in the bargain," added Step 
 Hen. "I wonder now has he run on any savages 
 getting ready for a feast like the ones Robinson 
 saw." 
 
 "Oh! you're only fooling, I know, because sav- 
 ages couldn't be here along the Susquehanna !" ex- 
 claimed Bumpus ; but nevertheless he began to show 
 signs of fresh anxiety; and waited for the runner 
 to come up, with a thousand questions in his man- 
 ner. 
 
 So Giraffe came along, slackening his pace as he 
 drew near, for he was breathing hard, and casting 
 occasional glances back of him, which latter action 
 in itself was sufficient cause for Bumpus to believe 
 he must have been chased by some one.
 
 146 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "What is it, Giraffe?" he called out, even before 
 the other had arrived. 
 
 "Yes, tell us what ails you, and why you've been 
 running so fast?" Step Hen went on to say, as they 
 all crowded around the panting runner. 

 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 147 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 WHAT DAVY HEARD. 
 
 "You guessed right, Thad!" said Giraffe, look- 
 ing toward the patrol leader. 
 
 "About what?" demanded Step Hen. 
 
 "Why, that it'd be dangerous for us to try and 
 stick to the old bug of a shanty boat, with all that 
 wind blowing," came the reply. 
 
 "Has she gone, Giraffe?" demanded Thad 
 quickly, and the other nodded eagerly. 
 
 "Cleaned out, as sure as anything, and not a sign 
 of her around, as far as I could see," he went on to 
 explain. 
 
 "Then it must have been the great big blast that 
 set her adrift," Davy added, doing his best to ex- 
 plain the mystery. "It was enough to whip her 
 off the shore, with the water rising all the while. 
 Well, that settles it for us.;' 
 
 "How does it, Davy?" pleaded Bumpus. 
 
 "I mean we're Crusoes at last, and the last link 
 binding us to our beloved home is swept away," 
 the other continued, for the especial benefit of Bum- 
 pus, who was apt to take things too literally. 
 
 "Enough of that, Davy," Thad broke in with; 
 "you know we didn't take so much stock in that 
 clumsy boat, after all. It's true we did talk about
 
 148 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 cutting some long setting-poles, and trying to make 
 the shore when the water went down, but there will 
 be other ways to reach the mainland when we're 
 ready, never you fear. Tell us about it, Giraffe." 
 
 "Why, I took my time about getting there, you 
 see, because I knew there wasn't any need of hurry- 
 ing, as we couldn't do a thing to-day. Besides, 
 Thad, I wanted to look around a little on the way, 
 and find out if there was any sort of game on our 
 little island. Well, there is, and I reckon, what with 
 our guns and snares, we could keep ourselves from 
 starving to death for a long while." 
 
 "Good!" muttered Bumpus, as though that im- 
 portant statement removed a certain dreadful fear 
 that may have been haunting him for quite some 
 time. 
 
 "Yes," continued the other scout glibly, "I saw 
 two rabbits at different times, and a number of 
 nut-crackers of the gray order, fine big chaps too, 
 that would make a fine squirrel stew, let me tell 
 you. They must have come out here at some time 
 in the summer, when the water was awful low, 
 and this island connected with the main shore on 
 one side by an isthmus." 
 
 "That's the explanation, I expect," assented Al- 
 lan, who was always very much interested in all 
 things concerning wild animal migration. 
 
 "But about the boat, Giraffe?" reminded Thad. 
 
 "Oh! yes, that's so. I started in to tell you how 
 I found out she was gone from that point where 
 we left her a while back, didn't I? Well, after 
 I got to the place where you come right out of 
 the woods and sight the point I began to rub my
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 
 
 eyes, because I couldn't believe I was seeing straight, 
 for there wasn't any boat on that shore at all, not 
 the first sign of one. Of course I knew right away 
 what had happened, and that it must have been 
 the extra big squall coming out of the northwest 
 that had driven her off." 
 
 "Then you hurried back to bring us the news, 
 didn't you?" continued Thad. 
 
 "Say, I just Hew, because I thought the sooner 
 you knew about it the better. And so we're prison- 
 ers on the island now, without any kind of a boat 
 to take us off. We may have to wade or swim after 
 the tide goes down again." 
 
 "I don't suppose you stopped to take a look, and 
 see if there were any tracks around?" the patrol 
 leader continued. 
 
 "Tracks what of, the keel of the shanty boat?" 
 asked Giraffe. "Oh! the splash of the water would 
 have washed all those out easy, so what was the 
 use? We know she's gone, and that covers the 
 whole bill. By now, what with that wind and cur- 
 rent, if she hasn't been stove in on some rock, 
 the shanty boat must be five or ten miles down the 
 river, and booming along, all the while spinning 
 around like a top. Wheel I'm tickled to death to- 
 know I'm not aboard her right now." 
 
 "So say we all of us!" roared several of the 
 scouts in unison, showing how they felt about the 
 matter. 
 
 "How about making a shelter?" asked Giraffe, 
 his woodsman spirit aroused ; which remark proved 
 that he must have been pondering over these things
 
 150 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 while on the way to the upper end of the island 
 and back. 
 
 "We were talking that over while you were gone," 
 said Thad, "and came to the conclusion that while 
 we might try and put up some little cover good 
 enough for one night, which would keep the dew 
 off, even without the use of our ponchos, it would 
 hardly pay us to go to any great trouble." 
 
 "But what if we have to stay out here a long 
 time ?" continued Giraffe, whose whole manner told 
 that he would not object in the least, as long as 
 the eating was fairly good; and that the Easter 
 vacation could be indefinitely prolonged so far as 
 he was concerned. 
 
 "Well, we don't intend to, and that's all there is 
 to it," Sten Hen assured him. "Of course we have 
 to put in one night; but that ought to be all. The 
 river will fall nearly as fast as it rose ; and already 
 Thad's thinking up some scheme that's going to 
 take us ashore." 
 
 "Any wings to it, Thad?" asked Giraffe laugh- 
 ingly; "or shall we make a balloon, and go flying 
 over Cranford, to make the folks' eyes stick out 
 of their heads with wondering what those frisky 
 Silver Fox scouts will be doing next, to get them- 
 selves in the spotlight?" 
 
 "Oh! I haven't had time enough yet to get to 
 that," Thad told him; "just give me a chance to 
 sleep over it first. But Step Hen is perfectly right 
 when he says we haven't the least intention of being 
 cooped up here many days. Besides, unless we do 
 get a move on us pretty soon, we'll have to turn 
 back home and get ready to go to school, instead
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 151 
 
 of recovering the judge's treasured army coat for 
 him." 
 
 "School!" repeated Bumpus; "my goodness! is 
 there really such a place? Why, seems to me it's 
 been an age since I recited a lesson. Just the 
 thought of it makes me feel sad. But if we did 
 have to camp out here for a couple of weeks we'd 
 miss some hunky-dory good times in Cranford. The 
 barn dance comes off next week, you know. And 
 every one of us, I reckon, has promised to take 
 somebody. Oh! we've just got to be home before 
 then, Thad. Think what Sadie Bradley'd do if you 
 gave her the mitten; and then how about Giraffe's 
 roly-poly sister, Polly, Allan; are you ready to 
 forsake her? Perish the thought; the boys of the 
 Silver Fox Patrol never were quitters, were they?" 
 
 Giraffe, whatever he may have thought about 
 staying on the island as long as they could stand 
 it, seeing that popular sentiment was against him, 
 showed enough wisdom to quiet down. Possibly 
 he may not have been one-half as bent on such a 
 course himself as he made out; for Giraffe was 
 notoriously shrewd, and fond of playing all man- 
 ner of jokes. 
 
 They lounged around, some of them engaged in 
 accomplishing certain things, but in the main con- 
 tent to lie on their blankets, with a poncho under- 
 neath to keep the dampness off. This was on 
 account of the fact that they had been cheated out 
 of considerable sleep lately, and felt the need of it. 
 
 Later on Thad commenced to make a bough shel- 
 ter, with the assistance of several of the others. 
 In summer time this is readily done, but when the
 
 152 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 leaves are off most of the trees it is not so eas> 
 a task. 
 
 By selecting hemlock and other trees that would 
 afford a dense covering they managed by degrees 
 to build up quite a shelter, under which they might 
 lie without running much risk of being wet by 
 the dews. And after the recent heavy storm all 
 of the weather prophets seemed fully agreed that 
 the air had surely been cleared, so that another rain 
 was not apt to come along for some time at least. 
 
 Noon came and went. 
 
 They cooked a warm meal, thus reducing the 
 amount of provisions on hand; but the result was 
 worth all the sacrifice, Giraffe and Bumpus de- 
 clared, as they lay on the ground afterward, hardly 
 able to move on account of the full dinner of which 
 they had partaken. 
 
 "Three more meals like that, and then the 
 deluge!" said Giraffe; "but who cares for expenses? 
 Gimme two cents' worth of gingersnaps, as the coun- 
 try boy said when he wanted the girls in the store 
 to see what a high roller he could be. If our plans 
 turn out O. K. we hope to be where we can buy 
 a dinner for hard cash by that time. No need of 
 worrying any; keep a doin' the smile-that-won't- 
 come-off business. We belong to the Little Sun- 
 shine Club, don't we, boys?" 
 
 Most of them were there in the bunch, and as 
 usual all trying to talk at once. Davy alone sat off 
 to one side, and seemed to be trying to shut out 
 the chatter, while he wrote in his private log book 
 an account of their recent adventures. 
 
 "How did the grits go, Bob?" asked Bumpus,
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 153 
 
 who, in order to please the Southern boy, had pre- 
 pared a kettle of fine hominy, to which the other 
 had certainly done full justice, if his three help- 
 ings counted for anything. 
 
 "Simply immense, suh, and no mistake about it," 
 came the hearty reply; "some of you wonder how 
 it is every Southerner loves that good old dish, 
 and I confess that I'm unable to supply the ex- 
 planation. I only know it fo' a fact; and that 
 somehow they all say it seems to bring befo' their 
 minds' eye a picture of hanging moss, orange trees, 
 cotton in the field, magnolias in bloom on the green 
 trees, and all sorts of other things connected with 
 the South they love." 
 
 "I don't think there's a part of this Union one- 
 half so fond of their section of the country as you 
 Southerners are, Bob," Allan asserted. 
 
 "I reckon you're about right, suh, when you 
 say that. It's always been that way with us befo' 
 the war and since. But Davy's beckoning to you, 
 Thad." 
 
 "Well, I declare, what do you think of that for 
 pure nerve?" muttered Giraffe, as he saw the 
 scout in question crooking his finger, and nodding 
 to the patrol leader, as though asking him to come 
 over; "if the mountain won't come to Mahomet, 
 he has to go to the mountain. But whatever d'ye 
 imagine ails Davy now? He don't look sick, and 
 in need of medicine, because he ate nearly as big 
 a dinner as well, as Bumpus here did." 
 
 "Speak for yourself, John Alden," retorted the 
 stout boy scornfully. 
 
 Thad understood that Davy wished to say some-
 
 154 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 thing privately, and on this account he did not hesi- 
 tate to get up and move over to where the other 
 was sitting with his log book in his hand. 
 
 He saw that Davy had a puzzled expression on 
 his face, and from this judged he had run across 
 some sort of enigma which he wanted the patrol 
 leader to help him solve. As Thad was accustomed 
 to this sort of thing, he did not think it strange, 
 though naturally feeling some curiosity concerning 
 the matter. 
 
 "Want to see me, Davy?" he asked, as he care- 
 lessly dropped alongside the other. 
 
 "Why, we're all here, ain't we, Thad, the whole 
 patrol I mean?" Davy began. 
 
 "Count noses, and you'll find there are just eight 
 of us, which covers the bill," Thad told him. 
 
 "Wfiile you-all were talking there did you hear 
 anything queer?" continued Davy. 
 
 "Not that could be noticed," Thad told him. 
 "There were times when the boys made so much 
 noise that it was hard for me to hear anything 
 besides. Did you catch any suspicious sound, 
 Davy?" 
 
 The other immediately nodded, and went on to 
 say, at the same time casting a quick look all around 
 him: 
 
 "Thad, I sure did. I was sitting here writing, 
 and paying no attention to what the fellows were 
 squabbling about, when all at once it came, as 
 plain as anything, and right from over yonder," 
 with which he pointed across the island. 
 
 "Was it the bark of a dog, the mewing of a cat,
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 155 
 
 the bray of a donkey, or the neighing of a horse, 
 Davy?" asked Thad, smiling. 
 
 "Nixey, not any of those, Thad," replied the 
 other solemnly; "but as sure as I'm sitting here it 
 sounded like a shout in a human voice!"
 
 156 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 LOOKING FOR SIGNS. 
 
 "You mean you think you heard some one shout- 
 ing, do you?" asked Thad, apparently unmoved, 
 though truth to tell he considered this new infor- 
 mation of considerable importance. 
 
 "That's what I want you to understand, Thad." 
 
 "Could you make out what was said?" continued 
 the patrol leader, anxious to get at the kernel of 
 the matter as soon as possible. 
 
 "Well, no, I don't believe I did ; but it just struck 
 me it was a yell, like anybody would let out if 
 something happened to give him a shock. I reckon 
 that's what I'd be apt to do if a rattlesnake jumped 
 at me, and I dodged back." 
 
 "Well," continued Thad confidently, "there 
 couldn't be any rattlesnake here on this island, I 
 should think, and even if that was so, snakes never 
 come out so early in the season. But Davy, do you 
 think you could tell which direction the shout 
 seemed to come from?" 
 
 "Just where I pointed, over there to the east, 
 which is the side of the island. Now, if there's 
 somebody out here besides us, who could it be?" 
 and Davy asked this question with the confidence 
 the scouts had come to put in their leader, whom 
 they apparently expected to know everything. 
 
 "Oh! it might be some fisherman who had a hut
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 157 
 
 here; or even a fugitive from justice, hiding from 
 the officers. You know we've run across things 
 like that. Once we even met up with a crazy man 
 who had broken out of an asylum, and was living 
 like a hermit in the woods. All that will come later 
 on, when we find the proof that you haven't made 
 a mistake." 
 
 "But, Thad, I ought to know a shout given by hu- 
 man lungs, hadn't I?" pursued the puzzled Davy. 
 
 "We all think that, Davy, but you know for 
 yourself that a loon for instance can laugh so much 
 like a man that you'd be ready to take your af- 
 fidavit there was a fellow out on the lake trying to 
 make you mad. You think you heard a shout; 
 but it may have been one of a lot of things." 
 
 "Of course anybody could be mistaken, Thad," 
 the other went on to say; and it is an accepted 
 fact that when your enemy begins to look over his 
 shoulder he is getting ready to retreat. 
 
 "You may have heard what you think, Davy; 
 perhaps a boat was being swept past the island, and 
 someone in it, seeing the smoke of our fire, called 
 out for help; though I should think if that was 
 tha case he'd keep the ball rolling. Come, let's take 
 a turn across to the shore, and see if anything is 
 in sight down-river way." 
 
 "All right, Thad ; count on me to go along. No 
 need of saying anything to the rest, is there ?" Davy 
 remarked, with eagerness stamped upon his face. 
 
 "Not a bit," replied the other. 
 
 When the others saw them moving off, very nat- 
 urally they felt more or less curiosity to know what 
 was in the wind.
 
 158 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "Hello! there, what's up?" called out Giraffe. 
 
 "Oh ! we're just going over to take a look around, 
 boys," replied Thad. 
 
 "Don't get lost, and give us the bother of hunt- 
 ing you up, whatever you do," they heard Bumpus 
 say; and the audacity of the thing struck Thad as 
 so comical that he could be heard chuckling as he 
 went on. 
 
 As there had been no invitation on the part of 
 the patrol leader to the others to come along, they 
 realized that they were not wanted. 
 
 "A case of two's company, three a crowd, I 
 reckon, suh!" remarked Bob White, as he tossed a 
 little more wood on the fire, which felt pretty cheer- 
 ful, since the air was still cool after the storm. 
 
 "Who cares?" said Bumpus, stretching himself 
 out again at full length on his comfortable blanket. 
 
 Meanwhile Thad and Davy were engaged in 
 making their way through the brush, and heading 
 for the shore on the eastern side of the island that 
 stood in the middle of the flooded Susquehanna. 
 
 They found it more difficult work than they had 
 expected. The island could not have been used 
 for any purpose, since under the trees it was a 
 perfect snarl of bushes and creeping vines, some 
 of the latter as thick as one's ankle. Unless the 
 person who was pushing his way through this wil- 
 derness of growth kept constantly on the alert he 
 was very apt to catch his foot in a snake-like vine, 
 and measure his full length on the ground. 
 
 Davy, indeed, uttered several little ejaculations 
 when his hands came in contact with thorns grow- 
 ing on some of the bushes.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 159 
 
 "This isn't what it seemed cracked up to be, eh, 
 Thad?" he muttered. "I guess there's a sample 
 of everything that grows around this region right 
 here on this island, and then some. And seems 
 like I'm rinding the same out one after the other. 
 There, that stub of a branch tried to poke my 
 left eye out, and did bring blood on my cheek. I 
 don't see how you manage to get along without 
 any accidents." 
 
 "You're not as experienced as I am in passing 
 through places like this, that's all, Davy. You 
 move too quick, and don't use your eyes enough. 
 If you think I can take the cake at it you ought 
 to see an Indian work, and after that you'd say 
 I wasn't in the same class. He'd like as not glide 
 along like a snake; and try as hard as you pleased, 
 you wouldn't hear so much as a twig break under 
 his feet." 
 
 "Then I'm pretty sure I'll never make a first- 
 class scout," commented Davy, "for I seem to be too 
 clumsy. There, I thought that stick would bear 
 rny weight; but it broke under me with a sharp 
 snap that would have told the enemy somebody was 
 trying to sneak up on the camp. I guess it must 
 run in the blood, Thad, and I haven't got any of it 
 in me. Yet I had an uncle who was said to be one 
 of the greatest big game hunters that ever went 
 out to South Africa after elephants and lions and 
 all such things. They skipped me when it came to 
 inheriting the instincts of a still-hunter." 
 
 By degrees they forced their way through all 
 these obstacles, and Davy seemed to improve as he 
 went along, as Thad took occasion to tell him.
 
 160 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "Anyhow, it'll be easy enough going back again ! M 
 Davy declared, "because we've left a fair trail be- 
 hind us. I wouldn't be surprised now if some of 
 the other fellows take advantage of that to cross 
 over here, so's to get a squint of the river." 
 
 "Well, here we are, and it looks as if we might 
 get a fairly decent look down stream, Davy." 
 
 "Yes, there's a little point sticking out here, 
 thank goodness. Look at all the water going past,' 
 would you, Thad? This is a great flood, all right; 
 and I hope it goes down a lot before we try to 
 cross over to the mainland, to-morrow, or the day 
 after. Do you think it's come to a stand yet?" 
 
 "I guess you'll find it that way," returned the 
 other; "and while we're here I mean to make a 
 mark, so as to tell just before dark what's hap- 
 pening. But Davy, can you see anything like a 
 boat down below?" 
 
 Davy shook his head, for he had been earnestly 
 gazing in that direction. 
 
 "Not a single sign, Thad!" he declared, in a dis- 
 appointed tone. "And as a boat couldn't have passed 
 from sight in this short time, why, that proves 
 there wasn't such a thing at all." 
 
 "Looks that way," assented the patrol leader con- 
 fidently. 
 
 "And," continued Davy, "that if I did really hear 
 a shout, which of course hasn't yet been proved for 
 certain, then there's somebody on this island be- 
 sides our crowd!" 
 
 "We'll have to let it go at that," Thad told him. 
 
 They looked about for a short time, and Thad 
 arranged a stick at the edge of the river, that stood
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 161 
 
 where the current would not displace it. By means 
 of this he could tell whether the water rose or fell, 
 since he had cut a groove in it to mark the present 
 height of the flood. 
 
 "There, that ought to do the business for us," 
 Thad remarked, after he had finished his little 
 job. 
 
 "Do we go back to the camp now?" Davy wanted 
 to know, as though a little fearful that the other 
 might propose a trip around the island, which, on 
 account of the dense thickets of brush, he would 
 not altogether fancy, though not the kind of a 
 scout to easily back down. 
 
 "I reckon we might as well," the patrol leader 
 told him ; and with this encouragement Davy imme- 
 diately started off. 
 
 Thad used his eyes as he went, but could not 
 say that he had managed to make any discovery 
 that would throw the least light on the mystery of 
 that strange noise his companion claimed to have 
 heard. 
 
 Of course, when they joined the others, every- 
 body was curious to know what their little jaunt 
 meant; so they had to tell all about it. 
 
 "None of us heard a single thing," remarked 
 Giraffe sturdily, as though that fact ought to settle 
 it, and that Davy must have allowed his imagina- 
 tion to work overtime. 
 
 "I should think you couldn't, what with all the 
 row you kept up," Davy answered back sturdily. 
 "All I want to say is this, that I heard something- 
 like a shout; and I'll keep on saying that forever* 
 no matter how you laugh, and make fun."
 
 162 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 Of course they talked it over, and viewed the 
 happening from all sides. Every fellow had some 
 sort of explanation to make to cover the ground. 
 A few of these followed the same track Thad had 
 hewn when stating his ideas to Davy; and yet 
 after exhausting the subject the boys were no 
 nearer a solution of the mystery than when they 
 started. 
 
 Later on, just as Davy had suggested might be 
 the case, several of them made up their minds 
 they would like to take a look at the river, for Bum- 
 pus and Smithy started forth. 
 
 "Just follow our trail!" sang out Davy after the 
 pair, "and you won't have any trouble. But keep 
 your eyes peeled every minute of the time if you 
 don't want to get in trouble." 
 
 "What from?" demanded Bumpus, halting in his 
 departure. 
 
 "Oh ! all sorts of snares, in the shape of concealed 
 vines that grab you by the ankles and throw you 
 down; or branches that smack you square in the 
 face, and nearly blind you. If you get in any hole 
 and want help, just sing out, fellows." 
 
 "Thanks, we will!" replied Bumpus scornfully, 
 as though he did not anticipate such a thing hap- 
 pening; if Davy considered that he and Smithy 
 were still greenhorns and must be treated as babes 
 in the woods, he was very much mistaken, that 
 was all. 
 
 As Giraffe liked to say, "you never can tell," and 
 stranger things than that can come about when 
 boys are loose in the wilderness. 
 
 Those left by the fire continued to sprawl
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 163 
 
 around in favorite attitudes, and take their ease. 
 The day had another hour or so left, and there 
 was Giraffe overhauling the food supply, evidently 
 making out the menu which he meant to serve up 
 for the evening meal trust Giraffe for taking care 
 of such things. 
 
 The sun was shining cheerily now, and that at 
 least was some comfort to these castaway scouts. 
 They expected that with the coming of another 
 day they would be able to start a scheme looking to 
 making a mov.e to get away ; and that thought gave 
 them encouragement. 
 
 It was at this moment there rang out a sudden 
 cry that caused everyone to spring up and look 
 startled. 
 
 "It sounded like Smithy's voice!" exclaimed 
 Thad, as he gained his feet. 
 
 "Yes, that's what it did !" echoed Giraffe ; "some- 
 thing must have happened after all ! Mebbe they've 
 gone and met up with trouble! Mebbe there are 
 oome people on this island that don't like us being 
 here! Thad, what shall we do?" 
 
 Quick and energetic came the patrol leader's 
 order. 
 
 "Step Hen, stay here to guard the camp ; the rest 
 of you follow me !" 
 
 Without wasting another second the five boys 
 rushed away toward the spot where again and 
 again they could hear Smithy's shrill voice calling 
 for help!
 
 164 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 MORE SERIOUS NEWS. 
 
 "HELP! hurry up!" 
 
 That was what Smithy was calling, in agonized 
 tones that thrilled everyone of the other scouts. 
 They were rushing pell-mell along the trail which 
 Davy and Thad had made in going to and coming 
 from the river, and which the other pair had also 
 followed when they went to take an observation. 
 Now and then one of them would find a root or a 
 vine, and take a header, but only to scramble erect 
 .again, and resume the furious forward rush. 
 
 The river was close by, and at least Smithy had 
 not lost his voice, for he still kept up his cries; 
 though getting hoarse through the excitement, and 
 the constant strain on his voice. 
 
 Then those in the lead discovered their chum. He 
 seemed to be lying flat on his chest at the very 
 brink of the swift flowing river; and while one 
 hand gripped an exposed root belonging to a tree, 
 the other was stretched over the edge of the bank. 
 
 "It's Bumpus!" gasped Giraffe; "and he's fallen 
 in!" 
 
 No one took the trouble to offer any objection 
 to this explanation. Indeed, from their previous 
 experience with Bumpus it seemed the most natural
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 165 
 
 thing in the world to expect the clumsy scout to 
 tumble overboard every chance he got. They could 
 in fact look back to any number of similar ac- 
 cidents during the time the patrol had been tak- 
 ing these outings in the woods and on the waters. 
 
 "Hold him tight, Smithy!" snapped Thad, try- 
 ing to increase his pace, which was rendered a 
 difficult thing to do because of the many obstacles 
 that must be encountered and overcome. 
 
 "Good boy, Smithy, keep a-going!" cried Davy, 
 greatly excited. 
 
 No doubt these cheery symptoms of coming help 
 did much to encourage Smithy to maintain his 
 frenzied clutch upon the one who was in the water ; 
 for he was still holding on when Thad arrived on 
 the spot, accompanied by Giraffe, the best runner 
 of them all. 
 
 Down alongside Smithy they both dropped. Yes, 
 there was poor old Bumpus in the flood, swimming 
 with hands and legs, and spurting great volumes 
 of the muddy water out of his mouth with each 
 splurge. It chanced that it was quite deep there, 
 and the river ran like a mill race; so that if Smithy 
 had released his grip for a single instant the un- 
 lucky Bumpus must have been swept down-stream 
 like a log, in spite of his strenuous efforts. 
 
 When his clothes were soaked through, the stout 
 member of the patrol was apt to weigh several hun- 
 dred pounds ; so it was small wonder that, unaided, 
 Smithy could do next to nothing looking to his res- 
 cue just hold on desperately, and shout for help. 
 
 But when Thad and Giraffe took a grip it was- 
 a different matter. Altogether they started to drag:
 
 166 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 the imperiled scout up out of his impromptu bath. 
 
 "Yo-heave-o! Up you come, my boy! One 
 more pull, Thad, and we've got him. Wow! what 
 an elephant he is!" 
 
 So saying, Giraffe bent again to the task, with 
 the result that Bumpus was soon hauled over the 
 edge of the crumbling bank, and dragged to a place 
 of security. There he lay, sprawled out, gasping 
 for breath, and shedding gallons of water from his 
 soaked khaki suit. 
 
 The boys gathered around, staring at him. Al- 
 though they often poked considerable fun at Bum- 
 pus, it was of an innocent sort, for they were ex- 
 ceedingly fond of him. 
 
 "Well, you sure look like a great big grampus 
 hauled up on the beach!" remarked Giraffe, with 
 pretended scorn, though to tell the truth in all prob- 
 ability he did not really know what a grampus was, 
 only that it lived in the sea, and stood for some- 
 thing clumsy and large. 
 
 "Next time you feel like taking a bath, Bum- 
 pus, don't be so greedy. You're some size, but the 
 river's on a flood now, and too big for you!" said 
 Davy ; and turning to Thad he continued : "Like 
 as not your stick will show that she jumped up a 
 foot or more when Bumpus dropped in." 
 
 "It's a bad time to get your feet crossed, suh, 
 when you-all happen to be on a river bank!" Bob 
 White hinted. 
 
 "You're all away off ; I didn't stumble, this time, 
 anyhow, and I wasn't trying to take a bath either," 
 spluttered the soaking Bumpus, as he sat up and 
 started wiping his face with a very wet sleeve.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 167 
 
 "How about that, Smithy; what happened to 
 him?" asked Thad. 
 
 "The bank caved in under him, that's the truth," 
 replied the other scout. "He was wanting to see 
 just a little further down the river, when all at 
 once he went in. I really couldn't tell you just 
 how I happened to catch hold of him by the back 
 of his coat, because I don't know myself; but I 
 thought it my duty to call out, and try to get some 
 help. You see, he was too heavy for me to lift. 
 I almost broke my back trying, as it was." 
 
 "I should think you would!" declared Giraffe; 
 "and it's a lucky thing we heard you calling. Only 
 for that what would you have done, Smithy?" 
 
 "I was trying to think all the while," replied the 
 other. "You see, I didn't dare let go my hold, 
 for the current is terribly swift here. I had half 
 an idea that if only I could work along the bank 
 a little, it might shoal some, and then Bumpus would 
 be able to get a footing. But I'm glad you came 
 when you did, for I was rapidly becoming ex- 
 hausted." 
 
 Smithy generally spoke with great exactness, and 
 used words that few of his comrades ever bothered 
 with in their conversation ; that was one thing con- 
 nected with his previous condition that persisted in 
 clinging to the former dandy of the patrol. 
 
 "You did the right thing, and that's a fact!" 
 commented Allan; "I don't believe there's a single 
 fellow who could have raised Bumpus. But, Thad, 
 he's beginning to shiver in this air ; don't you think 
 we ought to get him over to the fire?" 
 
 "Sounds good t-to me ; fire's what I w-want, and
 
 168 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 1-lots of it too!" stammered the stout scout, trying 
 to get to his feet, in which effort he was ably as- 
 sisted by willing hands. "As t-to that bank, how'd 
 I k-k-know it was goin' to c-c-cave in on me, t-t- 
 tell me that, will y-y-you?" 
 
 They hurried him along as fast as he could be 
 urged, and all the while he kept shedding little 
 streams of water, as though he carried an almost 
 inexhaustible supply. When finally the camp was 
 reached, with the wondering Step Hen giggling 
 over the comical sight Bumpus presented, they 
 made the late swimmer disrobe, and hung his clothes 
 around so that they would dry in the heat of the 
 fire. 
 
 Bumpus himself was wrapped in blankets until 
 he looked like a swathed mummy, and told to just 
 lie there. Under all this manipulation of course 
 his chilled blood regained its normal temperature, 
 and he declared he felt as snug as a "bug in a rug!" 
 
 Even this excitement did not cause Giraffe to for- 
 get that he had business on his hands, and supper 
 was taken in charge with the customary results; 
 for they presently found themselves sitting down to 
 a. "bountiful repast," Davy called it, to the evident 
 complete satisfaction of the eminent cook. 
 
 By the time they were ready to roll up in their 
 blankets and try to get some sleep, the clothes hang- 
 ing from various bushes were thoroughly dry; so 
 that Bumpus could don the same. This released 
 all the extra blankets with which he had been 
 swathed, which was a matter of vital importance 
 to their various owners. 
 
 The fire they expected to keep going more or
 
 all through the night. Besides the comfort that 
 it brought through the necessary heat, its bright 
 glow did much to dissipate the gloom around them, 
 and render their situation less cheerless. 
 
 Giraffe insisted on keeping his gun close at his 
 side, for he said there could be no telling whether 
 they were safe there or not. If the island did 
 happen to be the hiding-place of some desperate 
 criminal, who might think to steal a march on 
 them as they slept, he wanted to be ready to repel 
 boarders. 
 
 He even had Thad promise to give a certain sig- 
 nal should anything out of the way happen while 
 they slept; just as though Thad would be awake all 
 through the night, and know about the same. 
 
 But the long hours of darkness dragged on, and 
 there was no alarm. Some of the boys slept through 
 the entire night without arousing once;. but there 
 were others who felt more of the weight of re- 
 sponsibility resting upon them, and who frequently 
 sat up to look around, or else got upon their feet, 
 in order to put more wood on the camp fire. 
 
 Morning broke and found them apparently in 
 just the same condition as when they had wrapped 
 their blankets around them, and lay down with 
 their feet toward the fire, hunter-fashion. 
 
 Thad was the first up, and when Allan awoke 
 it was to see the patrol leader returning over the 
 trail that led to the river bank. 
 
 It was easy to decide that the other must have 
 been over to learn what his tally-stick had to tell 
 about the condition of the flood. 
 
 "How about it, Thad; falling, I hope?" Allan
 
 170 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 asked, as he stretched himself, after getting on his 
 feet. 
 
 "Yes, and rapidly into the bargain, just as we 
 expected would be the case," came the reply. "That 
 rain could not have extended all the way up to 
 the sources of the river, you see; and it will run 
 out in a big. hurry." 
 
 "Then we may be able to get across to the main- 
 land before a great while?" queried Allan. 
 
 "We'll talk about that while we're eating break- 
 fast," Thad told him; "and as the sun is coming 
 up I reckon we'd better waken the rest of the 
 crowd. They've had a grand good sleep, I take 
 it. Give Giraffe a push, Allan, will you, and roll 
 Bumpus over a few times till he says he's awake; 
 that's the regular program with him, you know." 
 
 One by one the scouts sat up, and yawned, and 
 stretched, as sleepy boys are apt to do when they 
 have not been allowed to have their last nap out. 
 Of course Davy did not forget how Thad had 
 made a flood-tally over at the river, which for- 
 tunately Bumpus had not kicked away when he 
 took his unexpected plunge with a portion of the 
 crumbly bank. 
 
 "I reckon, now, Thad, you've been over to see 
 what's doing," he remarked, while Giraffe fixed his 
 cooking fire, and set about beginning operations 
 looking to having breakfast under way. "And if 
 that's so tell us how she stands. Did it drop half 
 a foot or more during the time we snoozed?" 
 
 "More like three feet/' replied the other; "and 
 if Bumpus fell over in the same place again he'd 
 find the water hardly up to his waist, with little
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 171 
 
 current in place of that mill race of yesterday. Yes, 
 things begin to look encouraging all around, boys P' 
 
 "Like fun they do!" bawled out Giraffe just 
 then, as he stood up, and turned a very red and 
 angry face toward the rest of the scouts. 
 
 "Why, what ails you now, Giraffe?" asked 
 Smithy, who, generally calm and cold as an ice- 
 berg himself, frequently took the others to task 
 when they showed signs of great excitement. 
 
 "I'm as mad as a wet hen, I tell you, and I wish 
 somebody'd kick me for not doing what I first meant 
 to last night, ask Thad to set a watch!" exploded 
 the tall scout, stamping on the ground, and grind- 
 ing his teeth. 
 
 Thad smelled a rat immediately. 
 
 "Anything been taken, Giraffe?" he asked has- 
 tily. 
 
 "Anything?" roared the other; "why, there isn't 
 half enough left to give us a decent meal. I reckon 
 I might be satisfied, but where the rest of you are 
 going to come in beats me. Yes, this island is in- 
 habited, all right, and they're a set of low-down 
 thieves at that. You heir me talking, fellows !"
 
 172 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE TRAIL OF THE MARAUDER. 
 
 WHEN they heard the dreadful news the rest of 
 the scouts looked almost frightened. It was bad 
 enough to know that some evil intentioned man was 
 on the island with them; but that he should have 
 actually crept into their camp while they slept, 
 and very nearly made a clean sweep of their al- 
 ready limited stock of provisions, seemed close to 
 a tragedy. When you threaten to cut off their 
 food supply it is hitting boys in their weakest place. 
 
 There was an immediate start for the spot where 
 they had placed their haversacks and the food on 
 the preceding night. Thad, however, held them 
 back. 
 
 "Don't all rush so," he told them. "We want 
 to look around, and see if we can find out any- 
 thing. If everybody tramples the ground it'll be 
 little use trying. Let Allan and Giraffe help me 
 look first. We'll report anything we find." 
 
 The advice sounded reasonable to the rest; so 
 despite their eagerness to take a hand in the game 
 they held back while the three scouts proceeded to 
 examine the ground. 
 
 It was not long before Allan made a discovery. 
 
 "I think here's where he crawled along," he told
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 173 
 
 Thad, who was close by; "you can see that some- 
 thing's dragged here, which must have been his 
 knees. Yes, and there's where the toe of his shoe 
 made a dent in the soil, with another and still an- 
 other further on. And now he lay flat on his 
 stomach. Perhaps one of us happened to move 
 just then, and he was afraid of being seen." 
 
 "You're right, Allan," remarked Thad, after tak- 
 ing a good look; "and to think it possible he was 
 crouching here in the shadows when I got up and 
 threw some wood on the fire. If I knew that I'd 
 feel pretty sore." 
 
 "Well, he went on again pretty soon, didn't he?" 
 observed Giraffe, who was hovering close by, and 
 keeping close watch on everything that was done. 
 
 "Yes, that's what he did," resumed Allan, also 
 starting on once more, following the tracks that 
 looked so strange they would have sorely puzzled 
 members of the patrol like Smithy and Bumpus, 
 who were not noted as trackers; "and headed di- 
 rect for the place where we stacked our things up." 
 
 "It was a lucky thing none of us happened to 
 leave our guns here with all the rest of the duffel," 
 observed Giraffe exultantly, as though it gave him 
 considerable satisfaction to find that he had not been 
 quite as foolish as might have happened. 
 
 "He finally got to our stuff," Allan went on, 
 "and rising to his knees started to pick out what 
 he wanted. I guess he must have been pretty hun- 
 gry, because grub was what he seemed to be after. 
 Not one of our haversacks is gone, you can see. 
 He took that piece of bacon we fetched from the 
 boat, the packages of crackers, and yes, the cheese
 
 174 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 is lost in addition, also a can of corn and the cof- 
 fee. Fact is, it looks as if we didn't have much 
 left, outside this package of hominy, and the little 
 tin box of tea you fetched along, Thad!" 
 
 Giraffe gave vent to a hollow groan. 
 
 "It's just dreadful, that's what!" he said, with a 
 gulp, as though receiving the sad news that he had 
 lost his best friend ; "just think of grits and tea for 
 our breakfast, and not another thing! The worst 
 is yet to come, though, for we won't get anything 
 for dinner, you know! Why, I'll be all skin and 
 bone if things keep on going from bad to worse 
 like that." 
 
 "Bob White won't think it's so tough, if he can 
 have his grits," remarked Allan; "but breakfast to 
 a New England boy stands for ham and eggs, flap- 
 jacks with maple syrup, and always coffee and cold 
 pie." 
 
 "Stop stretching out the agony, can't you?" said 
 Giraffe, holding both hands to his ears as though 
 trying to shut out the mention of such delightful 
 dishes; "it's cruelty to animals to talk that way, 
 Allan. But, Thad, what are we going to do about 
 this same thing? Can't we take up the trail, and 
 try to get our stuff back ? After all, this old island 
 is only of a certain size, and with eight of us in 
 line we ought to comb it from top to bottom. I 
 feel like Sheridan did when he met the Union 
 troops running away in a panic from Cedar Creek, 
 and yelled out: 'Turn the other way, boys, turn 
 the other way! We'll lick 'em out of their boots 
 yet! We've just got to get those camps back!'
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 175 
 
 You see he was thinking of all the good stuff they'd 
 lost with the camps. So are we." 
 
 "Allan, suppose we look to see which way he 
 went off, because it couldn't have been along the 
 same line as his advance?" suggested the scout mas- 
 ter. 
 
 He knew considerable about these things himself, 
 but trusted to Allan to learn facts that might even 
 have eluded his observation. Allan had been in 
 Maine and the Adirondacks a portion of his life, 
 and picked up many clever ways from association 
 with the guides that made him inavaluable when 
 it came to a question of woodcraft. 
 
 "That's a good idea, Thad," was what the other 
 said in reply ; and already his sharp eyes had begun 
 to look for signs. 
 
 These were easily found, for the unseen thief 
 had crawled away in the same fashion as he made 
 his advance, though a bit more clumsily, which was 
 doubtless owing to the fact of his being more heav- 
 ily laden at the time. 
 
 Step Hen, Bob White and the other three were 
 of course watching the every movement of the ex- 
 perienced trackers with great interest. They took 
 some little satisfaction in trying to guess just 
 what each movement signified. Bumpus and 
 Smithy of course would never have been able to 
 figure these things out, but the other three had 
 more practical knowledge and could hit closer to 
 the mark. 
 
 "There," Step Hen was saying eagerly; "they're 
 taking stock of what's been hooked, and my stars! 
 iust look at the way Giraffe throws hi hands up,
 
 176 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 will you? If that doesn't tell the story, then I'm 
 away off in my guess. I just wager we've been 
 cleaned out for keeps, and our little tummies will 
 call in vain for their accustomed rations. I won- 
 der how it feels to starve to death!" 
 
 "Oh! quit talking that way, Step Hen," wailed 
 Bumpus ; "we ain't going to waste away like all that. 
 Give Thad a chance to think up how to win out. 
 Besides, didn't you hear Giraffe say there was 
 lots of fat game on this island; yes, and fish in 
 the river to boot. I'm not going to give up so easy ; 
 there's always something to fall back on, if it gets 
 to the worst." 
 
 "Yes," added Step Hen maliciously, "that's what 
 shipwrecked sailors have to do when they cast 
 lots; and I'm glad now I wasn't built like a roly- 
 poly pudding. It's too tempting when hard times 
 come along." 
 
 Bumpus, of course, understood that his chum was 
 only joking, but nevertheless he drew a long breath, 
 and remained very quiet for quite some time after 
 that, as though busied with uneasy thoughts. 
 
 "Now they're starting off again," remarked 
 Davy, "and I guess it's to follow the trail of the 
 thief away. I wonder if we could track him to 
 where he hangs out, so as to make him hand over 
 our property." 
 
 "I allow, suh," Bob White broke in with, "that 
 by the time we did that same there would be mighty 
 little of our food left. He must have been pretty 
 hungry to take the chances he did when he crawled 
 into our camp, and with all these guns around in 
 plain sight."
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 177 
 
 "Let's keep along after the boys," suggested Step 
 Hen, "and see what they run up against." 
 
 The idea appealed to his companions, for they 
 all started off, though maintaining the same rela- 
 tive distance from Thad and his backers, so as not 
 to interfere with the work. Step Hen took occasion 
 to bend down when he came upon a spot where 
 the imprint of the unknown man's knee could be 
 seen, and looked at it intently, though finally giving 
 it up as a task beyond his ability. 
 
 "Knees all make the same kind of dragging mark 
 to me," he told the others, who had waited to hear 
 his report, "and I can't tell one from another. If 
 it was Bumpus here, now, who had done this trick 
 in his sleep, I wouldn't be able to say for sure, 
 though like as not he'd bear deeper'n this mark 
 shows." 
 
 "Well, since Bumpus wasn't outside of his blan- 
 ket once all night long, you can't saddle this job 
 on his poor shoulders. He's got enough to carry 
 as it is, see?" and the stout boy put all the em- 
 phasis possible on that last word, as though he 
 meant to make it decisive. 
 
 "They seem to be getting close to the bushes 
 now," Bob White observed. 
 
 "And once he got in there mebbe the thief would 
 rise to his feet to walk away," added Step Hen. 
 "If Thad beckons you'll know he's settled it in his 
 mind to follow the trail, and wants all of us who 
 own guns to rally around him." 
 
 "How about the rest; what will they be doing?" 
 asked Smithy. 
 
 "Tending camp, of course," replied the other.
 
 178 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "Think now we know we've got a thief for a neigh- 
 bor we want him to steal our blankets next? A 
 nice pickle we'd be in without some way to keep 
 warm nights. Remember, if you are left on guard, 
 to defend the blankets with your very lives, both of 
 you!" 
 
 This sort of lurid talk of course thrilled Bum- 
 pus very much, for he had a habit of taking what 
 the others said literally, and could not see the 
 vein of humor apt to lie back of bombastic va- 
 porings. He was rubbing his fat hands one over 
 the other in a nervous way, and alternately watch- 
 ing what Step Hen did, and then how the others 
 were coming on. 
 
 They could see that Thad and his two fellow 
 scouts were just back of the first fringe of bushes. 
 They had possibly made some sort of discovery, 
 because all of them seemed to be down on hands 
 and knees, with their faces close to the earth, and 
 apparently examining certain impressions. 
 
 "I wonder what's up now?" ventured Davy. 
 
 "They've run on something that's staggered the 
 bunch, you can see easily enough," Step Hen went 
 on to say excitedly; "and I'm trying to make up 
 my mind whether after all it was a man crawling 
 along that made those queer marks. P'raps, now, 
 some sort of big wild animal might have done it. 
 We haven't seen a single footprint, you remember, 
 to tell the story. I wish I knew what they've run 
 across. Why don't they call us over, and let us 
 in? It isn't just fair to keep us worrying like we 
 are." 
 
 Just as though Thad might have heard this com-
 
 plaint on the part of Step Hen, he turned toward 
 them, and raising his hand beckoned. 
 
 "There, boys, he wants us to come over!" ex- 
 claimed Davy, exultantly; "I thought it'd strike us 
 pretty quick ; Thad isn't the kind to forget his mates. 
 And we'll soon be put wise to the facts." 
 
 They hurried to join the other three, who still 
 stood at the same place, ever and anon looking seri- 
 ously down at the ground, as though hardly able to 
 believe the evidence of their eyes. 
 
 When Step Hen came running with the other 
 four tagging at his heels, Thad held up his hand. 
 
 "Hold on right there, boys!" he remarked; "we 
 don't want you to cut in and rub it all away before 
 you've had a chance to look for yourselves." 
 
 Of course this caused them to turn their at- 
 tention to the ground, and it was easy to see that 
 the crawling thief had here risen to his full height, 
 though possibly bending over more or less as he 
 continued his retreat. 
 
 "Then it was a man, after all!" was what Bum- 
 pus said; and there was a positive air of relief 
 about his voice, as though he had taken Step Hen's 
 hint seriously, and even fancied a terrible wild 
 beast might be hovering near them. 
 
 "Yes, but look closer, and see if you can recog- 
 nize anything familiar about the marks?" advised 
 Thad. 
 
 Accordingly, all of them leaned over and looked. 
 
 It was Step Hen who gave the first startled 
 cry. 
 
 "Oh! Thad, what does this mean?" he burst out 
 with; "it's the same broken shoe, bound together
 
 180 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 with an old rag, that we saw when we looked for 
 the marks of Wandering George, in the mud of 
 the road; but how in the wide world could he get 
 over here?"
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 181 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 SOLVING A MYSTERY. 
 
 "WHAT'S that you say?" burst out Davy, looking 
 as startled as though, to use the words of Giraffe, 
 he "had seen his great grandfather's spook!" 
 
 "Wandering George! Out here on our island, 
 too!" gasped Bumpus, just as though they had a 
 permanent right to the strip of land in the mid- 
 dle of the river "our" island he called it. 
 
 Of course all of them turned toward Thad, as 
 usual, expecting him to give the answer to the 
 question that puzzled them. The patrol leader 
 laughed as he pointed down once more to that tell- 
 tale track. 
 
 "No going behind the returns, is there, boys ?" he 
 said. "Every one of you knows that footprint by 
 heart, because we took the pains to study it. And 
 the man whose old battered shoe is being held on 
 with a rag we know is Wandering George. He is 
 responsible for taking our provisions. Right now 
 you can imagine how much he's enjoying that cheese 
 and crackers we expected to last us out to-day." 
 
 Giraffe groaned. 
 
 "And that fine strip of bacon we lifted at the 
 time we left the shanty-boat!" added Step Hen, 
 with a dismal look toward Bob White, who raised
 
 182 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 his eyes as if in horror at the idea of such desecra- 
 tion. 
 
 "It's easy to understand that the hobo's on the 
 island, but how in the wide world could he get here 
 without wings? That's what I want to know," Al- 
 lan observed ; which at least went to show that so far 
 no one had been able to figure it out, for if anybody 
 could, surely the Maine boy, who had followed' 
 many a difficult trail in his time, ought to be able to. 
 
 "Mebbe he crossed over to the island when the 
 water was low?" suggested Step Hen, but the idea 
 was instantly scorned by Giraffe. 
 
 "You forget that the river's been on the boom 
 for some little while," he said loftily; "and we 
 happen to know that George wasn't far ahead of 
 us just yesterday. Now, you're wondering if I've 
 got a theory of my own, and I'll tell you what I 
 think. Somehow or other George must have been 
 in a boat, and came that way. How do we know 
 but what he was trying to cross over, and the cur- 
 rent swept him down stream? Then, again, he 
 might have been in some house or barn that was 
 carried away by the flood, and managed to get 
 ashore here." 
 
 "Say, Triad, don't you remember what I told you 
 last night, when the rest were making so much 
 noise, and I was dead sure I heard a shout?" in- 
 terrupted Davy, with considerable excitement. 
 
 "Is that so?" demanded Giraffe ; "well, that might 
 have been the time he landed here, and discovering 
 that we wore uniforms, he was afraid to break 
 in, so like as not he just hung around and watched 
 us, till he got a chance to sneak all our bully grub.''
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 183 
 
 "Thad, you haven't told us what you think yet," 
 remarked Smithy, who had been listening to all 
 this excited talk, and hearing so many wonderful 
 suggestions made that he was quite bewildered; 
 "did this tramp fly over here; was he washed up 
 on the island by the flood; or did he find himself 
 castaway on some floating cabin, and manage to 
 get ashore by good luck?" 
 
 Thad must have been using his head to some 
 advantage during this time, for he appeared to have 
 made up his mind decisively. 
 
 "To tell you the truth," he remarked, "I don't 
 take any stock in either the flying scheme or the 
 one that brings in a floating hencoop or cabin to 
 account for Wandering George's being here. I 
 feel pretty sure he came on board a boat." 
 
 "Is that so, Thad?" Giraffe went on to remark; 
 "what kind of a boat would you say it was, now?" 
 
 "Oh! something in the shape of a shanty-boat!" 
 continued the other. 
 
 "You mean like the one that brought us here?" 
 demanded Step Hen. 
 
 "The same one!" Thad shot back, with an em- 
 phasis that staggered his hearers, since all sorts 
 of exclamations burst from their lips. 
 
 "Thad, do you really mean that?" 
 
 "It wouldn't be like you to crack a joke, when 
 we're all mixed up like this." 
 
 "A passenger aboard our boat, and none of us 
 ever dream of it; well, I must say you've got me 
 guessing, Thad. However could that be?" and 
 Bumpus plucked at the sleeve of the patrol leader,
 
 184 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 as though thrilled through and through by the 
 staggering announcement just made. 
 
 "Well, you see, it's just dawned on me," Thad 
 commenced to say, "and I haven't had much time 
 to figure it out myself, but the more I think it over 
 the stronger my belief grows. Look back a bit, and 
 you'll remember that we found a light in the cabin 
 when we boarded the boat." 
 
 "Yes, that's so, Thad," assented Giraffe. 
 
 "And supper cooking, too," added Bumpus. 
 
 "With not a soul in sight, which we thought 
 mighty queer," Step Hen went on to say, as his 
 contribution. 
 
 "And all the while we stayed there, up to the 
 time the cable broke, there was never a sign of the 
 man that owned the boat, either," Davy reminded 
 them. 
 
 "You remember," Thad continued, "that we 
 figured out at first the owner of the boat must 
 have seen us coming, and hid himself somewhere 
 ashore, hoping we'd take a look about and pass on. 
 We even guessed he must have some reason to fear 
 arrest, and thought we were connected with the 
 state militia. But after learning of Wandering 
 George's being here on the island I've hatched up 
 another idea, and I'll tell you just what it runs 
 like." 
 
 "Good for you, Thad ; we're listening like every- 
 thing," muttered Bumpus, at the elbow of the chief 
 scout. 
 
 "I've come to the conclusion," Thad began, "that 
 the two tramps must have chased the owner of 
 the shanty-boat away some time befo~ we struck
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 185 
 
 in. Now that I'm on the track I can remember 
 there were certain signs of confusion aboard when 
 we first entered; things seemed tossed around, as 
 if someone had been looking in places for hidden 
 valuables. That would be just what these two 
 yeggmen were apt to do, you see. And while one 
 began to cook some supper, the other may have 
 started in to ransack the place." 
 
 "Yes, and about that time they glimpsed us com- 
 ing along ; is that the way you figure it out, Thad ?" 
 asked Allan eagerly; for this explanation on the 
 part of his chum appealed strongly to him. 
 
 "Yes, they saw a bunch of fellows in khaki run- 
 ning toward the boat," pursued the scout master; 
 "and as it was too late for them to make a safe 
 getaway, they just lifted a trap in the floor of the 
 cabin, and dropped into the hold of the boat." 
 
 "Je-ru-sa-lem !" gasped Giraffe, "now, what d'ye 
 think of that? All the time we were aboard the 
 old boat George and his pal were hiding in the hold, 
 and waiting for us to vacate the ranch! Thad, I 
 honestly believe you've struck oil." 
 
 "But," interposed Step Hen, who on this occasion 
 seemed disposed to be the only doubter, "why 
 wouldn't they have made some attempt to escape 
 while we slept, before the flood got so bad that 
 the boat broke away from her moorings?" 
 
 "There must have been some reason," Thad told 
 him ; "and we may be able to give a stab at it, even 
 if we never know the real truth. If you look back 
 again, Step Hen, to how we were sprawled about 
 on the floor of that little cabin, trying to get some 
 sleep, and wrapped in our blankets, you'll likely
 
 186 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 remember that the eight of us managed to cover 
 about all the limited space there was around." 
 
 "Every foot of the floor, for a fact, Thad," Davy 
 admitted; "and I even threatened to hang by my 
 toes from a hook, and sleep like a bat does, only 
 Giraffe told me all the blood would run to my head, 
 because that was the only empty place in my make- 
 up." 
 
 "Well, somebody must have been lying on that 
 trap door, and whenever the men below tried to 
 raise it they understood there was nothing doing," 
 Thad explained. 
 
 "Yes, that carries it up to the time we broke 
 loose, and started on our wild ride down the flood," 
 Step Hen admitted; "but you'd think they'd have 
 let us know about having passengers aboard. When- 
 ever we bucked up against a rock, and the bally old 
 tub threatened to turn upside-down, think how 
 scared George and his pal must 'a' been. Whew ! it 
 was bad enough above-decks, let alone being shut 
 down there, and not knowing what wa? happen- 
 ing." 
 
 "Of course I can't tell you what they thought, 
 and why they didn't try to communicate with us," 
 Thad went on. "It might be they felt that if they 
 had to choose between giving themselves up or 
 staying down in the hold and taking their chances 
 they'd prefer the last. But when we left the boat 
 I honestly believe they were aboard still." 
 
 "Yes, and they'd guess she had struck shore, from 
 the steady way she hung there," Giraffe continued, 
 taking up the story in his turn, "and of course 
 they knew that we were clearing out. So, what
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 187 
 
 did they do but follow suit, as soon as they thought 
 the coast was clear." 
 
 "How about it now, Step Hen; any more ob- 
 jections?" asked the patrol leader. 
 
 "I guess I'm through, Thad," acknowledged the 
 other slowly, as though still unable to fully grasp 
 the strange thing; "you've made out a pretty strong 
 case, and I don't glimpse a break in the chain. 
 That's the way you always hammer it in. If that 
 hobo is here, then chances are he did come along 
 with us, even if we never smelled a rat." 
 
 "In the excitement of getting away," Thad re- 
 sumed, "I forgot I'd noticed cracks in the cabin 
 floor that looked like a trap leading down into the 
 hold of the boat. That was partly why I had Gi- 
 raffe go back to where we left the shanty-boat. 
 You remember he came and told us it had been 
 driven off the point by that big squall." 
 
 "I'm wondering what would have happened if 
 you'd thought about the hold under the cabin be- 
 fore we ever quitted our old craft?" Giraffe re- 
 marked. 
 
 "Oh! we'd have found what was down there, 
 and with guns in our hands could have easily cowed 
 the hoboes," Allan told him. 
 
 "Fight or no fight, that's what we would have 
 done !" declared Bumpus vigorously. 
 
 "Listen to him, will you?" chuckled Step Hen; 
 "isn't he just the fierce Cossack, though? I can 
 see that tramp army wilting when they sighted 
 Bumpus threatening to jump down on 'em. Who'd 
 blame anybody for throwing up the sponge rather'n 
 be mashed flat by such a hippo?"
 
 188 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "Well," remarked Giraffe, as he rubbed his hands 
 together in a satisfied fashion, "one thing sure, our 
 old luck's still hanging on." 
 
 "How do you make that out, Giraffe?" inquired 
 Smithy. 
 
 "We started on this hike with the idea of over- 
 taking the tramp who was wearing the coat the 
 judge's wife gave away by mistake, didn't we?" 
 the lengthy scout demanded. "Well, stop and think 
 for a minute, will you, what's happened to us? 
 Here we are, marooned on an island, from which 
 nobody can get away right at present unless he 
 swims, and none of us feel like trying that in such 
 cold water, do we ? Did you ever know a hobo who 
 would willingly take a bath? Well, put things to- 
 gether, and what do you get? Wandering George, 
 coat and all let's hope, is shut up here on this strip 
 of ground with us; and all we've got to do is to 
 round him up to-day. Now, do you see, Smithy?" 
 
 Somehow this plain way of putting the case ap- 
 pealed to every one of them ; for immediately Bum- 
 pus was shaking hands with Step Hen, and as if 
 to show their satisfaction over the way things 
 were turning out some of the rest did likewise. 
 
 "Course," said Giraffe, as he gave Davy's digits 
 a squeeze that made the other fairly wince, "we 
 can't say just how we'll corner the slippery rat, but 
 there'll be a way, make up your mind to that, boys."
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 189 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 AN EMPTY LARDER. 
 
 "I'M only afraid it'll be too late, Giraffe," Bum- 
 pus was heard to remark, with a skeptical air. 
 
 "Too late for what?" demanded the tall scout, 
 who had dropped to his knees, and was starting to 
 follow the trail left by Wandering George, after 
 the latter had gained his feet, and moved away from 
 the vicinity of the camp. 
 
 "Why, there won't be a sign of our grub left by 
 that time, you see; George : he'll be awful hungry, 
 and it's surprising what a lot of stuff a regular hobo 
 can put away when he tries." 
 
 "And hoboes ain't the only ones, Bumpus," inti- 
 mated Davy; "I'd match you and Giraffe here 
 against the best of 'em. But let's hope we'll find 
 a way to get off this island before night comes, and 
 strike a farmhouse where they'll feed us like the 
 Baileys did." 
 
 "Oh! do you really think there's a chance of that 
 happening to us, Davy?" exclaimed Bumpus, inten- 
 tionally omitting to show any ill feeling on account 
 of the little slur concerning his appetite. "I'd be 
 willing to even go without my lunch in the middle 
 of the day if I could believe we'd be sitting with 
 our knees under a groaning table to-night. Seems
 
 190 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 like when you're beginning to face starvation every 
 good thing you ever liked keeps popping up in your 
 head." 
 
 Giraffe at this juncture called out, and his man- 
 ner indicated that he had made a discovery of some 
 sort. 
 
 "What is it, Giraffe?" asked Thad. 
 
 "I just bet you he's found where George sat 
 down and ate up every crumb of that grub," mut- 
 tered Bumpus, whose mind seemed to be wholly 
 concerned with the question of the lost supplies. 
 
 "George was joined here by his pal, who must 
 have been hanging out, waiting for him," Giraffe 
 told them; and as he examined the tracks further 
 he added; "and say, I reckon now that second 
 fellow got hurt some way, while he was cooped 
 up in the black hole under the cabin floor." 
 
 "Now how do you make that out, Giraffe ?" asked 
 Davy. 
 
 "Why, I can see that he limps like everything," 
 the other went on to say, doubtless applying his 
 knowledge of woodcraft to the case. "One foot 
 drags every step he takes, and it didn't do that 
 before, I happen to know. That's why George vol- 
 unteered to do the cribbing all by himself, while 
 the other waited." 
 
 "That makes two to handle instead of one, doesn't 
 it?" Allan remarked; and oace more Bumpus 
 groaned. 
 
 "Two is a whole lot worse than one, to get away 
 with things," he observed, with a piteous air of 
 resignation, as though he was now perfectly satis-
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 191 
 
 fied they would none of them ever see the first sign 
 of the stolen provisions again. 
 
 "If there's a trail why can't we start in, and 
 track the two hoboes down?" suggested Davy vig- 
 orously. 
 
 They had followed Giraffe, so that all of them 
 were just back of him at this time. The tall scout, 
 however, shook his head in a disappointing way. 
 
 "I'd like to try that the worst kind," he re- 
 marked, "but I reckon it's no go. You can hardly 
 see the footprints here, and they get fainter as 
 they go on. Besides, we'd make all manner of noise 
 creeping through this scrub, and they'd be wise to 
 our coming, so they could keep moving off. There's 
 a better way to capture George than that, fellows." 
 
 "Yes," added Thad, "we can comb the island 
 from one end to the other. It can't be of any great 
 size, you see; and by forming a line across at the 
 top we could cover about every foot of it. In the 
 end we'd corner the tramps, and make them sur- 
 render. We've got the whole day before us, 
 and tne sun promises to shine, too, so we can count 
 on its being warmer." 
 
 "The whole day," Bumpus remarked disconso- 
 lately, "that means twelve long hours, don't it? 
 Well, I suppose I can stand the thing if the rest 
 of you can; but it's really the most dreadful calamity 
 that ever faced us. They say starving is an easy 
 death, but it wouldn't be to me." 
 
 No one was paying any attention to his complain- 
 ings, so Bumpus stopped short in order to listen 
 to what the others were saying. Possibly he told 
 himself that the best way to forget his troubles
 
 192 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 was to get interested in what was going on. And 
 it might be there still remained a shred of hope 
 in his heart that if they made a quick job of the 
 surround, and capture, perhaps they might retake 
 enough of the purloined food to constitute a bare 
 meal at noon. 
 
 "First of all we've got to have our breakfast, 
 such as it is," Thad observed. 
 
 "Tea and grits oh! my stars!" sighed Giraffe; 
 whereupon Bob White turned upon him with the 
 cutting remark: 
 
 "You ought to be thankful for the grits, suh, 
 believe me; it satisfies me, let me tell you. I 
 wouldn't give a snap fo' all the tea in China or 
 Japan; but grits make bone and muscle. You can 
 do a day's work on a breakfast of the same. Only 
 it takes a long time to cook properly, suh; and 
 the sooner we get the pot started the better." 
 
 "You attend to that, Bumpus, please," said Gi- 
 raffe, "and be sure you get enough to satisfy the 
 crowd, even if you have to use two kettles, and the 
 whole package of hominy. I want to talk things 
 over with Thad here." 
 
 Bumpus hesitated for a minute. He hardly knew 
 which he wanted to do most, stay there and listen, 
 or return to the fire and begin operations looking 
 to the cooking of that forlorn breakfast. 
 
 Finally, as he received a message from the in- 
 ner man that it was time some attention was paid 
 to the fact that nature abhorred a vacuum he turned 
 away and trotted toward the camp fire. 
 
 Giraffe, together with Thad and Allan, tried to 
 follow the trail of the two tramps further, but
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 193 
 
 soon gave it up. After all, the several reasons why 
 they should turn to the other way of rounding up 
 the concealed men appealed strongly to them. 
 
 Later on they returned to the camp, to sit around 
 and wait for their breakfast to cook. Nobody 
 looked very cheerful that morning. Somehow the 
 fact that they were isolated there on that island 
 with only one meal between them and dire hunger, 
 loomed up like a great mountain before their men- 
 tal vision. 
 
 In the end they found that grits did satisfy their 
 hunger remarkably well; and taking Giraffe's ad- 
 vice Bumpus had actually cooked the entire amount 
 on hand, so there was plenty to go around three 
 times. 
 
 The tea was another matter, for they had neither 
 sugar nor milk to go with it, and although each 
 fellow managed to drink one cup, some of them 
 made wry faces while disposing of the brewing. 
 
 "Kind of warms you up inside," commented 
 Davy, "and that's the only reason I try to get it 
 down; but, oh! you coffee!" 
 
 "Here, none of that, Davy," said Thad; "scouts 
 have to make the best of a bad bargain, and never 
 complain. We'd be feeling lots worse if it wasn't 
 for this breakfast." 
 
 "Well, suh, I'm quite satisfied, and feel as if I'd 
 had the pick of the land," Bob White remarked 
 stoutly. ' 
 
 "Yes, but you like the stuff, and I never would 
 eat it at home," complained Step Hen. 
 
 "Time you began to know what good things are 
 then, suh," the Southern boy told him plainly.
 
 194 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 Even Bumpus admitted that he felt very good 
 after they had emptied both kettles of the simple 
 fare. For the time being he was able to put the 
 dismal future out of his mind, and actually smile 
 again. 
 
 Thad had not told them as yet what plan he was 
 arranging with regard to hunting down the tramps 
 who were on the island with them, and of course 
 most of the scouts were eager to know. 
 
 Accordingly, after the meal was finished, they 
 began to crowd around and give the scout master 
 hints that they were waiting for him to arrange 
 the details of that "combing" business he had spoken 
 of. 
 
 "It's going to be a simple matter," Thad re- 
 marked. "We'll go to the place where the shanty- 
 boat went aground, and make our start from there, 
 gradually stretching out until we cover the island 
 from shore to shore, and in that way pushing our 
 quarry further along toward the lower end." 
 
 "And," pursued Giraffe, following the plan in 
 his mind, "as the hoboes will of course object to 
 taking to the water, we'll corral the pair in the 
 end." 
 
 "Do you reckon they've got any sort of gun 
 along, Thad?" asked Step Hen; though it was not 
 timidity that caused him to ask the question, for 
 as a rule he could be depended on to hold his own 
 when it came to showing fight. 
 
 "We don't know, of course, about that," he was 
 told; "though it's often the case that these tramps 
 carry such a thing, especially the dangerous stripe 
 like this Wandering George seems to be."
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 195 
 
 "He didn't pull any gun on the farmer, when 
 Mr. Bailey caught him robbing his desk, you re- 
 member, Thad?" Davy mentioned. 
 
 "No, but he upset the lamp, and then skipped 
 out, leaving the inmates of the farmhouse to fight 
 the fire, which was a cowardly thing to do," Bum- 
 pus observed. 
 
 "I hadn't forgotten about the chances of them 
 being armed when I spoke of forming a line across 
 the island, and searching every foot of the same/* 
 Thad explained; "and the way we'll be safe in 
 doing that I'll explain. Now, we ought to leave 
 two fellows to look after the camp, with a gun 
 between them. The rest can be divided up into 
 three squads, each couple having one of the other 
 guns. We'll manage to keep in touch with each 
 other, as we work along, zigzag-like, and a signal 
 will tell that the game has been started. Do you 
 understand that?" 
 
 "Plain enough, Thad," Giraffe told him, as he 
 picked up his gun, and in this way signified that 
 he was ready for the start. 
 
 "Huh! but who's going to be left behind?" Bum- 
 pus wanted to know; his whole demeanor betray- 
 ing the fact in advance that he could give a pretty 
 good guess as to who one of the unfortunates might 
 prove to be. 
 
 "I think it would be wiser for me to appoint 
 you and Smithy to that post of honor," he was 
 immediately informed by Thad; "and you want to 
 understand it is just as important that you do your 
 duty well here, as that we carry out our part of 
 the game. A scout never asks why he's told to do
 
 196 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 a certain thing, when perhaps he'd like to be in an- 
 other position. Whether he serves as the hub, the 
 tire, or one of the spokes, he feels that he's an im- 
 portant part of the whole wheel, and without him 
 nothing can be done. There's just as much honor 
 in guarding the camp as in creeping through the 
 tangle of vines and scrub bushes. And, Bumpus, 
 I'm the one to judge who's best fitted for that sort 
 of work." 
 
 "Thad, I'm not saying a single word," expostu- 
 lated the stout scout; "fact is, if you come right 
 down to brass tacks, I'm satisfied to stay here, 
 rather than scratch my way along, and p'raps break 
 my nose tumbling. And I'm sure Smithy is built 
 the same way. I hope you'll let me hold the gun 
 you leave with us, which ought to be my own re- 
 peating Marlin, because it's already proved its 
 worth. And, Thad, you remember I shot it with 
 some success the time we were out there in the 
 Rockies after big game." 
 
 "That's only a fair bargain, Bumpus," he was told 
 by the scout master; "and you can consider it a 
 bargain. We'll look to hear a good report from 
 you when we come back to camp again." 
 
 "And with our prisoners in charge, too," added 
 the confident Giraffe. 
 
 Bumpus saw them depart with a gloomy look, 
 as though he felt that all chances of winning new 
 laurels had been snatched away when he was or- 
 dered to keep camp.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 197 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 DRAWING THE NET. 
 
 WHENEVER Thad Brewster started to do any- 
 thing he went about it in a thorough manner. He 
 was no believer in halfway measures, which ac- 
 counted for much of the success that had crowned 
 his efforts in the past, as those who have read 
 former books in this series must know. 
 
 He arranged the beating party in such a way 
 that Giraffe and Davy went together; Allan had 
 Step Hen for a companion; while the Southern 
 lad accompanied Thad himself. 
 
 Having given the camp keepers a few last in- 
 structions, with regard to remaining on the alert, 
 and listening for any signals such as members of 
 the Silver Fox Patrol were in the habit of exchang- 
 ing while in the woods and separated, Thad led the 
 way toward the upper end of the island. 
 
 They found no trouble in arriving there. The 
 river had indeed fallen very much, and the flat 
 rock upon which the nose of the shanty-boat had 
 been driven by the fierce current was now away 
 out of the water. Had the craft remained where 
 it struck it would be high and dry ashore. 
 
 The boys would not have been human had they 
 not first of all looked yearningly toward the shore, 
 between which and themselves rolled a wide stretch
 
 198 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 of water. Still, as the sun shone brightly, and the 
 air was getting comfortably warm, the outlook did 
 not seem anything like that which they had faced 
 on the preceding morning. And, besides, they had 
 just eaten a breakfast that at least satisfied their 
 gnawing hunger, and that counted for considerable. 
 
 Thad did not waste much time in looking around, 
 but proceeded to business. He had already appor- 
 tioned his followers, so that everyone knew who 
 his mate was to be. 
 
 "Allan, you and Step Hen take the right third; 
 Giraffe, cover the left side with Davy; and we'll 
 look after the middle," he told them, in his quiet 
 yet positive way, that caused the words to sink in 
 and be remembered. 
 
 "And in case we run across George and his pal 
 we're to give a yell ; is that the game, Thad ?" asked 
 the lengthy scout. 
 
 "Our old shout that we know so well, don't for- 
 get," he was told. "An ordinary whoop isn't 
 enough, for somebody might let out that kind if 
 only he tripped and felt himself falling. If you 
 want me to cme across, bark like a fox three times. 
 In case you get no answer, repeat the signal; and 
 if that doesn't fetch me, call out my name." 
 
 "We're on, Thad; is that all?" Giraffe asked im- 
 patiently. 
 
 "Go!" 
 
 With that they were off, three pair of eager hu- 
 man hounds, bent on discovering the hiding-place 
 of the tramps who had for so long been hovering 
 just ahead of them like one of those strange lights 
 in swampy marshes, a jack-o'-lantern they call it,
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 199 
 
 that keeps eluding your grasp, now appearing here, 
 and then vanishing, to crop up suddenly in another 
 place. 
 
 To begin with it seemed easy enough to move 
 along. The scrub was not very dense at the upper 
 end of the island, for some reason or other, but 
 Deemed to get heavier the further they advanced. 
 
 Acting on the suggestions of Thad, each couple 
 spread out a little more as they continued to push 
 on, although remaining in touch with one another. 
 In this way it was possible to cover more ground 
 than by keeping close together. 
 
 Giraffe was certainly in his element. He kept 
 his gun-stock partly under his arm, and was ready 
 to elevate the weapon at a second's warning; in 
 fact, as he prowled along in this way the tall scout 
 looked the picture of a hunter expecting feathered 
 game to flush before him, which he must cover in- 
 stantly, or expect it to place obstacles between, as 
 a woodcock always will. 
 
 Davy did not like to roam along entirely un- 
 armed, and hence he had hunted up a club, which 
 he gripped valorously. He kept just a little be- 
 hind Giraffe, if an imaginary line were marked 
 across the island from shore to shore. This was 
 because he wished to allow the one who held the 
 firearm a full sweep of territory in case he found 
 occasion to shoot, or even threaten. 
 
 Now and then Giraffe would speak to his com- 
 panion, as a rule asking him to "kindly give a poke 
 in that patch of bushes, where it looks like a man 
 might find it easy to hide" ; or "peek into that hole 
 between the rocks, Davy don't be afraid a bear'll
 
 200 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 come out at you, 'cause there ain't any such good 
 luck waiting for us." 
 
 By giving various signals the boys managed to 
 maintain something like a straight line as they 
 pushed on. They could see one another frequently, 
 too, which enabled them to keep from forging 
 ahead in any one place. 
 
 "Listen to the crows cawing, will you?" Giraffe 
 presently remarked, as though the noise of the 
 flock might be sweet music to his ears, since it 
 told of the life in the open which Giraffe dearly 
 loved. 
 
 "They're a noisy lot, ain't they?" remarked Davy; 
 "whatever d'ye s'pose ails that bunch of crows, 
 Giraffe? Would they scold that way if they just 
 happened to see a pair of hoboes eating breakfast, 
 d'ye think?" 
 
 "Well, it might be they would," the other re- 
 plied thoughtfully; "and come to think of it they're 
 somewhere down below us, ain't they? Hunters 
 often know when game is moving by the signs in 
 the sky ; for birds can see down, and they talk, you 
 know, in a language of their own. I've often wished 
 I could understand what crows said when they 
 scolded so hard." 
 
 Just there Davy began to move away from his 
 partner again, as he tried to cover his share of the 
 territory; so conversation died out temporarily be- 
 tween them. 
 
 They had passed the place where the camp fire 
 burned, with Bumpus and Smithy watching their 
 movements eagerly. The thick brush now hid the
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 201 
 
 camp from their sight, and what lay before them 
 they could only guess. 
 
 Once more Davy drew close to his mate, thrust- 
 ing his club to the right and to the left, in the en- 
 deavor not to leave a stone unturned in clearing up 
 the land. 
 
 "Wherever do you think they've gone, Giraffe?" 
 he asked, as though beginning to feel the strain of 
 the suspense that hung over them, as they continued 
 this strange hunt for the tramps. 
 
 "It's my honest opinion," the other replied, "that 
 we ain't going to see a sign of 'em till we get away 
 down to the other end. And they didn't come 
 through here, either, because we'd have run across 
 some sign to tell us that." 
 
 "Then how could they reach the lower end of 
 the island?" demanded Davy quickly, thinking he 
 had caught Giraffe in a hole. 
 
 "Why, they made off to the beach after they 
 got the stuff, and trailed down that way, which 
 you can understand must have been the easiest, all 
 things considered," the tall scout went on to ex- 
 plain. "I believe in applying that old principle, and 
 figgering what you'd have done if it had been you. 
 A.nd anybody with horse sense'd know it was lots 
 easier tramping on the shore, to this way of break- 
 ing through." 
 
 "Still, Thad thought we ought to do it?" Davy 
 remarked. 
 
 "Thad was right, as he nearly always is," Giraffe 
 pursued doggedly ; "because this is the only way we 
 can make dead sure. I've got a hunch that they 
 built a fire and proceeded to cook a warm meal.
 
 202 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 Want to know what makes me think so? Well, 
 we had an extra box of matches along, and that 
 went with the rest of the things. George knew 
 he needed it. Long before now they've had their 
 fire, and it's all day with that grub of ours. We'll 
 get it back when we surround the hoboes; but you 
 won't know it." 
 
 "What if they won't surrender when we ask 
 'em?" Davy wanted to know. 
 
 "They'd better go slow about that same," he was 
 immediately told, as Giraffe shook his head ener- 
 getically; "we've got the law on our side, you see, 
 after that pair breaking into the farmhouse the way 
 they did, and showing themselves to be regular 
 robbers as well as tramps, yeggmen they call that 
 kind. If I pinked George, after seeing him threaten 
 me, I couldn't be held responsible for the same. 
 When a man is a fugitive from justice, and the 
 long arm of the law is stretched out to grab him, he 
 hasn't got any rights, you understand. Every man's 
 hand is against him, and he's just got to take his 
 medicine, that's all." 
 
 Giraffe had a little smattering of legal knowledge, 
 and he certainly did like to hear himself talk, given 
 half a chance. Just then Davy seemed to be glad 
 to learn certain facts, upon which he may have been 
 a little hazy. 
 
 "Didn't I hear you talking with Step Hen the 
 last time you crossed over to his line; or no, it 
 must have been Bob White, because he's with Thad 
 in the middle track?" Giraffe asked, a short time 
 later, as once more he and his partner came into 
 touch.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 203 
 
 "Yes, it was Bob speaking to me," admitted the 
 other, "and what d'ye think, he said he believed he 
 had discovered a bee tree, and only wished we 
 would be here long enough to get a chance at the 
 honey." 
 
 "Well, what next, I wonder?" ejaculated Giraffe, 
 with the air of one who had received especially 
 good news; "I always did say I liked honey about 
 as well as anything that grew; but, then," he added, 
 as though seized with a sudden depressing remem- 
 brance, "what good would all the wild honey going 
 do a fellow when he hasn't got a cupful of flour to 
 make a flapjack with, or a single cracker to eat 
 with the nectar? Oh! rats! but this is tough!" 
 
 "Anyhow," Davy continued, "Bob, he said the 
 tree was a whopper for size, and the hive was 
 away up in a dead limb that we couldn't well reach ; 
 so I guess that winds it up for us this trip. And 
 as you say, Giraffe, what good would just plain 
 honey do a starving crowd ? Give me bread before 
 you try to plaster me with honey. Still, it's queer 
 how many things we keep finding on this same 
 island, isn't it?" 
 
 "There goes another rabbit right now, Davy; 
 and I could have knocked him over as easy as you 
 please, if I was hunting something to eat, instead 
 of men! They always do say what strange things 
 you do see when you haven't got a gun; and with 
 us it runs the other way; for we've got a shooting- 
 iron, but dassen't use the same for fear of alarming 
 our human quarry." 
 
 "You do manage to put things before a fellow 
 the finest way ever, Giraffe," Davy told him; "and
 
 204 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 some of these days I expect to see you making a 
 cracking good lawyer, or an auctioneer, or some- 
 thing that requires the gift of gab. But seems 
 to me we've been poking like this for a long time 
 now. How much further d'ye think the island 
 runs?" 
 
 "It's some longer'n I had any idea would be the 
 case," admitted Giraffe; "but I reckon we're shal- 
 lowing up now. The shore line looks to me like 
 it's beginnin' to draw in closer, every time I make 
 the beach. If that's so we ought to come together 
 down at the lower end before a great while now." 
 
 "Say, what if we do get there and never once 
 sight George and his pal, Giraffe?" 
 
 "Aw! don't be trying to get off conundrums on 
 me, Davy; I never was much good guessing the 
 answer," the tall scout went on to complain. "It 
 don't seem like that could happen, because they're 
 here on our island, and we sure haven't left a 
 single place unsearched where a fox could hide. 
 Don't borrow trouble, my son. We're bound to 
 corral the pair down at the lower point ; and they'll 
 throw up their hands when they see us coming, six 
 abreast, with guns leveled and all that." 
 
 "I hope so, Giraffe ; I hope it turns out that way ; 
 but I'm not feeling as sure as you are. Something 
 seems to keep on telling me we're due for a big 
 surprise, and I'm trying to shut my teeth, so as to 
 be ready to meet it like a scout should always meet 
 trouble." 
 
 He had hardly said the last word when a large 
 object jumped almost under Davy's feet, upsetting 
 him completely. And as he fell over, nimbly turn-
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 205 
 
 ing a complete back-somersault, for Davy was as 
 smart at such things as any circus performer, he 
 managed to bawl out wildly: 
 
 "Bear ! Bear ! why don't you shoot it, Giraffe ?"
 
 206 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE SMOKE CLEW. 
 
 "BEAR nothing!" exclaimed the scout who held 
 the gun. 
 
 He had instinctively elevated the weapon at the 
 first sound of alarm from his ally; and had it been 
 necessary Giraffe was in a position to have given 
 a good account of himself, for he was known to be 
 a somewhat clever shot. 
 
 Just in time, however, he had managed to get a 
 better view of the creature that Davy had stumbled 
 upon, losing his balance in his excitement. 
 
 "What was it, then, Giraffe, if not a bear? Don't 
 tell me it was a dog," demanded the other, having 
 righted himself after his somersault. 
 
 "Didn't you hear him grunt as he ran away?" 
 asked the lengthy one contemptuously ; for he might 
 have pressed the trigger of his gun only that just 
 in time his ears had been greeted with the sound 
 in question. 
 
 "Grunt? Great Caesar's ghost! was that a hog?" 
 almost shrieked Davy. 
 
 "Just what it was, a dun-colored hog, and a rous- 
 ing big critter in the bargain, let me tell you, Davy. 
 I saw him as plain as anything, and he ran back 
 of us, you noticed, so we won't be apt to raise 
 him again in a hurry."
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 207 
 
 "But what'd an old grunter be doing out here, 
 tell me, Giraffe?" 
 
 "Shucks! how d'ye think I'd know?" returned 
 the other. "Expect I'm up in the hog lingo just 
 because I did say I always wanted to understand 
 crow talk ? Why, for all we know, that hog's been 
 living here since last summer; or else he's another 
 flood victim, and got washed up like we did. 
 They're all doin' it, you know." 
 
 "Well, well, who'd expect to run up against a 
 porker?" Dave went on to say, as he sought to grasp 
 the full significance of the adventure, having by 
 now recovered from the shock the sudden surprise 
 had given him. "And Giraffe, if a hog this time, 
 what next will we run across? P'raps there might 
 be chickens, and cows, and all sorts of things close 
 by? Mebbe the old island's inhabited, after all." 
 
 "One thing sure," Giraffe went on to say, in a 
 satisfied tone, "this beats out Robinson Crusoe by 
 a whole lot." 
 
 "As how, Giraffe?" 
 
 "Is there any comparison between hogs and goats 
 when it comes to making a good dinner?" demanded 
 the other. "Why, don't you see what this means 
 to us, Davy? No use talking about going hungry 
 as long as there's such noble hunting on this little 
 patch of ground. Me to bag a prize hog, when the 
 right time comes. Hams, and sweet little pork 
 chops, and smoked shoulders oh! we could live a 
 week off that buster, believe me." 
 
 He smacked his lips, as though the prospect gave 
 him unlimited pleasure. Davy himself had known 
 the time when the slaughter of a three-hundred
 
 208 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 pound hog afforded no occasion for showing more 
 than passing interest ; but that was when starvation 
 did not stare him in the face. Circumstances alter 
 cases; and he was almost as much excited over the 
 outlook now as the always hungry Giraffe seemed 
 to be. 
 
 "How do we know that this place we've been 
 calling an island isn't connected with the mainland ?" 
 was Davy's next suggestion. 
 
 "How d'ye mean?" demanded his ally, as they 
 started on once more. 
 
 "Why, there might be some sort of a link, you 
 see, a sort of isthmus, so to call it, along which 
 the hog made his way, and where we could skip out 
 of the trap; how about that, Giraffe?" 
 
 "Nothing doing, Davy," came the scornful reply ; 
 "didn't we see that the river ran past on both sides 
 like a mill race? Well, it wouldn't do that if the 
 way was blocked by a strip of land, would it? Not 
 much. We're marooned on a sure-enough island, 
 and you can't get around that. Course we might 
 run across a cow yet; same time we'll keep our 
 eyes peeled for a breadfruit tree, and coffee bushes, 
 and truck gardens. Nothing like being hopeful 
 through it all." 
 
 "Can hogs swim, Giraffe, do you happen to 
 know?" 
 
 "Well, you get me there," returned the other. 
 "I never saw one doing the same ; but seems to me 
 I have heard of such a thing. They can do nearly 
 anything, and so swimming may be on their list. I 
 only hope the old chap don't take a notion to clear 
 out of here before I get a crack at him, that's all."
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 209 
 
 "I was only going to say that we might capture 
 the old grunter, and hitch him to a log on which 
 the whole lot of us perched, making him tow the 
 same ashore." 
 
 Of course Giraffe understood Davy was only jok- 
 ing when he said this, but he chose to pretend to 
 take it seriously. 
 
 "If you leave it to me to choose, Davy," he went 
 on to say gravely, "I'd prefer to have those hams 
 and the bacon, and take my chances of paddling 
 ashore afterward. Besides, I don't believe we've 
 got anything to make harness out of, so your great 
 scheme would fall kind of flat. Give that bunch 
 of bushes another whack with your club while 
 you're about it, will you? We want to clear up 
 things as we go along, so we'll know the job's been 
 done gilt-edged." 
 
 "Looks like that's an open place ahead, Giraffe," 
 ventured Davy, after he had complied with the re- 
 quest, and found nothing. 
 
 "Yes, it does seem that way, Davy, and p'r'aps 
 now we'll have a chance to look around a bit when 
 we strike it. I was just wondering whether the 
 river could have been up over all this island any old 
 time in the past, and here's the evidence of the 
 same." 
 
 He pointed to what looked like drift stuff caught 
 in the crotch of a tree. It may have been lodged 
 there years back, but anyone with observation could 
 readily see that it had been carried to its present 
 location by a moving current. 
 
 "As true as anything, Giraffe, and there must 
 have been three feet of water over the highest
 
 210 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 ground on the island then. Lucky the rain stopped 
 when it did, or we might be perched in trees right 
 at this minute." 
 
 "That's what Thad was saying, when he told us 
 it was never so bad but what it might be a whole 
 lot worse. Think of the bunch of us being com- 
 pelled to roost in trees day and night, till some- 
 body came along in a motorboat and rescued us. 
 Well, for one, I'm glad things didn't get quite 
 that bad." 
 
 As they drew closer to the open spot they could 
 see the other scouts advancing on their right, and 
 covering the ground. They exchanged signals, and 
 in this way learned that nothing had thus far been 
 seen of those for whom they were searching. 
 
 Thad drew them together at this point. 
 
 "From here on we'll be much closer," he told 
 them all, "because it looks as though the end of 
 the island must be just a little ways off, and it seems 
 to come to a point like the upper end. Look over 
 there, what do you call that?" and he pointed di- 
 rectly ahead as he spoke. 
 
 "Smoke !" announced Old Eagle Eye instantly. 
 
 Everyone was ready to confirm his announce- 
 ment, after they had taken a look. 
 
 "And as there couldn't be smoke without a fire, 
 and no fire unless some human hand had started 
 it," the scout master continued, in his logical way, 
 "it looks as if we might be closing in on those we're 
 hunting for, Wandering George and his pal." 
 
 "Well, since they've had a fire that means the 
 finish of our grub," commented Giraffe; "but then, 
 it's only what we expected; and, Thad, there's a
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 211 
 
 great big hog on this island no, don't laugh, be- 
 cause I'm not referring to Bumpus now. I mean 
 a real porker, a whopper of several hundred pounds 
 weight. Davy stepped on him, and I could have 
 knocked the beast over as easy as turning my hand. 
 So we don't need to have any fear of being starved 
 out, if it gets to the worst." 
 
 "That sounds good to me, Giraffe, and I can see 
 that you're not joking," Thad told him. "We heard 
 some sort of a row over your way, but thought it 
 was only one of you tripping over those creepers. 
 A hog may not seem like very fine company, but 
 that depends on conditions. Just now we'll be glad 
 to know him, and to offer him the warmest seat 
 close by our fire. Fact is, we'll take him as a com- 
 panion, and let him be one of us. Now, let's make 
 our line again, for we want to push down toward 
 that fire below." 
 
 "There's another patch of scrub ahead, before we 
 get to the point of the island, and we might lose our 
 game in that if we didn't keep the net drawn across, 
 for a fact," admitted Allan, who of course recog- 
 nized the wisdom shown by the leader in contin- 
 uing the carrying out of his plan. 
 
 Once more they separated, but this time it was 
 not necessary to put much ground between them. 
 When the line had formed all eyes were turned 
 toward Thad. He waved his hat, which was the 
 signal to begin the advance; so again each scout 
 moved on as before, examining every possible cover 
 for signs of the enemy. 
 
 They had thus made a clean sweep of the island. 
 Rabbits may have escaped them by hiding in cran-
 
 212 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 nies among the rocks; and squirrels could have re- 
 mained aloft in their nests inside hollow limbs of 
 trees, or secreted amidst the foliage of the evergreen 
 hemlocks; but certainly no larger object had evaded 
 them. 
 
 As they continued to close in on the spot where 
 the smoke arose, the scouts very naturally felt more 
 or less the thrill of excitement. They knew full 
 well what it meant, for many times in the past the 
 same queer sensation had almost overpowered them. 
 
 This chase had been in progress long enough now 
 to have aroused their hunting instincts. That the 
 old blue army coat should eventually be returned 
 to the judge was to most of them a small affair, 
 for they of course did not know the real reason why 
 its recovery mattered to the former owner; but 
 they had somehow set their hearts on accomplish- 
 ing the object they had in view. And the more 
 difficulty they met with in doing this, the stronger 
 their desire grew. 
 
 The trees became more sparse, so that before long 
 they caught glimpses of the fire itself. It was not 
 burning very briskly, though sending off consid- 
 erable in the way of smoke, a fact that convinced 
 the scouts these hoboes knew nothing concerning 
 woodcraft, and the habits of Indians in making 
 fires of certain kinds of dry fuel that hardly send 
 up any smoke at all. 
 
 Now the scouts, having finished their "combing" 
 process, began to gather together for the final rush. 
 They had reached the open ground, where no ob- 
 ject half the size of a man could evade them, so
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 213 
 
 they felt they need have no fear of either one of 
 the hoboes passing by. 
 
 "I see one of them lying there, like he might be 
 asleep, Thad," whispered one of the scouts ; and of 
 course it could be taken for granted that it was 
 Giraffe, of the eagle eye, who spoke. 
 
 "The second fellow may be on the other side of 
 the fire, back of the smoke," remarked Step Hen; 
 but somehow neither Thad nor Allan could believe 
 this, because the smoke was drifting that way, and 
 they knew very well no one willingly places himself 
 on the leeward side of a smudge like that, suffo' 
 eating in its effect. 
 
 The further they crept the more concerned did 
 Thad and the Maine boy become. They could see 
 the sleeping tramp by now, and it was with more or 
 less uneasiness they realized the fact that he must 
 be other than Wandering George. Besides, not the 
 first sign of the blue army overcoat did they dis- 
 cover anywhere. 
 
 While thus preparing to close in on the sleeping 
 tramp, and give him a very unpleasant surprise, 
 the scouts were feeling stunned over the mysteri- 
 ous disappearance of the man they had been fol- 
 lowing so far, and whom they felt sure must have 
 been on that very island only a comparatively few 
 hours before. 
 
 Thad kept hoping that the second hobo would 
 start up from some place when they made their 
 presence known ; and it was in this expectation that 
 he finally swung his hat, which started his five 
 companions on a hasty run toward the smoking 
 fire.
 
 214 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE CAPTURE. 
 
 THE scouts had been eagerly awaiting this mo- 
 tion with the hat on the part of the patrol leader. 
 .It acted on them about in the same way the bang 
 of a starting pistol might with a string of nerve- 
 strained sprinters, anxious to leap forward, with a 
 prize in view to the first under the tape. 
 
 Many times before had they found themselves in 
 just this same position, with Thad deciding the 
 start. Giraffe, the fastest in the bunch, was 
 crouched in his accustomed attitude, looking some- 
 what like a big, wiry cat getting ready to spring; 
 while Bob White, Step Hen, Allan and Davy Jones 
 each had assumed an attitude best suited to his par- 
 ticular method of starting. 
 
 At the same time all of them understood this was 
 not going to be a race. They had been instructed 
 to spread out a little, after the manner of an open 
 fan, as they advanced. This was to give the tramp 
 as little chance to escape as they possibly could. 
 
 Well, the hat, after being poised for a few pre- 
 liminary seconds in mid-air, was suddenly swung 
 downward with a violent dip. That meant in the 
 plainest of language "Go!" and every fellow made 
 a forward move. 
 
 Giraffe had been given one of the outer lines,
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 215 
 
 since that meant he would have a little more ground 
 to cover; and no one was better fitted for this than 
 the lanky scout. Nature had built him for a run- 
 ner from the ground up; he did not have a super- 
 fluous ounce of fat on him, but was all muscle, 
 and, as Giraffe often proudly declared, his flesh 
 was "as hard as nails." 
 
 It was a pretty sight to see those five fellows in. 
 khaki begin to spread out in that systematic way, 
 just as though each one might consider himself a 
 part of a machine. 
 
 Thad had purposely taken the center, so that he 
 could keep an eye on every part of the field. It is 
 always considered the best thing for a captain on a 
 baseball club to be posted somewhere in the dia- 
 mond, preferably on third base, as that gives him 
 a chance to watch the game closely. It also allows 
 him the opportunity of running in frequently and 
 arguing with the umpire over disputed plays. 
 
 So far nothing had happened to warn the dozing 
 tramp of their coming. All of the boys had gotten 
 under way without a single mishap in the line of a 
 stumble, which would serve to warn their intended 
 victim. 
 
 He wag still sprawled out alongside the warm 
 fire, and doubtless enjoying himself in true hobo 
 style, caring nothing as to what went wrong with 
 the world, so long as he did not miss a meal. 
 
 Thad would have been much better satisfied could 
 he have glimpsed that badly wanted army coat 
 somewhere around ; but its absence, although to be 
 regretted, must not interfere with the programme 
 he had laid out.
 
 216 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 The distance from the shelter of the brush to the 
 fire was not very great, and could have been cov- 
 ered speedily only for the desire on the part of the 
 scouts to take the man by surprise. 
 
 Step Hen spoiled this by an unfortunate stumble, 
 which was rather singular, because as a rule he had 
 proved sure-footed. It chanced, however, that Step 
 Hen was watching the reclining figure by the fire 
 so closely that he did not notice some obstruction 
 lying in his path, so that the first thing he knew 
 he caught his toe, and measured his full length on 
 the ground. 
 
 Of course that spoiled the surprise part of the 
 game. Thad knew it instantly, as the tramp's head 
 came up, and accordingly he uttered a quick com- 
 mand. 
 
 "Rush him!" 
 
 With that each scout jumped forward, eager to 
 be the first to close in on the enemy. Those who 
 had guns displayed them threateningly, while the 
 others waved their clubs in a way that needed no 
 explanation as to what use they expected to make 
 of the same presently. 
 
 If the actions of the invaders of the hobo camp 
 were rapid the same could be said concerning the 
 movements of the lone inmate. He must have 
 realized the desperation of his position the very 
 instant he sighted those advancing boys in .khaki, 
 with such a ferocious display of various weapons of 
 defense and offense, for like a flash he scrambled to 
 his feet. 
 
 As it was hardly to be expected that the tramp
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 217 
 
 had prepared himself against a surprise like this, 
 the chances were he acted solely from impulse. 
 
 Giraffe fully expected he would try and go 
 around their outermost guards, and with memories 
 of similar tactics employed on the gridiron he 
 changed his course somewhat in order to cut off this 
 flight. 
 
 It was a mistake, for the fellow never once en- 
 deavored to flee. Instead of this he leaped over 
 to a pile of rocks that chanced to lie close by, form- 
 ing a species of pyramid. The boys saw him throw 
 himself into the midst of this, even while they were 
 rushing forward, though they couki not anticipate 
 what his scheme might be. 
 
 Events are apt to happen with lightning-like 
 rapidity under such conditions as these, and the first 
 thing the boys knew there was a sharp report as 
 of a pistol, and a puff of smoke burst from the pile 
 of rocks that thrilled them to the core. 
 
 "He's got a gun!" snapped Giraffe, looking to 
 Thad to give the order to send back as good as they 
 received. 
 
 It was a time for quick thinking. The tramp was 
 evidently a desperate sort of fellow, who, finding 
 himself in danger of arrest, meant to stand out to 
 the end. He may not have tried to injure any of 
 them when he fired that shot, but all the same it 
 gave the boys a chill, and several of them involun- 
 tarily ducked their heads, as if they fancied the hobo 
 had picked them out for his target, and that they 
 had heard the whiz of the lead past their ears. 
 
 Thad sized up the situation in that speedy way of 
 his. Occasions sometimes crop up that call for the
 
 218 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 promptest kind of action; and surely this looked 
 like one of that kind. 
 
 "Allan, keep on in the center, and I'll turn his 
 flank!" he shouted. "Bend down, everybody, and 
 get behind a rock if you can. We've just got to 
 land him, that's all there is about it !" 
 
 Even while saying this the scout master was on 
 the jump, and, passing Allan as well as Bob White, 
 he sped toward the edge of the water, making a 
 half circle. 
 
 There was another sharp report from the rocks, 
 but, although the boys held their breath while 
 watching their leader run, they rejoiced to see that 
 he gave no sign of having been injured by the 
 tramp's firing. 
 
 Every boy was keyed up to what Giraffe would 
 call "top-notch" condition; doubtless hands quivered 
 while they clutched gun or club, and hearts beat 
 with the rapidity of so many trip-hammers. But 
 to their credit it could be said that not one of them 
 as much as looked back over their shoulders, to see 
 if the way for retreat was open. That spoke well 
 for their courage, at least. 
 
 Thad reached the spot which he had set out to 
 attain, and instantly whirled, to aim his gun toward 
 the rock pile. It was just as he had anticipated, 
 for the tramp, while sheltered on the one side, was 
 fully exposed on that looking down the river. 
 
 "Surrender, or it'll be the worse for you!" 
 shouted Thad. 
 
 "Jump him, boys!" roared Giraffe, utterly un- 
 able to keep back a second longer, while his nerves 
 were quivering in that furious fashion.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 219 
 
 When Step Hen and the other four saw the im- 
 petuous right end start straight toward the rock 
 pile, they gave a shout, and proceeded to imitate his 
 example. Boys are a good deal like sheep in many 
 ways, and when one takes a venture he is certain 
 to be copied by others. 
 
 From all sides they were thus closing in rapidly 
 on the hobo who was at bay, and every fellow was 
 giving vent to his excitement in shouts and screeches 
 calculated to complete the collapse of the tramp's 
 defiance. 
 
 He knew when he had had enough. Serious 
 though arrest might appear to him under the pres- 
 ent conditions, it would be a dozen fold worse 
 should he fire that weapon of his again, and suc- 
 ceed in injuring one of these brave lads. Besides, 
 he must have been more or less influenced by the 
 handy way they carried those guns. 
 
 This being the case, the tramp at bay suddenly 
 threw up both his hands, at the same time bawling : 
 
 "Hey! don't shoot; I'm all in, gents; I surren- 
 der!" 
 
 The furious shouts now ceased, since the object 
 of their rush had apparently been accomplished. 
 Thad, however, was too smart a leader to lose any 
 advantage that fortune had placed in his hands. 
 
 "Throw out that gun!" he called in his sternest 
 voice; "and be quick about it, if you know what's 
 good for you !" 
 
 The man hastened to obey the order. No doubt 
 he understood that his captors were only boys; but 
 there may be circumstances where cubs are just 
 as dangerous as full-grown men; and this is the
 
 220 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 case when they happen to be provided with fire- 
 arms. 
 
 "Come out here, and keep your hands up!" con- 
 tinued the patrol leader, who did not trust the fel- 
 low, and while speaking he kept his gun leveled so 
 that it bore straight upon him. 
 
 The hobo looked disgusted, as well he might at 
 finding himself a victim to such humiliating condi- 
 tions, with boys his captors. He scowled darkly as 
 he left the partial shelter of the rocks, and advanced 
 several paces toward the scouts. 
 
 "That'll do," Thad told him; "now lie down on 
 the sand on your face, and put your hands behind 
 you. We've got to tie your wrists, you understand. 
 Here, don't think to play any trick, because we 
 won't stand for it ! Down on your knees, and over 
 you go!" 
 
 Realizing that such a young chap was not to be 
 trifled with, the tramp, muttering to himself, did as 
 he was ordered. Lying there on his chest he pushed 
 both hands behind his back, and crossed his wrists, 
 just as though this might not be the first time he 
 had run up against a similar situation. 
 
 "Giraffe, you fix him up !" said the patrol leader, 
 for the lengthy scout had a reputation as an expert 
 in tying hard knots, and was never known to be 
 without more or less stout cord on his person. 
 
 It had come in handy many a time in the past, 
 as Giraffe could explain if asked, and he produced 
 his coil now with a satisfied grin that told how much 
 he enjoyed his new job. 
 
 After Giraffe had completed the fastening of the 
 hobo's big wrists, there was not one chance in a
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 221 
 
 thousand the fellow could free himself, even if he 
 were a second Houdini, capable of slipping hand- 
 cuffs from his person by doubling up his pliable 
 hands. 
 
 This done, Giraffe got up, and helped the man rise 
 to his feet. 
 
 "Behave yourself now, and we'll treat you white/' 
 he told him; "but just try to make trouble, and see 
 what you get, that's all. But, Thad, where d'ye 
 reckon his pal has disappeared to, that he ain't 
 around here? We covered every foot of the island 
 from the other end, and didn't scare him up. Half 
 a loaf may be better than no bread, but we didn't 
 come after this fellow at all. We want Wandering 
 George, and we want him bad." 
 
 Thad himself was bothered to tell how the sec- 
 ond tramp had disappeared. If the ground had 
 opened and swallowed him he could not have van- 
 ished more completely; and apparently there was 
 only one source of information open to them. This 
 was the prisoner, who stood there, listening to what 
 they were saying, and trying hard to conceal a grin 
 that would creep over his face in spite of him. 
 That very cunning expression convinced Thad the 
 man knew the important fact they wanted to find 
 out, if only they could force him to speak.
 
 222 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 FORCED TO TELL. 
 
 "WHERE'S your partner?" asked Thad, turning 
 suddenly on the prisoner. 
 
 The tramp tried to look at him as if in surprise. 
 Undoubtedly he was hugging the one hope- to his 
 heart that as long as his companion remained foot- 
 free there might be a chance for his release. That 
 idea of self-interest was undoubtedly the only thing 
 that would account for his desire to remain mute. 
 
 "My partner?" he went on to say, as though not 
 understanding what was meant. 
 
 "Yes, the man who was with you, Wandering 
 George, the fellow who wore the blue army over- 
 coat that was given to him by a lady in Cranford 
 a few days ago?" 
 
 "Oh ! you mean him, does you?" the hobo replied, 
 with a knowing nod; "that guy gimme the slip 
 yesterday, and never divvied with me either. I'd 
 like right well to set eyes on George myself, and 
 that's no lie. I got a bone tuh pick with him." 
 
 "You're telling what isn't true, now," said Thad 
 severely. "We happen to know that you two came 
 here in the hold of the shanty boat we were on. 
 Last night George crept into our camp, and got 
 away with nearly all our food stuff. There's a
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 223 
 
 piece of the bacon right now, Giraffe, which ought 
 to p!ease you some. What have you got to say 
 about that, Mr. Tramp?" 
 
 "It was me sneaked your camp, kid; I was nigh 
 starved out, and nawthin' couldn't keep me from 
 takin' chances," the other boldly replied. 
 
 "Tell that to the marines!" Giraffe blurted out. 
 "Thad, you don't believe him, do you? We know 
 better than that, don't we?" 
 
 "The man who crept into our camp had a rag 
 tied around his right foot to keep the torn sole of 
 his shoe on," Thad went on to say positively, as 
 though clinching matters beyond all question ; "and 
 we can see that both your shoes are fairly decent, 
 so it couldn't have been you. Besides, there were 
 two pairs of tracks making the trail. You waited 
 for him back of the bushes, and both went off to- 
 gether. Now, you see how foolish it is trying to 
 yarn out of it. Where is George?" 
 
 The man looked into that flushed but determined 
 face. He saw something in those steady eyes that 
 convinced him the leader of these boys in khaki was 
 not the one to be further trifled with. 
 
 So he gave a nervous little laugh. 
 
 "Well, you sure got me twisted up, and kinked 
 tuh beat the band, kid," he said. "I got a pal, jest 
 as you sez, an' his handle is George. But jest 
 where he might be at this minit is more'n I c'n say." 
 
 "But he's on the island, isn't he?" demanded Step 
 Hen. 
 
 "He shore is, 'less he's took a crazy notion to try 
 an' swim over tuh the shore, which wouldn't be 
 like cautious George a bit"
 
 224 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 "He was here with you, how long ago?" asked 
 Allan; "you must have cooked breakfast this morn- 
 ing with that fire, and he sat right here, where I 
 can see the mark of his broken shoe. Where did 
 he go, and when ?" 
 
 "That's what we want to know!" added Giraffe 
 sternly. 
 
 The tramp saw that he was cornered. One by 
 one his defenses had been beaten down. These 
 energetic boys would not stand for any further 
 holding back on his part; and unless he wished to 
 invite rough treatment it was now up to him to tell 
 all he knew. 
 
 "Well, George was sittin' there, as you sez, 
 younker, an' he takes a sudden notion that he wants 
 tuh find out what the rest o' the folks of this island 
 'spected to do so's tuh get away. That bein' the 
 case, he sez to me, sez he: T reckons I'll stroll up 
 a ways, and take a look around. If there's any- 
 thing doin' in the boat line we might want tuh cop 
 it, and clear out.' And so he goes off, an' I ain't 
 seen the first sign o' George since then." 
 
 "How long ago might that have been?" asked 
 Thad. 
 
 "I been asleep nearly all the time since, so how 
 could I tell?" came the reply. 
 
 "By looking at the sun," the patrol leader told 
 him ; "you know how high it was when George went 
 away. And hoboes never have any need of a 
 watch." 
 
 " 'Cept to hock, and get cash on the same, kid," 
 the man remarked, with a grin, at the same time 
 casting a quick glance upward; "well, I reckon it
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 225 
 
 might V been all o' an hour back when George, 
 he passed away." 
 
 The boys looked at each other in some perplexity. 
 Since they had certainly covered the whole island, 
 they could not understand how it came they had 
 missed the other tramp. He was a big fellow, and 
 could not have hidden in any hole among the rocks 
 that they had noticed. The mystery bothered them, 
 from Thad down to Step Hen and Davy. 
 
 "What if he did take a notion to try and swim 
 for it ?" suggested the latter, as Giraffe was scratch- 
 ing his head, and looking in a helpless fashion at 
 Thad. 
 
 "Not one chance in a thousand that way," re- 
 plied the patrol leader; "I call myself a fairly good 
 swimmer, but I'd hate to take the chances of that 
 current, and the rocks under the surface. No, he 
 must be on the island still." 
 
 "But whereabouts, Thad; didn't we cover the 
 ground, every foot of it, while we came down 
 here?" pleaded Step Hen. 
 
 "I wonder, now?" Thad was saying half aloud, 
 as though a sudden inspiration had broken in upon 
 him. 
 
 "What is it, Thad?" begged Giraffe; "sounds like 
 you've got an idea, all right. Let's hear it, won't 
 you?" 
 
 "There's only one way we could have missed 
 him," replied the other; "and that would mean he 
 hid in a tree." 
 
 There arose a series of exclamations from the 
 other scouts. 
 
 "Well, what d'ye think of that, now?" cried Gi-
 
 226 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 raffe, apparently taken aback by the suggestion; 
 "we kept our noses turned to the ground so much 
 none of us ever bothered looking up, did we?" 
 
 "But, Thad, the leaves ain't on the trees yet, so 
 how could he hide from us? Do you mean he got 
 behind a big limb, and lay there like a squirrel?" 
 Davy demanded. 
 
 "You forget there are some hemlocks on the 
 island, and every one of us knows how easy it 
 would be for a fellow to hide in their bushy tops 
 any time of year," Thad told him. 
 
 "What's the answer?" snapped Giraffe, always 
 wanting action, and then more action. 
 
 "We've got to go back again, and find him, that's 
 all," said Thad, with a look of grim determination 
 on his face. 
 
 "How about this fellow?" remarked Allan. "Do 
 we want to trot him along with us?" and he jerked 
 his thumb at the prisoner as he said this. 
 
 Thad considered for a short time. 
 
 "That would be poor business, I'm thinking," he 
 concluded. "We'd better leave him here until we 
 want him again." 
 
 "I've got more strong cord," Giraffe suggested; 
 "and we could tie him to a tree, like the Injuns 
 used to do with their captives." 
 
 "Oh ! there ain't any need tuh do that, boys," ar- 
 gued the hobo, who apparently did not fancy such 
 an arrangement. "I'll set right here, and never 
 move while you're gone, sure I will." 
 
 "We'll make certain that you stay where we leave 
 you," Thad told him. 
 
 Giraffe only waited for the word, and imme-
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 227 
 
 diately backed the tramp to a tree that seemed suited 
 for the purpose. Then he wound the cord around 
 as many times as it would go, and tied it in hard 
 knots. As the hobo still had his hands fastened 
 behind him, and could not begin to get at the knots 
 with his teeth, it looked as though he would have 
 to stay there until the scouts were pleased to release 
 him. 
 
 "Now what, Thad?" asked the energetic Giraffe, 
 picking up his gun again. 
 
 "Go back the same way we came," the other re- 
 plied. 
 
 "Covering the ground, you mean, only this time 
 we'll look into every tree in the bargain; that's the 
 programme, is it, Thad?" asked Step Hen. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Again the boys began to spread out, and in this 
 manner was the captured tramp left behind. He 
 realized that it was useless trying to influence them 
 to change their minds, and so resigned himself to 
 his fate. 
 
 Giraffe had secured the remains of the strip of 
 bacon, and was dangling this from his left hand as 
 he went along. Apparently he did not mean to take 
 any chances of it getting away from him again; 
 and of course Bob White noted his action with a 
 nod of appreciation. 
 
 It was slow work now, because they had to in- 
 vestigate each likely tree that was approached. 
 Some of these were of a type calculated to afford 
 a refuge for anyone who wished to hide. Several 
 times one of the boys, usually the spry Davy, was
 
 228 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 sent aloft to make sure the object of their search 
 was not hiding there. 
 
 Thad began to wonder if anything could have 
 happened at their camp. He remembered that they 
 had left the two weakest scouts on guard, and this 
 worried him. 
 
 Often as he pushed on, Thad had strained his 
 hearing, dreading at the same time lest he catch 
 sounds of serious import. But beyond the chatter 
 of the crows that flew scolding ahead of them, and 
 the scream of an early red-headed woodpecker tap- 
 ping at a rotten tree trunk, there was no sound, un- 
 less he took into consideration the fretting of the 
 water sweeping past outlying spurs of the island 
 shore. 
 
 They had passed nearly halfway when Giraffe 
 beckoned to the leader, without saying a single 
 word, upon which Thad of course hastened toward 
 him. 
 
 When the lanky scout pointed to the ground, 
 Thad immediately turned his eyes in that quarter. 
 He was not very much surprised at discovering the 
 plain imprint of a shoe there in the soil. 
 
 "George made it," said Giraffe solemnly, "be- 
 cause there's that old rag tied about his foot, as 
 we've always found it. And, Thad, of course you 
 notice that he was heading up country when he 
 passed by here?" 
 
 "Yes, that's certainly a fact, Giraffe." 
 
 "Showing he came down out of his tree, and went 
 on after we passed him. Davy was right when he 
 said he believed he could see signs in that last hem- 
 lock as if some one had broken the bark with his
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 229 
 
 heels. It was Wandering George, all right; and 
 this time we've got him ahead of us. We'll not let 
 him give us the slip again; and it'll be something 
 of a joke to get a tramp at each end of the island. 
 But what are you thinking about, Thad, to look so 
 serious ?" 
 
 "I was wondering whether anything could have 
 happened to our two chums, Giraffe." 
 
 "Oh! you must mean Bumpus and Smithy!" ejac- 
 ulated the lanky scout, with a quick intake of his 
 breath, as though a thrill had passed over him at 
 the same time; "but, Thad, they had a gun, you 
 remember; and if they kept on the watch, as you 
 told 'em, what could happen to hurt the boys?" 
 
 "I don't know, only it bothers me," replied the 
 other; "and if we can hurry on any faster now I'd 
 like to do it." 
 
 The word was passed along the line, and after 
 that they tried to increase their speed, though try- 
 ing not to neglect their work, if it could be avoided. 
 
 As they drew closer to the region where the camp 
 had been made, Thad was conscious of feeling a 
 strange sensation in the region of his heart, which 
 he could not wholly understand. 
 
 Giraffe made out to wander close to him on occa- 
 sion, and was at this time saying with more or less 
 confidence : 
 
 "Only a few minutes more, Thad, and we ought 
 to raise the camp. Sure we'll find everything 
 lovely, and the goose hanging high. George would 
 know better than to bother two fellows, and one 
 of the same handling a gun in the bargain. Course 
 he sheered off, and gave them a wide berth when
 
 230 
 
 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 he saw that, Thad. It's going to come out all right, 
 I tell you!" 
 
 Nevertheless the patrol leader felt very anxious 
 as they drew near the camp, and he tried to pre- 
 pare himself for the worst.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 231 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE KEEPERS OF THE CAMP. 
 
 WHEN Bumpus and Smithy saw their comrades 
 pass away toward the north, leaving the camp in 
 their full charge, they were immediately impressed 
 with a sense of great responsibility. 
 
 The stout scout in particular seemed to feel that 
 it was a post of honor to which they had been as- 
 signed by the patrol leader. Of course this was 
 partly due to what Thad had told him at the time 
 he picked out the pair to remain behind and take 
 care of their few possessions. 
 
 "We've got to be faithful and wide awake, 
 Smithy," Bumpus told his comrade; "for it'd be 
 a terrible calamity if the boys came back here, tired 
 and played out, only to find that the enemy had 
 captured the camp in their absence. And let me 
 tell you, that would reflect on you and me forever 
 and a day afterward. You know that Thad expects 
 every fellow to do his duty. So we'll keep on the 
 watch every minute of the time till they come back 
 again." 
 
 Smithy appeared to be duly impressed with the 
 gravity of the occasion. Bumpus of course made 
 sure to carry the only weapon that had been left 
 in their charge ; but as it was his gun, and he knew
 
 232 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 more about handling it than Smithy did, it seemed 
 only right that this should be so. But the other 
 member of the home guard had seen some of the 
 boys who went off arming themselves with stout 
 cudgels, and he thought it wise to imitate their 
 example, though at the same time seriously doubt- 
 ing his ability to make good use of the same, should 
 an emergency arise. 
 
 "Yes, what you say is true, Bumpus," he re- 
 marked seriously. "The motto of all good scouts 
 is 'Be prepared,' and we must surely live up to it. 
 While I sincerely hope nothing will happen to call 
 for a defense of the camp, still I'm ready to assume 
 my share of the burden in case of necessity." 
 
 Now, Smithy always liked to use long words, 
 and his manner was something like that of an im- 
 portant pedagogue; but the boys had learned that 
 under all this surface veneering Smithy was true 
 gold, and, as Giraffe said, "O. K." 
 
 He had never been the one to indulge in uugh- 
 and-tumble "horse play" while in camp, like Gi- 
 raffe, Step Hen and Davy, for instance; but on sev- 
 eral occasions the others had seen his metal tested, 
 and Smithy had come out with flying colors. 
 
 His face might get white when danger impended, 
 but he had the right kind of nerve, and would stand 
 up for another, no matter what threatened. Smithy 
 was exceedingly modest, and always apologizing for 
 his lack of stamina ; but Thad knew he was no cow- 
 ard under it all. 
 
 The minutes passed slowly as the two boys sat 
 there by the cheery fire. Naturally they kept listen- 
 ing eagerly, half expecting to hear some sudden wild
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 233 
 
 <lamor that would announce the discovery of the 
 tramps, and a desperate effort on the part of their 
 -chums to make them prisoners. 
 
 They remembered that these men were both big 
 fellows, and undoubtedly more or less to be feared, 
 especially when their passions were aroused. 
 
 "Don't seem to be anything doing so far," Bum- 
 pus remarked, as he poked the fire, and immediately 
 .afterward raised his head, as well as his fat neck 
 would allow, the better to listen intently. 
 
 "And you'd think they'd had sufficient time to 
 reach the upper end of the island, too?" Smithy 
 went on to say reflectively. 
 
 "Oh! well, the real drive only begins then, you 
 see," Bumpus informed him, with rather an im- 
 portant air. "Thad said they meant to strike 
 straight for the place where we landed, and then 
 comb the ground as they came along. I don't just 
 know what he meant by that same word, but it 
 sounds good to me. When you comb a thing you 
 get everything out, even the tangles; and if the 
 tramps are hiding somewhere on the island they'll 
 be found." 
 
 "Trust Thad for that," assented Smithy, who had 
 the greatest admiration for and confidence in the 
 scout master. 
 
 "What was that moved then?" exclaimed Bum- 
 pus, reaching out, and taking hold of his gun with 
 hands that trembled more or less, though at the 
 same time his teeth were grimly set, and his eyes 
 shone with determination. "Sho!" he added, after 
 a half minute of terrible suspense, "look at that, 
 will you, only a sassy little striped chipmunk, after
 
 234 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 all, frisking around to see if we hadn't spilled some 
 crumbs when we had our breakfast. But I'm afraid 
 he'll be badly disappointed, because there ain't any 
 crumbs when you've only had grits for your morn- 
 ing meal." 
 
 After that they sat there for some little time 
 with senses on the alert, waiting for some sign 
 from the chums who had recently left them. 
 
 "One thing sure," Bumpus finally remarked, 
 showing what was constantly on his mind ; "they've 
 just got to pass by this way sooner or later. Course 
 we'll see 'em then; and so don't be surprised if the 
 brush begins to move over yonder, because it'll be 
 one of our chums." 
 
 "But wouldn't it be the proper caper for them 
 to warn us before they show up?" asked Smithy. 
 "They know you've got a gun, and that's always a 
 dangerous toy for a boy to handle, according to my 
 way of thinking. Why, you might imagine they 
 were the tramps, and give them a shot before you 
 saw they were our chums." 
 
 "Listen!" said Bumpus, with a broad grin. 
 
 There came from amidst the thick brush a pe- 
 culiar sound that was supposed to resemble the 
 barking of a fox. Of course both guards recog- 
 nized it as the well-known signal with which mem- 
 bers of the Silver Fox Patrol made their presence 
 known to one another when in the forest, or in the 
 darkness of night. 
 
 "Answer him, Bumpus," exclaimed Smithy, "be- 
 cause you can do it better than I've ever been able 
 to. There he goes again, and louder than before.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 235 
 
 It must be Giraffe, I should think. Let him know 
 we hear him, Bumpus." 
 
 Accordingly the stout boy did his very best to 
 imitate the sharp little bark of a fox; it did not 
 matter whether red, black or gray, so long as the 
 sound carried out the idea intended. 
 
 At that a head arose above a line of brush, and 
 the smiling face of Giraffe was discovered. IJe 
 made a motion with his hand to indicate that he 
 and his five fellow scouts were headed south. 
 
 "No signs of 'em so far, Giraffe?" asked Bum- 
 pus, in a cautious tone; and in answer the other 
 shook his head in the negative, after which he once 
 more dropped out of sight, and doubtless moved 
 away on his mission. 
 
 The pair by the fire now prepared for quite a 
 long siege. They guessed that it would take the 
 others quite some time to cover the balance of the 
 island, although of course no one in the patrol 
 knew as yet just what the dimensions of their 
 strange prison might be. 
 
 "Supposing they run across George and his com- 
 panion, will they let us know of their good for- 
 tune?" Smithy asked, after a while, when nothing 
 came to their ears save the sound of the running 
 river and the cawing of the noisy crow band in the 
 tree tops. 
 
 "Why, yes," Bumpus told him, "Thad promised 
 to send the news along if they were successful, and 
 bagged both hoboes. I keep hoping every minute 
 to get the call. You know, Smithy, lots of savage 
 people have a way of sending news by sound, and 
 by smoke, from one station to another. They say
 
 236 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 in Africa they can get word over hundreds of miles 
 in less'n no time. I'm a great believer in that sort 
 of wireless telegraphy." 
 
 "Yes," remarked Smithy, with something ap- 
 proaching humor, at least as near as he ever was 
 known to get to the joking stage, "I've noticed that, 
 when you start to shouting for your supper, because 
 you can make the greatest racket going. But all the 
 same this thing of keeping camp while the rest of 
 the boys are on the move is rather prosy, I think." 
 
 "Why, Thad assured me that any kind of a fel- 
 low could just push through all that scramble of 
 brush; but it takes a different sort to be trusted 
 with the responsible task of guarding the home base. 
 He begged me not to think it meant any reflection 
 on our abilities, Smithy. Yes, he even called us the 
 hub of the wheel, of which each of the others was 
 only a spoke." 
 
 That information rather bolstered up Smithy's 
 drooping spirits for a little while; but the solemn 
 stillness that surrounded them on all sides soon be- 
 gan to make him drowsy again. 
 
 He had not secured his customary sleep latterly, 
 and the warmth of the fire assisted in causing his 
 eyes to become heavy. 
 
 Bumpus noticed this. Several times he talked to 
 his companion, with the sole idea of keeping Smithy 
 on the alert ; but in the end he found that it did not 
 seem to avail to any extent, for the replies he re- 
 ceived were inclined to be hazy, as if the brain of 
 the other had begun to yield to that drowsy feeling. 
 
 "Oh! well," Bumpus told himself, "what's the 
 use bothering the poor tenderfoot? Smithy isn't
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 237 
 
 used to this, even if he is a pretty good fellow. He's 
 still mamma's darling boy more or less, and not 
 accustomed to roughing it, like the rest of us. He'll 
 learn in time, I reckon. Fortunately there's no 
 danger of me failing to stand the great test. Huh! 
 I've been through the mill, I have, and proven my 
 worth more'n once." 
 
 All the same it seemed that despite his brave 
 words Bumpus also felt his eyes growing heavy 
 before long. Once he even aroused with a start, 
 as his head fell forward with a lurch, giving him a 
 little twinge in his neck. 
 
 "Here, this won't do, Bumpus Hawtree !" he told 
 himself severely; "you just get busy, and show what 
 a loyal, faithful scout you are. Want Thad to drop 
 in here, and find you sound asleep on your post, do 
 you ? Well, that would be a nice pickle, believe me. 
 Smithy is only a poor tenderfoot at best, and not a 
 seasoned veteran. He might be excused, but what 
 would happen to you, tell me that?" 
 
 The idea seemed so monstrous that Bumpus im- 
 mediately scrambled to his feet, although his ac- 
 tions did not seem to interfere at all with the peace- 
 ful dreams of the sleeping scout. Smithy still sat 
 there, with his head bowed down on his breast, and 
 no doubt resting under the happy belief that he 
 was once more safe at home, after all this trying 
 flight along the flood-swept valley of the Susque- 
 hanna. 
 
 Bumpus walked away. 
 
 He thought he would feel more wide-awake if 
 he gave that fire the cold shoulder, and exercised 
 his benumbed limbs some. He took his gun, of
 
 238 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 course, for Bumpus had learned a certain degree 
 of caution through his former experiences; and it 
 turned out to be a most fortunate thing he had that 
 sagacity. 
 
 After walking about for a little while Bumpus 
 settled down alongside a tree, and once more al- 
 lowed himself to think of a number of events con- 
 nected with the past, as well as his pleasant home, 
 now so far away. 
 
 He was aroused by what seemed to be the crack- 
 ling of a twig. This startled him, because his scout 
 training declared that such a sound must always be 
 accounted exceedingly suggestive. 
 
 Bumpus silently arose to his knees, and, gripping 
 his gun tightly in his fat hands, looked all around 
 him. A slight movement caught his attention. It 
 was directly toward the fire that he looked, and 
 what he saw thrilled him through and through. 
 
 A man was actually creeping forward on hands 
 and knees, stealing along with a manner suggestive 
 of a cat. Bumpus did not need to note the fact that 
 this party was wearing a blue army overcoat, now 
 muddy, and rather forlorn-looking, to realize that 
 it could be no other than the long-lost Wandering 
 George, the tramp whom they had trailed all the 
 way from far-distant Scranton. 
 
 That he had some evil design in approaching the 
 camp so secretly there could be no possible doubt. 
 Smithy was still dozing there, and would fall an 
 easy prey to the scheming tramp, unless some com- 
 rade came boldly to the rescue. So Bumpus drew 
 in a long breath, clinched his teeth, and rising to 
 his feet moved forward.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 239 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 HEADED FOR HOME CONCLUSION. 
 
 "JusT hold on there, George; you're under ar- 
 rest!" Bumpus called out; and if his voice hap- 
 pened to be a trifle shaky, the fact did not seem to 
 interfere with the clever way in which he swung 
 that gun up, so as to cover the tramp. 
 
 Smithy awoke, and was stunned at what he saw. 
 He sat there, turning his head, to stare first at the 
 figure clothed in the blue army coat, and then at 
 his comrade, seen just topping the bushes, and look- 
 ing so like he meant business Smithy would long 
 remember that fine sight. 
 
 The hobo knew he was caught. Guns had a very 
 persuasive way with George, and he had learned 
 long ago to fight shy of all farmhouses where it was 
 known the owner possessed firearms. 
 
 "Don't shoot, young feller !" he immediately bel- 
 lowed, with astonishing energy; "I ain't goin' ter 
 try an' git away. Say, I was jest a-wantin' ter 
 surrender, so's ter git off'n this island. I ain't never 
 yet starved ter death, an' I don't wanter try the 
 same. I'm a prisoner o' war, an' ye wouldn't be so 
 mean's as ter pepper a harmless man, I hopes, Boy?" 
 
 Bumpus proceeded to advance, all the while keep- 
 ing that menacing gun leveled. He had had a previ- 
 ous experience in capturing a supposed-to-be des-
 
 240 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 perate rascal, and felt that he must be cautious in 
 how he handled matters. 
 
 "Smithy, is there a piece of that rope handy?" he 
 demanded; and the other scout after a hasty look 
 around made an affirmative reply. 
 
 "There certainly is, Bumpus, and it seems to be 
 a good strong piece, too," he went on to say. 
 "Please tell me what you want me to do with it. I 
 know how to tie all sorts of perfectly splendid 
 knots; if only the wretch won't seize hold of me, 
 and make use of me as a shield. They're all so 
 very treacherous, you know, Bumpus." 
 
 "Sure, I understand that, Smithy," he was told, 
 "but I'm up to a trick or two on my own hook. 
 Here, you George, just drop down on your mar- 
 row bones that means get on your knees." 
 
 The tramp looked anything but happy, but when 
 he hesitated Bumpus swung his gun up again, and 
 it could be easily seen that he was ready for busi- 
 ness. So George immediately dropped down on his 
 knees, with his hands still raised in a really gro- 
 tesque fashion above his head. 
 
 "Now, I don't mean to ask you to say your 
 prayers, because I reckon you never learned any," 
 Bumpus proceeded briskly; "but continue the for- 
 ward movement. In other words, fall flat on your 
 face, and stretch out there, with your nose rooting 
 in the ground. No back talk now, but do what 
 you're told !" 
 
 George did so. He evidently knew better than 
 to refuse so modest a request, especially while' 
 threatened with a load of shot at close quarters. 
 
 Then Bumpus advanced close up.
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 24X 
 
 "Smithy," he said, with a grand air, as became 
 a conqueror, "use your rope, and tie his wrists be- 
 hind his back. If there's enough left, give a turn 
 around his ankles, will you, please ? And whatever 
 you do, let it be thorough. That's what scouts are 
 taught to always be, you know." 
 
 Under the immediate eye of Bumpus the tramp 
 was triced up, after which the two boys dragged him 
 behind a screen of bushes. Bumpus was in constant 
 apprehension lest the second hobo appear on the 
 scene, and managed to keep his eyes turned this way 
 and that as the minutes passed on. 
 
 It seemed as though the morning must be wear- 
 ing away when finally the barking of a fox, so ex- 
 cellently done that it would have deceived an old 
 hunter, announced the near presence of Allan and 
 Thad, and likely the others besides. 
 
 When they entered the camp they seemed to be 
 laboring under some excitement; but Bumpus had 
 warned Smithy not to give their secret away imme- 
 diately. 
 
 "Well, what luck did you have, boys ?" asked the 
 stout lad, as one and then another of the six filed 
 past him to the vicinity of the fire. 
 
 "We cornered one of the precious pair down at 
 the extreme end of the island," acknowledged Gi- 
 raffe; "but George gave us the slip somehow. We 
 figured he must have hid in a hemlock top, and 
 after we passed come on up here ; and since we ran 
 across his trail not far from camp some of us be- 
 gan to get cold feet for fear that you two might 
 have been surprised and taken prisoner. We're all
 
 242 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 as glad as hops to see that was a false alarm, Bum- 
 pus and Smithy." 
 
 "But have you seen anything of George?" asked 
 Thad, who believed there was something decidedly 
 odd about the way the features of the two guards 
 were working, as though they might be doing every- 
 thing in their power to conceal some secret. 
 
 Of course Bumpus had by that time reached the 
 limit of his endurance, especially since Smithy gave 
 a big yell, unable to hold in any further. 
 
 "Go and take a look back of the bushes there; 
 that's the answer, boys !" Bumpus remarked, trying 
 to look indifferent, though really trembling all over 
 with the joyful excitement. 
 
 There was an immediate rush in the quarter 
 pointed out ; and then shouts that might have easily 
 been heard at the lower end of the island. 
 
 "Well, what d'ye think of that, now?" Giraffe 
 was saying, in his usual boisterous manner ; "if they 
 haven't gone and done it, capturing the long-lost 
 George as nice as you please! Yes, and there's 
 that old engineer's army coat, too ; mebbe the judge 
 won't be glad to get that keepsake back again !" 
 
 Thad was especially well pleased. Of course this 
 was partly on account of having finally accom- 
 plished the task that had been set before him, be- 
 cause he always felt satisfied when he could look 
 back to duty well done. 
 
 Besides, he fairly gloried in the fact that the two 
 tenderfeet of the patrol, as they might still be 
 called, had succeeded in covering themselves with 
 honor in having captured the second desperate ras- 
 cal.
 
 The first thing Thad did was to stand the tramp 
 up, remove his bonds, and make him strip off the 
 blue coat that had once kept the judge's son warm 
 while serving Uncle Sam during our late war with 
 Spain, after which he saw to it that George had his 
 hands bound again. 
 
 Two of the boys were dispatched along the shore, 
 where the walking was better, to bring back the 
 other prisoner. To another pair was given the task 
 of setting up a pole on an elevated part of the 
 island, bearing a white flag, which, if seen by any- 
 one on the distant shore, might be the means of 
 bringing a boat to the rescue of the marooned ones. 
 
 Meanwhile Thad investigated, and found that 
 apparently George had had no suspicion that there 
 was anything sewed inside the red lining of the 
 army coat given to him by Mrs. Whittaker. Feel- 
 ing carefully along the sides, Thad discovered that 
 at a certain place there seemed to be something 
 nestled ; and when he held the garment close to his 
 ear he was able to catch a slight rustling sound when 
 he bent it back and forth; so he concluded the pa- 
 per must be safe. 
 
 There was enough of the bacon and other things 
 left, it happened, to give them a scanty feed at 
 noon; and they had high hopes that before another 
 night came the conditions would be vastly improved. 
 
 This confidence proved well founded, for along 
 about three o'clock Giraffe, who had set himself to 
 be the lookout, came running into camp with the 
 cheering news that two boats were coming from 
 the shore, and that the period of their captivity on 
 the island had reached its end.
 
 244 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 It turned out that those rowing the boats were 
 men who had been sent out by the authorities ta 
 look for any families in distress because of the flood 
 in the Susquehanna region. There was ample room 
 aboard for the eight scouts, as well as their two 
 prisoners ; and in due time they landed on the bank, 
 overjoyed to know that not only were they free 
 once more, but that their principal object in making 
 this long hike had been handsomely accomplished. 
 
 Giraffe and Bumpus shook hands solemnly when 
 the fact was mentioned that they had been invited to 
 stay over at a neighboring farmhouse, where they 
 could obtain a bountiful supper and sleep in the 
 barn. That meant supreme happiness to the lengthy 
 and the stout members of the patrol, the "fat and 
 the lean of it," as Giraffe himself would say. 
 
 Thad was careful to see that the two tramps were 
 handed over to the authorities. All the evidence 
 needed to convict them of the robbery of the Bailey 
 home was discovered on their persons, for they had 
 been tempted to take several little valuable bits of 
 jewelry that fastened the crime on them when found 
 in their pockets. 
 
 He felt that they were well rid of the rascals 
 when the two men were led away; nor did any of 
 the scouts ever set eyes on Wandering George or 
 his companion again. 
 
 Since all of the patrol were exceedingly tired, it 
 can safely be assumed that they slept soundly on 
 that night. The hay was sweet; they had been 
 given a bountiful supper, such as only farmers' 
 wives know how to spread before guests ; and Bum- 
 pus had done himself proud when called upon to
 
 ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA 245> 
 
 entertain their host's family with a number of fa- 
 vorite songs, as well as by the dexterous use of his:, 
 bugle, upon which he dearly loved to play, and with 
 considerable effect. 
 
 When another day dawned the boys were given 
 a breakfast they would not soon forget, nor would 
 the kind lady accept a single cent in payment for 
 the same, declaring that she and her family had 
 enjoyed having the scouts remain a night with them, 
 and that they had learned a thousand things about 
 their work such as they had long been wishing to 
 know. 
 
 The homeward march was begun; and as time 
 was passing rapidly now, Thad thought it only right 
 they should take advantage of the fact that a trol- 
 ley covered a considerable number of miles between 
 Cranford and the point they were at. None of them 
 objected to this means of lightening their labors, 
 for several among the scouts had complained that 
 their feet were beginning to swell and pain them. 
 
 By clever work they managed to arrive home that 
 same evening, pleased with their last adventure. 
 Its successful termination would long be a source 
 of gratification to those who had participated in the 
 chase after Wandering George and the blue army 
 overcoat that the judge wanted to keep "in memory 
 of his son." 
 
 Thad could not wait for morning to come, but 
 immediately after supper he took the coat, once 
 more brushed clean, over his arm, and set out for 
 the home of old Judge Whittaker. When he was 
 ushered into the library, and the eminent jurist saw
 
 246 THE BOY SCOUTS 
 
 what he was carrying, he expressed himself pleased 
 in no uncertain tones. 
 
 As the good lady of the house happened to be 
 out at a neighbor's just then, the judge did not 
 hesitate to rip open the lining of the coat, and then 
 triumphantly extract a thin paper, which he seemed 
 to prize exceedingly. 
 
 He declared that he was under great obligations 
 to the scouts, and expressed an earnest desire to do 
 something grand for the troop; but of course Thad 
 was compelled to decline, assuring him they had en- 
 joyed the little adventure greatly, and that at any 
 rate the rules of their organization would prevent 
 <Jiem from accepting any pay for such a service. 
 
 Thad and his friends were looking forward to 
 another outing in the woods during the coming 
 summer, and expected to have a delightful time. 
 None of them, however, so much as suspected what 
 a strange turn of fortune would alter their plans, 
 3.nd allow some of the scouts to visit foreign lands 
 while the greatest war in the history of the whole 
 world was breaking out.
 
 SAVE THE WRAPPER! 
 
 TF you have enjoyed reading about the 
 ^ adventures of the new friends you have 
 made in this book and would like to read 
 more clean, wholesome stories of their en- 
 tertaining experiences, turn to the book 
 jacket on the inside of it, a comprehensive 
 list of Hurt's fine series of carefully selected 
 books for young people has been placed for 
 your convenience. 
 
 Orders for these looks, placed with your 
 bookstore or sent to the Publishers, will 
 receive prompt attention.
 
 FRANK 
 
 ARMSTRONG 
 
 SERIES 
 
 By MATTHEW M. COLTON 
 
 Six Exceptional Stories of College Life, Describ- 
 ing Athletics from Start to Finish. For Boys 10 tc 
 15 Years. 
 
 PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH 
 
 POSTAGE lOc EXTRA 
 
 Cloth Bound 
 With Attractive Jackets in Colors. 
 
 FRANK ARMSTRONG'S VACATION 
 FRANK ARMSTRONG AT QUEENS 
 FRANK ARMSTRONG'S SECOND TERM 
 FRANK ARMSTRONG, DROP KICKER 
 
 FRANK ARMSTRONG, CAPTAIN OF THE 
 NINE 
 
 FRANK ARMSTRONG AT COLLEGE 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by the Publishers 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
 
 Border Boys 
 
 By Fremont B. Deering 
 
 Mexican and Canadian Frontier Stones for Boys 
 12 to 16 Years. 
 
 PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH 
 
 POSTAGE lOc EXTRA 
 
 With Individual Jackets in Colors. 
 Cloth Bound 
 
 BORDER BOYS ON THE TRAIL 
 BORDER BOYS ACROSS THE FRONTIER 
 
 BORDER BOYS WITH THE MEXICAN 
 RANGERS 
 
 BORDER BOYS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS 
 BORDER BOYS IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES 
 
 BORDER BOYS ALONG THE ST. LAWRENCE 
 RIVER 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by the Publisher? 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
 
 The 
 
 Boy Troopers 
 Series 
 
 BY CLAIR W. HAYES 
 Author of the Famous "Boy Allies" Series. 
 
 The adventures of two boys with the Pennsyl- 
 vania State Police. 
 
 For Boys 12 to 16 Years. 
 
 All Copyrighted Titles. 
 
 Cloth Bound, with Attractive Cover Designs. 
 PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH 
 
 POSTAGE lOc EXTRA 
 
 THE BOY TROOPERS ON THE TRAIL 
 THE BOY TROOPERS IN THE NORTHWEST 
 THE BOY TROOPERS ON STRIKE DUTY 
 THE BOY TROOPERS AMONG THE WILD 
 MOUNTAINEERS 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by the Publishers 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
 
 Boys of the Royal 
 Mounted Police Series 
 
 By MILTON RICHARDS 
 
 A new series of stories of Adventure 
 in the North Woods 
 
 For Boys 12 to 16 Years 
 Handsome Cloth Binding 
 
 DICK KENT WITH THE MOUNTED 
 POLICE 
 
 Dick and his friend Sandy meet with ambush and des- 
 perate hand-to-hand encounters while on a dangerous 
 mission with the Canadian Mounted Police. 
 
 DICK KENT IN THE FAR NORTH 
 
 Outwitting the notorious outlaw "Bear" Henderson 
 with the help of Malemute Slade, the two boys dis- 
 cover the secret of a lost gold mine. 
 
 DICK KENT WITH THE ESKIMOS 
 
 In their search, with the mounted police, for an 
 escaped murderer, Dick and Sandy have thrilling 
 experiences with ice floes and animals in the Arctic. 
 
 DICK KENT, FUR TRADER 
 
 On the trail with Corporal Rand, Dick Kent and his 
 two associates unravel the mystery of the fur thieves. 
 
 DICK KENT WITH THE MALEMUTE 
 MAIL 
 
 Entrusted with the vaccine for an isolated trading 
 post, Dick and his friends win through in spite of 
 incredible difficulties. 
 
 DICK KENT ON SPECIAL DUTY 
 
 Corporal Rand and his young recruits solve a mystery 
 and find a hidden treasure. 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY, Publishers, 
 114-120 EAST 23rd STREET NEW YORK
 
 The Boy Allies 
 
 (Registered in the United States 
 Patent Office) 
 
 With the Navy 
 
 BY 
 ENSIGN ROBERT L. DRAKE 
 
 For Boys 12 to 16 Years. 
 All Cloth Bound Copyright Titles 
 
 PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH 
 Postage lOc Extra 
 
 Frank Chadwick and Jack Templeton, young American lads, 
 meet each other in an unusual way soon after the declaration 
 of war. Circumstances place them on board the British cruiser, 
 "The Sylph," and from there on, they share adventures with 
 the sailors of the Allies. Ensign Robert L. Drake, the author, 
 is an experienced naval officer, and he describes admirably the 
 many exciting adventures of the two boys. 
 
 THE BOY ALLIES ON THE NORTH SEA PATROL; or, Strik* 
 ing the First Blow at the German Fleet. 
 
 THE BOY ALLIES UNDER TWO FLAGS; or, Sweeping the 
 Enemy from the Sea. 
 
 THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE FLYING SQUADRON; or, The 
 Naval Raiders of the Great War. 
 
 THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEA; or, 
 
 The Last Shot of Submarine D-16. 
 
 THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE SEA; or, The Vanishing 
 Submarine. 
 
 THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALTIC; or, Through Fields of 
 Ice to Aid the Czar. 
 
 THE BOY ALLIES AT JUTLAND; or, The Greatest Naval 
 Battle of History. 
 
 THE BOY ALLIES WITH UNCLE SAM'S CRUISERS; or, Con- 
 Toying the American Army Across the Atlantic. 
 
 THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE SUBMARINE D-32 ; or, Th* 
 Fall of the Russian Empire. 
 
 THB BOY ALLIES WITH THE VICTORIOUS FLEETS; or 
 The Fall of the German Navy. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by the Publishers 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
 
 The Boy Allies 
 
 (Registered in the United States 
 Patent Office) 
 
 With the Army 
 
 BY CLAIR W. HAYES 
 
 For Boys 12 to 16 Years. 
 All Cloth Bound Copyright Titles 
 
 In this series we follow the fortunes of two American lads 
 unable to leave Europe after war is declared. They meet the 
 soldiers of the Allies, and decide to oast their lot with them. 
 Their experiences and escapes are many, and furnish plenty of 
 good, healthy action that every boy loves. 
 
 THE BOY ALLIES AT LIEGE; or, Through Lines of Steel. 
 THE BOY ALLIES ON THE FIRING LINE; or, Twelve Days' 
 
 Battle Along the Marne. 
 THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE COSSACKS; or, A Wild Dash 
 
 Over the Carpathians. 
 THE BOY ALLIES IN THE TRENCHES; or, Midst Shot and 
 
 Shell Along the Aisne. 
 THE BOY ALLIES IN GREAT PERIL; or, With the Italian 
 
 Army in the Alps. 
 THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALKAN CAMPAIGN; or, The 
 
 Struggle to Save a Nation. 
 THE BOY ALLIES ON THE SOMME; or, Courage and Bravery 
 
 Rewarded. 
 THE BOY ALLIES AT VERDUN; or, Saving France from the 
 
 Enemy. 
 THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES; or, 
 
 Leading the American Troops to the Firing Line. 
 THE BOY ALLIES WITH HAIG IN FLANDERS; or, The 
 
 Fighting Canadians of Vimy Ridge. 
 THE BOY ALLIES WITH PERSHING IN FRANCE; OP, Over 
 
 the Top at Chateau Thierry. 
 THE BOY ALLIES WITH MARSHAL FOCH; or, The Closing 
 
 Days of the Great World War. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by the 
 Publishers 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY 
 
 114-120 EAST 23d STREET NEW YORK
 
 Series 
 
 BY L. P. WYMAN, PH.D. 
 
 Dean of Pennsylvania Military College. 
 
 A new series of instructive copyright stories for 
 boys of High School Age. 
 
 Handsome Cloth Binding. 
 PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH 
 
 POSTAGE lOc EXTRA 
 
 THE 
 
 THE 
 THE 
 THE 
 THE 
 THE 
 
 THE 
 THE 
 THE 
 
 THE 
 
 GOLDEN 
 CELL 
 
 GOLDEN 
 GOLDEN 
 GOLDEN 
 GOLDEN 
 
 GOLDEN 
 GASH 
 
 GOLDEN 
 GOLDEN 
 
 GOLDEN 
 DAM 
 
 GOLDEN 
 
 BOYS AND THEIR NEW ELECTRIC 
 
 BOYS AT THE FORTRESS 
 BOYS IN THE MAINE WOODS 
 BOYS WITH THE LUMBER JACKS 
 BOYS RESCUED BY RADIO 
 BOYS ALONG THE RIVER ALLA- 
 
 BOYS AT THE HAUNTED CAMP 
 BOYS ON THE RIVER DRIVE 
 BOYS SAVE THE CHAMBERLAIN 
 
 BOYS ON THE TRAIL 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by the Publishers 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 E. 23d St., NEW YORK
 
 THE 
 
 HUNNIWELL BOYS 
 SERIES 
 
 By L. P. WYMAN 
 
 Author of "The Golden Boys" and 
 "The Lakewood Boys" Series 
 
 Bill and Gordon Hunniwell, two enterprising 
 and inventive young Americans, have many thrill- 
 ing experiences far above the clouds in the 
 "Albatross," their new electric airplane. Their 
 adventures with the Secret Service and narrow 
 escapes in the fog, when searching for the lost Ger- 
 man aviators, are admirably described in this new 
 series. 
 
 THE HUNNIWELL BOYS IN THE AIR 
 THE HUNNIWELL BOYS' VICTORY 
 
 THE HUNNIWELL BOYS IN THE SECRET 
 SERVICE 
 
 THE HUNNIWELL BOYS AND THE PLATI- 
 NUM MYSTERY 
 
 THE HUNNIWELL BOYS' LONGEST FLIGHT 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY, Publishers 
 
 114-120 EAST 23d STREET NEW YORK
 
 The Jack 
 Lorimer Series 
 
 BY WINN STANDISH 
 
 For Boys 12 to 16 Years. 
 All Cloth Bound Copyright Titles 
 
 PRICE, 50 CENTS EACH 
 Postage lOc. Extra 
 
 CAPTAIN JACK LORIMER; or, The Young Athlete of Millvale 
 High. 
 
 Jack Lorimer is a fine example of the all-around Amer- 
 ican high-school boys. His fondness for clean, honest sport 
 of all kinds will strike a chord of sympathy among athletic 
 youths. 
 
 JACK LORIMER'S CHAMPIONS ; or, Sports on Land and Lak* 
 
 There is a lively story woven in with the athletic achieve* 
 ments, which are all right, since the book has been O. K'd. 
 by Chadwick, the Nestor of American Sporting journalism. 
 
 JACK LORIMEir.S HOLIDAYS; or, Millvale High in Camp. 
 
 It would be well not to put this book into a boy's hands 
 until the chores are finished, otherwise they might be 
 neglected. 
 
 JACK LORIMER'S SUBSTITUTE; or, The Acting Captain of 
 the Team. 
 
 On the sporting side, this book takes up football, wrestling, 
 and tobogganing. There is a good deal of fun in this book 
 and plenty of action. 
 
 JACK LORIMER, FRESHMAN; or, From Mill vale High to 
 Bxmouth. 
 
 Jack and some friends he makes crowd innumerable hap- 
 penings into an exciting freshman year at one of the lead- 
 ing Eastern colleges. The book is typical of the American 
 college boy's life, and there is a lively story, interwoven 
 with feats on the gridiron, hockey, basketball and other 
 clean honest sports for which Jack Lorimer stands. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent on receipt of price by the Publishers 
 
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