CHAPTER VIII
WOODMAN, SPARE THIS TREE
"Now, what are you going to do?" questioned the guide.
"I'll show you. Everyone get out of the way."
Ned Rector swung the axe, burying the blade in the tree.
"Ned, Ned!" warned the Professor.
"He won't have to cut it down. Stacy will come down long beforethere is any danger," answered Walter.
"Pshaw! You don't know how to chop," jeered Chunky. "GeorgeWashington, with his dull little hatchet, could out-chop you with onehand."
Ned was making the chips fly just the same. His hat had dropped offand perspiration was rolling from his forehead, for his axe was notmaking as much impression on the tree as he had confidently expectedit would. He made lots of chips, but they were thin ones.
"Woodman, spare this tree," pleaded a mocking voice from above.
"I will spare the tree, but I won't spare you," retorted Rector. "Weshall have this tree on the ground within fifteen minutes."
Stacy was tugging at a small bushy limb, but Ned was too busy toobserve what the fat boy was doing. After considerable effort Chunkysucceeded in breaking off the limb. He poised it carefully for a fewseconds, then let go. The limb was not heavy, but in falling thatdistance it gained considerable momentum. The limb caught Ned fairlyon top of the head, causing him to stagger back and sit down heavily,while his companions shouted and jeered, Billy Lilly looking on witha broad grin on his face.
"Stop this instantly!" commanded the Professor. "I'll not have suchgoings on. Stacy, will you come down out of that tree?"
"I will not."
"I command you to come down."
"Command _him_. Don't command _me_. How can I come down when NedRector is using the axe? He might chop me in two."
"Stacy!"
"Professor!"
"Ned, put away that axe. We can't have anything like this."
"But he smeared my face with mud after I had saved him from the'gators," protested Ned.
"He--he jumped on me. I had to stop him," answered the boy up thetree.
The Professor motioned to Ned to go away, which Rector did ratherunwillingly.
"Now, come down here."
Stacy hesitated, then wrapping both arms about the tree trunk hestarted down slowly. As he went he gained momentum, and the lasteight or ten feet he shot down barely touching the tree, landing in aheap in the mud at the feet of his laughing companions. Stacy was upin a twinkling, fully expecting to find Ned Rector sprinting towardshim. Ned, however, had remained by the tents.
"You never mind! I'll take it out of you some other time. I'll oweyou a thrashing until some more convenient time," warned Ned, shakinghis fist at Stacy.
"Now, young man, what excuse have you to offer for going into thelake?" demanded the Professor, laying a firm grip on Chunky'sshoulder.
"What excuse?"
"That is what I asked."
"Be--be--because I wanted to take a bath," answered the fat boy.
"Go to your tent and finish dressing."
"Yes, I guess Ichabod has breakfast nearly ready," added the guide.
Stacy pricked up his ears at the word "breakfast," and started on atrot for the camp.
"I'll fix you for that, one of these days," threatened Ned as Chunkysprang into his own tent, appearing neither to have seen nor heardNed. The same condition existed at breakfast. Ned was castingthreatening glances at the fat boy, which the latter was pleased toignore. Once during the meal Chunky, chancing to catch Ned's eye,winked solemnly, whereupon Ned forgot his anger and laughed aloud.
"That's the way it always ends. No one can stay mad at me for verylong," wailed the fat boy. "That's the way my fun is always spoiled."
"Do you like to have folks mad at you?" questioned Lilly.
"Of course I do. What's the fun of living if somebody isn't makinglife interesting for you?" replied Stacy, gazing earnestly at theperplexed face of the guide.
"I--I never heard it put just that way before, but I reckon maybethere's something in what you say," reflected Billy.
"Of course there is. There is always something in what I say. I'llleave it to Tad, if there isn't."
"I agree," laughed Butler. "But let's talk about the canebrake.Where do we go from here, Mr. Lilly?"
"I reckon we will lay our course for Sunflower."
"What is that?" asked Ned.
"A flower," answered Stacy. "The common garden variety, like somepersons we know."
"You mean Sunflower River, do you not?" asked Tad.
"Yes. What do you know about it?" inquired Lilly, raising hiseyebrows.
"Not very much. I know there is such a place some twenty miles tothe westward of where we are located at present," answered Butler.
"As I have said before, you boys don't need a guide."
"No, I think we need a guardian as much as anything. I move that weappoint you as Master Stacy's guardian," suggested Ned.
"Carried," shouted Walter.
"Excuse me, as Ichabod would say. I may be something of a success asa guide, but as the guardian of our young friend I fear I should be amiserable failure. I am too slow for a job like that. It needs ayounger and more active man than myself for that position."
"You are right it does," piped up Stacy.
"It needs a hustler to keep going with Stacy Brown. When do westrike camp?"
"After breakfast," answered Tad.
"That means you fellows will have some work to do," nodded Chunky.
"It means you will have to do your share," replied Tad sharply. "Youneedn't think we are going to do your work for you this trip. Anyman who shirks will be punished."
"How?"
"We haven't decided that yet. When we get into camp on the SunflowerRiver we are going to hold a meeting and draw up rules andregulations for the guidance of the Pony Rider Boys. Every man willhave to abide by those rules, including Professor Zepplin," declaredTad.
"I agree to them in advance. It is an excellent idea," approved theProfessor.
"Better not be too sure about that," laughed Tad. "We may make someregulations to which you will find it hard to submit. They will bevery stringent."
"Yes," urged Chunky. "The Professor needs discipline."
"So do some others," muttered Tad.
Immediately after breakfast the boys began their work of packing.
They were glad to break camp after their experiences on Tensas Lake.It was not a comforting feeling to know that the waters almostunderfoot were alive with dangerous reptiles. Then again these mightcome on shore in search of prey. Such things had been known. Beyondthis the boys were eager to get into the heart of the canebrake andbegin following the game trails of the southern jungle, an unknownsection to most American people. Only a comparatively few sturdyhunters and rangers have followed these trails. The perils are toogreat, both from fever and from the denizens of the big swamp.
"How are we ever going to drive our horses through?" questioned Tad.
"That is easy when you know how," smiled Lilly.
"But it was all I could do to get through on foot when I was out theother day."
"You will find these horses are pretty handy in the swamp. Theordinary animal would be of no use at all. I will lead the way andshow you something that will perhaps be new to you in forest travel."
"It is all new to me," answered Tad.
"All you folks have your horns with you in case we get separated. Ifyou do, wind the horn until you get a reply."
"Wind your horn?" wondered Stacy Brown.
"Yes."
"What do you wind it with?"
"Oh, a piece of string," retorted Ned.
"Winding the horn is blowing it, Stacy," Tad informed him. "Blow itfor keeps in case you get lost or are in trouble."
"Oh! Funny names you have for things down here. Won't it scare allthe game out of the woods?"
"It will if you blow the horn," laughed Ned.
&nb
sp; Laughing and joking the boys hurried the work of breaking camp,folding their tents into neat packages, putting every piece ofequipment in its proper place. The boys liked to attend to all thesedetails themselves, having been in the habit of doing things in thesame way for so long. Then again they knew where everything was,right where to put their hands on any part of their equipment nomatter how dark the night might be.
When they were ready, the guide looked over the outfit and noddedapprovingly.
"I'll take the lead," he said. "Give your horses their heads. Theywill know how to follow; in fact, they will know better than you boys.After you have ridden the brake for a time you will know it as wellas I do. And look out that you don't get sidewiped and dismounted byany of those low-hanging vines."
"I should like to see the vine that could unhorse me," answered Stacy.
The outfit started with the guide leading, Ichabod next, then Tad andthe others. Stacy's saddle girth slipped as he grabbed the pommel tomount, causing him to sit down suddenly. The others were too fullyoccupied to notice his mishap, nor did they hear him call to them towait for him. The riders swept away at a brisk running trot, whichthese experienced horses always adopted in working through the swampor the canebrake.
The way Lilly bored through the forest was a revelation to the boys.In and out among the great tree trunks he rode, dodging cypress knees,leaping fallen trees where not too high, slashing right and left withhis long bush-knife, cutting a vine here or a limb there, leaving abroad, easily followed trail that even a novice would have had littledifficulty in following, though of course at a slower pace.
The boys were convulsed with laughter at the way Lilly bored his waythrough the jungle, the banged tail of his cob standing straight out,the tough little animal's ears laid back on its head, and nose thruststraight ahead. To Tad Butler the wild ride was a delight, only hewould have preferred to be the one up in front, slashing and hewingthe way for the others, for Tad was a natural leader and would haveenjoyed work of this kind.
In the meantime Stacy Brown had been left far behind, out of sightand out of sound of the rapidly moving outfit. As yet he had notbeen missed.