CHAPTER I
_On the Mountain Side_
"I'm tired, and the other pack mules are tired, and from the way youmove I imagine that the rest of you donkeys are tired!" called out JackRidsdale, as the last of the mules and their drivers scrambled up thebank and gained a secure foothold on the little plateau.
"I move that we camp here for the night. All in favor say 'aye.' Themotion's carried unanimously."
With that the tall boy threw off the pack that burdened his shoulders,set his gun up against a friendly tree and proceeded in other ways torelieve himself of the restraints under which he had toiled up the steepmountain side since early morning, with only now and then a minute'spause for breath.
"This is a good place to camp in," he presently added. "There's grazingfor the mules, there's timber around for fire wood and I hear watertrickling down from the cliff yonder. So 'Alabama,' which is Cherokeeeloquence meaning 'here we rest.'"
The party consisted of five sturdy boys and a man, the Doctor, notnearly so stalwart in appearance, who seemed about twenty-eight orthirty years old. Each member of the party carried a heavy pack upon hisback and each had a gun slung over his shoulder and an axe hanging byhis girdle. There were four packmules heavily laden and manifestly wearywith the long climb up the mountain.
As the boys were scarcely less weary than the mules they eagerlywelcomed Jack Ridsdale's decision to go no farther that day, but restwhere they were for the night.
"Now then," Jack resumed as soon as he got his breath again--a thingrequiring some effort in the rarefied atmosphere of the high mountainpeak--"we're all starved. The first thing to do is to get a fire startedand get the kettle on for supper. If some of you fellows will unload themules and get out the necessary things I'll chop some wood and we'llhave a fire going in next to no time."
With that he swung his axe over his shoulder and stalked off into thenearby edge of the wood land. There with deft blows--for he was anexpert with the axe--he quickly converted some fallen limbs and deadtrees into a rude sort of fire wood which the other boys shouldered andcarried to the glade where the Doctor had started a little fire thatneeded only feeding to become a great one.
During their laborious climb up the steep mountain side the party hadfound the early November day rather too warm for comfort; but now thatthe sun had sunk behind the mountain, and evening was drawing near,there was a sharp feeling of coming frost in the atmosphere, and as itwould be necessary to sleep out of doors that night with no shelter butthe stars, Jack continued his chopping until a great pile of dry woodlay near the fire ready for use during the night.
In the meantime the other boys busied themselves in getting supperready. Harry Ridsdale--Jack's younger brother--prepared a great pot ofcoffee, while Ed Parmly fried panful after panful of salt pork, and JimChenowith endeavored to boil some potatoes. "Little Tom" Ridsdale,another brother of Jack's, employed himself in bringing the wood as fastas his brother chopped it, and piling it near the fire. While thesethings were doing the Doctor had carefully unpacked some of hisscientific instruments and hung them up on trees at points, convenientfor observation.
Presently Ed Parmly called out: "Now fellows, supper's ready--at leastthe pork and the coffee are waiting for Jim Chenowith to dish up hispotatoes. Come Jim, what's the matter? Are you trying to boil thosepotatoes into mush?"
"No," answered Jim, jabbing the tubers with a stick which he hadsharpened for that purpose, "but somehow the potatoes don't seem to wantto get done. Mother always boils them in from ten to twenty minutes,according to their size, and these are about the ten minute size, yetI've boiled them for full half an hour and they're only now beginning toget soft."
"Your mother's potato kettle," said the Doctor, "isn't boiled at anelevation of two thousand feet above the sea level and that," consultinghis aneroid barometer, "is about our present altitude."
"How do you find out that?"
"What has height to do with boiling potatoes?"
These questions were fired at the Doctor instantly.
"One at a time please," said the Doctor, "and as I see Jim is at lastdishing up his potatoes we'll postpone the answer to both questions, ifyou don't mind, till we have satisfied our appetites."
The hungry fellows were ready enough to give exclusive attention to thebusiness in hand, and as they sat there on logs and other improvisedseats with tin plates before them and tin cups at hand they were apicturesque and attractive group, such as an artist would have rejoicedto portray.
As is usual with boys in the mountain regions of Southern Virginia, theywere very tall--the older ones nearing, and Jack exceeding, six feet inheight, while even "Little Tom" stood five feet seven in his socks witha year or two of growth still ahead of him. They were all robustfellows, too, lean, muscular, thin visaged, clear eyed and bronzed offace. They wore high boots, into which the legs of their trousers werethrust, and, over their trousers, thick woollen hunting shirts, thewhole crowned with soft felt hats. It was precisely the dress whichWashington urged upon Congress as the best service uniform that could bedevised for the use of the American army.
"Now then Doctor," said Jim Chenowith, pushing away his tin plate andswallowing the last of the coffee from his big tin cup, "tell us why thepotatoes wouldn't cook."
"Simply because the water wasn't hot enough to cook them as quickly asusual."
"Not hot enough? Why it was boiling like a volcano every moment of thetime," said Jim in protest.
"Yes, but the boiling of water doesn't always mean the same thing. Yousee at or near the sea level water boils at a temperature of 212degrees, Fahrenheit. But when you climb up mountains you come into ararer and lighter atmosphere and water boils at considerably lowertemperatures."
"But I kept my potato kettle boiling very hard--" interrupted Jim; "Inever stopped firing up under it."
"That made no difference whatever in the amount of heat in it," answeredthe Doctor. "When water boils at all it is just as hot as fire can makeit, unless it is shut completely off from contact with the air, as isthe case in steamboilers. You can't make it any hotter no matter howmuch you may 'fire up' under the kettle."
"Why, how's that?" asked "Little Tom," becoming interested. "The morefire you make in a stove the hotter the stove gets, and the hotter theroom gets, too. Why isn't it the same way with a kettle of water?"
"I'll explain that," said the Doctor, "and I think I can make youunderstand it. When water boils it gives off the vapor which we commonlycall steam. That is to say, some of the water is converted by heat intovapor. It requires a great deal of heat to make the change from liquidto vapor and so the process of giving off steam cools the water. That iswhy you put a lid on a pot that you wish to boil quickly. You do it tocheck the cooling process by confining the vapor and preventing a toorapid conversion of water into steam."
"Is that the reason that you can hold your hand in the steam from akettle when you can't hold it in the water that the steam comes from,"asked Jim.
"Yes. The steam is really hotter than the water, but it needs all itsown heat to keep it in the form of vapor, and so it doesn't give offenough heat to burn your hand after it gets a little way from the potand begins to expand freely. Now as I was saying the harder you boilwater the more steam it gives off and the heating and cooling processesare so exactly balanced that boiling water stands always at a uniformtemperature no matter whether it is boiling hard as we say, or only justbarely boiling. But in a dense atmosphere it requires more heat to boilwater than it does in a rarefied atmosphere like that up here on themountain. At Leadville and other places lying from 10,000 to 14,000 feetabove sea level in the Rocky mountains you can't boil potatoes at alland it takes full ten minutes to boil an egg into that condition whichwe call 'soft.' It all depends upon the temperature of boiling water,and that is considerably lower here than down in the valleys where welive."
"But Doctor," said Harry, "you promised to tell us how you find out howhigh we are above the sea level."
The Doctor got up,
went to a tree and took down a scientific instrument.
"This," he said, "is an aneroid barometer. It measures the atmosphericpressure, and as that pressure steadily and pretty uniformly decreasesas we go higher up, the instrument tells us at once how high we are."
"But will it measure so accurately that you can trust it?" asked one ofthe now eagerly interested boys.
"Let me show you," said the Doctor. "Make a torch, for it is growingdark, and come with me down the hill a little way. First look where theneedle stands now."
They all carefully observed the register and then proceeded with theirmentor down the hill a little way. He there exhibited his instrumentagain and it registered fifty feet lower than it had done on the plateauabove. Returning to the camp fire they found that the needle had resumedits former pointing.
"Then you can tell by that instrument exactly how high you are at anytime?" queried Jack.
"No, not exactly. You see the atmospheric pressure varies somewhat withthe weather even if you observe it always on the same level. One has toallow for that, but allowing for it we can tell by the instrument whatour elevation is with something closely approaching accuracy."
Just then came an interruption. A tall rough bearded, unkemptmountaineer, rifle in hand, stalked out of the woods and approached thecamp fire. After inspecting the company and their belongings in silencefor a time, he spoke a single word of question--"Huntin'?"
"No," answered Jack, who had risen in all his length of limb.
"Trappin'?"
"No."
"Jest campin' out?"
"No," answered Jack, still adhering to that monosyllable.
"Mout I ax then, what ye're a doin' of up here in the high mountings?You see us fellers what lives up here ain't over fond of strangers thatcomes potterin' round without explainin' of their selves."
"Well" said Jack, "I don't see why I shouldn't tell you what brings ushere. My mother owns a tract of timber land a little further around themountain, and it is pretty much all she does own in the world. She's awidow, and she's had a pretty hard time to bring up three boys ofus"--turning and indicating his two brothers--"and now we see a way ofhelping her. They're going to build a railroad down in the valley on theother side of this mountain, and they want railroad ties. So we haveorganized a party and come up here to chop down trees, make ties andsend them down the mountain by a chute."
"Um," answered the mountaineer. "What's them there things for?" pointingto the Doctor's scientific instruments hanging about on the trees.
"They are scientific instruments, if you know what that means," answeredJack, who was beginning to grow irritable under the intruder'simpertinent questioning.
"What are you goin' to do with 'em? Will they help you to chop wood?"
"No, of course not. But the Doctor here," indicating him, "is muchinterested in science and he has brought his instruments along so as tomake our stay on the mountains as profitable as possible in the way ofstudy."
"My friend," broke in the Doctor, addressing the mountaineer, "If youwill come to our camp when we get settled I'll show you how I use thesethings and what they tell me. One of them tells me how high up we areand when it's going to storm or clear away; another shows how fast thewind is blowing, another how cold it is and so on."
"Which one on 'em tells the strength of whiskey and how much tax theyought to be paid on it?"
This question was asked with a peculiar tone of sneering incredulity andsuspicion.
"Not one of them has any relation whatever to whiskey or taxes oranything of the sort," answered the Doctor.
By this time Jack's patience was exhausted and by common consent Jackwas the leader of the party. He turned to the tree behind him, seizedhis shot gun, presented it at the mountaineer's breast before thatworthy could bring his rifle to his shoulder, and in an angry, but stillcold voice, said:
"I'll trouble you to lay down that rifle."
The man obeyed.
"Now I'll trouble you, if you please to lay down your powder horn andyour bullet pouch and your cap box and everything else that pertains tothat rifle." All this while Jack was holding the muzzle of hisfull-cocked, double barrelled shot gun in front of the man's breast,while all the other boys had seized their guns and stood ready foraction. The Doctor had not a shot gun, but a repeating, magazine rifleof the latest make, long in its range, exceedingly accurate in its fireand equipped with fourteen cartridges in its magazine that could befired as fast as their owner pleased. And the moment that themountaineer, before he laid down his rifle, made a motion as if to bringit to his shoulder, the Doctor had stepped to Jack's side with hisdestructive weapon in position for instant use. After the man had laiddown his arms, the Doctor stepped back, lowered his weapon and said toJack:--"Manage the affair in your own way. Only be prudent, and aboveall don't lose your temper."
Jack then said to the mountaineer:
"You've asked us a number of questions. Now I want to ask you some. Whatdo you mean by intruding upon our camp? Who are you? What right have youto ask us about ourselves and our mission in these mountains? Answerman, and answer quick or I'll put two charges of buck shot through youin less than half a minute."
"Now, don't be too hard on a feller, pard," answered the man. "I didn'tmean no harm in partic'lar. But you see us fellers that lives up here inthe high mountings has a hard enough time to git a livin' and we don'tlike to be interfered with by no revenue officers and no spies and nospeculators from down below. You see if we're caught, some of the moneygoes to the informer, an' so we takes good keer to have no informersabout, an' if they insist on stayin' we usually buries 'em. Now you'vegot the drap on me an' my only chance is to go way if you'll let me go.So far as I'm concerned you're welcome to go round the mounting an' chopall the railroad ties an' cordwood you choose. But there's fellers inthe mountings that you ain't got no drap on, as you've got it on me, an'fellers what ain't so tender hearted as me. An' so, while I'll leave mygun an' promise never to meddle with you again if you won't shoot, atthe same time my earnest, friendly, fatherly advice to you boys is totake yourselves down out'n this mounting jes' as quick as you kin. Itain't no place for people of your sort."
"We'll do nothing of the kind," answered Jack. "We've come up here on aperfectly honest and legitimate mission, and we're going to carry itout. We are not interfering with anybody and I give you warning that ifanybody interferes with us it will be the worse for him. We are armed,every man of us and we are prepared to use our arms. Tom,"--turning tohis brother,--"take that man's rifle and discharge it into the cliffback there."
Tom obeyed the command instantly. Then Jack said to their unwelcomevisitor, "Now you can take your rifle and go away. But don't intrudeupon us again. If you do, you'll get the contents of our guns withoutany explanations or any arguments. Take your gun and go!"
The intruder took his gun and accoutrements and without a word walkedaway up the mountain through the timber land.
"What does it all mean, Jack?" asked all the boys at once.
"Moonshiners," broke in Tom, sententiously.
Moonshiners are men who operate little unlicensed distilleries in thefastnesses of the mountains and surreptitiously sell their whiskeywithout paying the government tax upon it.
"But why should moonshiners object to our camping in the wood lands uphere and cutting railroad ties?" asked Jim Chenowith. "I don't see theconnection."
"Well, they do," answered Tom. "They are engaged in a criminal businessand they don't want to be watched. If they are caught their stills andtheir whiskey are confiscated, they are fined heavily, and worse stillthey are imprisoned for very long terms. They are always on the lookoutfor agents of the revenue in disguise, and so they don't want anystrangers in this 'land of the sky' on any pretence. They are desperatemen to whom murder is a pastime and assassination an amusement."
"Then why did you anger the man as you did, Jack, and subject him tohumiliation?" asked Ed Parmly. "Won't it make him and his people ourenemies?"
"No,
" answered Jack. "They are that already. You remember that evenafter hearing my explanation of our purpose in coming up here, heordered us to leave the mountain at once. Not being a pack of cowards ofcourse we're not going to do anything of the kind. So it was just aswell to let him know at once that we're going to stay, that we are fullyarmed, and that in the event of necessity we shall be what he would call'quick on trigger.' I meant him to understand that clearly, and heunderstands it. You see men that are freest in killing other men have nomore fondness than people generally for being killed themselves.Desperadoes are not heroes. They are merely bullies who take advantageof an unarmed enemy when they can and sneak away as that man didwhenever an enemy 'gits the drap' on them as the fellow phrased it."
"But won't they attack us in our camp?" asked Jim Chenowith.
"Probably," answered Jack with perfect calmness. "They want us out ofthe mountains and they'll probably try to drive us out. But I for one amnot going to be driven out, and I don't think the rest of you fellowsare Molly Cottontails to be chased down the steeps."
"No!" called out little Tom. "We've got guns and we know how to usethem. We're up here by right and here we'll stay. Won't we boys?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" answered the others in chorus.
"All right then," said Jack, "and I thank you all. But now that we knowour danger we must look out for ourselves. We must never sleep without asentinel on guard, and every fellow of us must always sleep with his gunby his side. That's what soldiers call 'sleeping on arms!'"
"All right!" called out Tom, who was always ready. "Arrange the guarddetail for to-night Jack. I'll take the worst turn, which I believebegins about three o'clock--the 'dog watch' they call it on steamboats."
"Well," said Jack, meditatively. "It's now nearly ten o'clock. We'll allbe up by six in the morning. That's eight hours and there are five ofus; so it means one hour and thirty-six minutes apiece, of guard duty."
"Hold on," broke in the Doctor. "You've forgotten me."
"Well you see, Doctor, your health isn't good, and we don't want you tolose your sleep. We'll do all this guard duty without bothering you."
"Not if I know it," answered the Doctor. "I didn't join this party as adead head, you may be sure of that. I'm going to share and share alikewith you my comrades. I am not yet very strong after my long illness,but I'm strong enough to stay awake for my fair share of the time, andyou may be sure I am strong enough to pull a trigger and empty fourteenbullets from my magazine rifle into any body that may venture to assailus. Now boys, I want you to understand my position and attitude clearly.Either I am a full member of this company in good standing, or else I donot belong to it at all. In the latter case I'll withdraw and go backdown the mountain. I'm older than you boys, but not enough older tomake any serious difference. I'm still a good deal of a boy, and eitheryou must let me do a boy's part or I'll quit. If I stay with you I mustbe one of you. I must do my share of the cooking and all the rest of thework, and especially my fair share of all guard duty and all fighting,if fighting becomes necessary at any time. Come now! Is it a bargain? Oram I to quit your company to-morrow morning, as a man too old and unfitto share with you the work we have come up the mountain to do?"
"I move," said little Tom, who had more wit than any other member of thecompany, "that Doctor LaTrobe be hereby declared to be precisely sixteenyears old, and fully entitled to consider himself a boy among boys!"
The motion was carried with a shout, and then Jack, who was alwayspractical, said:
"Well then there are six of us. That means one hour and twenty minutesapiece of guard duty to-night."
So it was arranged, and as soon as the order in which the severalmembers of the party should be waked for duty was arranged, the boyspiled an abundance of wood on the fire, wrapped themselves in theirblankets and lay down to sleep. But first little Tom manufactured a potof fresh coffee, and set it near the fire where it would keep hot.
"The sentinel must be wide awake," he said, "and I don't know anythinglike good strong coffee to keep one's eyes open."