Camp Venture: A Story of the Virginia Mountains

  CHAPTER XXIII

  _A Loan Negotiated_

  "Zero weather, boys, and below," called the Doctor, who was first towake, about four o'clock that afternoon, and who, before waking theothers, had gone out to inspect his weather recording instruments. "Thebear hanging here by the door is frozen hard, and so is all the water inthe house. So all that want a bath will have to join me in a roll in thesnow out there."

  With that he shed the scant clothing that he had on him and, rushingout, plunged into a snow bank. The rest, determined not to be out-donein robustness, quickly followed him, and after a vigorous rubbing withtheir coarse towels, they felt like entirely new persons.

  "How glad our friends will be," said Tom, "when they hear that each ofus is 'another fellow.'"

  "That's an old joke, Tom," responded Ed.

  "Yes, to other people, perhaps, but not to this crew of new people,every one of whom has proclaimed himself 'a new man' after that snowbath."

  "Now, we can accomplish something," said Jack. "The rain and naturalsettling have reduced the depth of snow out there where we're choppingto two or three feet, and in this weather the surface of it will be ashard as ice itself. So we'll all drive nails in our heels to-night, asTom has done with his, and early to-morrow we'll set to work again withthe axes."

  Ed was already broiling some slices of juicy bear beef, and had a bigpot of coffee ready for use. As they ate supper, Harry said:

  "This bear beef is delicious, of course, but I would give somethingpretty if I had an ash cake or a pone of bread to go with it. It may betrue that a healthy person can live on meat alone for a good while, butit is a good deal more comfortable to have some bread with it."

  "And it is more wholesome, too," said the Doctor. "Man was made to eat amixed diet, and it isn't well for him to live too long on meat withoutstarchy food, or starchy food without meat. I'm going to observe theeffects of this exclusively meat diet on all of us very closely."

  "Any how," said Jack, "the Indians, when they go on their big huntingtrips or on the war-path, used to live on meat alone for weeks andmonths at a time. So I don't think we'll starve while our bear lasts,and before it is gone we can depend on Tom to provide something else.Now that the snow is hard, Tom will go prowling about the mountainsbefore many days pass."

  "Oh, we shan't starve," said the Doctor. "But it has been a good manydays now since we had any bread, and we are all beginning to feel theneed of it. The beans we had with our bear giblet stew were a veryimperfect substitute for bread, and the quart or so of beans that wehave left are not to be used at all so long as we keep fairly well. I'msaving them for hospital diet. How the Doctors in the hospitals wouldlaugh at the suggestion of a bean diet in illness! And yet we may haveto come to that for lack of any other starchy food."

  "What is it you fear, Doctor?" asked Jack.

  "Why, I fear that an exclusive diet of meat may result in some sort ofinflammation or other disturbance of the digestive organs. If thathappens, even a few beans, boiled without meat, may save a life. At anyrate, I am going to keep the beans for such an emergency."

  All this while Tom was taking no part in the conversation. Tom wasthinking--"looking straight at things and using common sense."Presently, he took his gun and went out to "take a look at thesituation," he said. On his return, he reported that "everything isfrozen as hard as a brick, and if the moonshiners ever intend to attackus, now is their time. We must put out a sentinel at once. As I want tothink a little I'll take the first turn, and the rest of you fellows canarrange as you like for the other turns."

  "One thing I want to suggest," broke in the Doctor. "The cold isintense. The thermometer is considerably below zero. It will be cruel tokeep any boy on guard outside for any prolonged time. So I propose thatwhile this weather lasts we run the guard duty in half hour shifts. Thatwill give each boy half an hour out there in the cold, and two hours anda half in which to sleep and get warm before he has to go on dutyagain."

  "It's an excellent idea," said Jack, "and we'll arrange it so."

  "All right," said Tom, "only as I am taking the first and best turn,I'll stay out for an hour."

  The fact was, though Tom did not mention it, that the boy wanted a fullhour in which to think out some plans that he had vaguely conceived. Itwas always Tom's habit to try to better the conditions in which he wasplaced, instead of accepting them as inevitable. Whenever anything waswrong and uncomfortable, Tom began asking himself if there might not besome way in which he could make it right and comfortable. He couldendure hardship with a plucky resolution that often astonished others;but he never endured hardship without giving all his energies to thetask of ridding himself of it if that were possible. It was a familiarsaying among those who knew him that "Little Tom Ridsdale never willadmit that he is beaten, and so at last he never is beaten."

  As Tom paced up and down the platform, stamping his feet and clappinghis hands against his sides to keep them from freezing, the Doctor cameout with a burning brand to consult his weather instruments. When he haddone, Tom called to him, saying:

  "Would you mind coming up here for a minute or two, Doctor?"

  "No, certainly not," answered the Doctor. "Do you want to go in and warmyourself?"

  "No; oh, no," answered Tom, quickly. "I only want to consult you alittle."

  The Doctor mounted the platform, and after some hesitation, Tom asked:

  "Do you happen to have any more money in your pockets, Doctor?"

  "Yes, of course. I always keep a little money with me."

  "Would you mind lending me two dollars in the common interest of thecompany, I giving you an order on our paymaster down below for thatamount, to be paid to you out of my share when we collect?"

  "Yes," answered the Doctor. "I would mind that very much. In fact, Ipositively decline to lend you any money on any such terms, Tom. But ifyou want some money, be it two dollars, or ten, simply as from onefriend to another, and without any 'orders' on paymasters, you can haveit."

  Tom understood, and he did not contest the point. He pressed theDoctor's hand and said:

  "Well, then, let me have two dollars, please?"

  "Make it five," said the Doctor.

  "No," answered Tom. "Two dollars will be quite enough. Somebody in themountains might murder me for five dollars. And, besides, nobody upthere could change the bill. So, if you will let me have two one dollarbills I shall be grateful."

  "What are you going to do, Tom? Nothing rash, I hope."

  "I don't know yet what I'm going to do," answered Tom. "And pleasedon't say anything to the other boys about it. I'll be gone from herewhen they get up in the morning. Maybe I'll bring back some game. Yousee that bear won't last very long with six hearty men eating threemeals a day off it, with no other food to help fill up."

  The Doctor saw that Tom did not want to talk of his plans--it was alwaysTom's way to keep such things to himself--and so he asked no morequestions, but went to the doorway for light, selected two one dollarbills, and returning, placed them in Tom's hand. Then Tom said:

  "Now, Doctor, you fellows are not to worry about me if I don't turn upwhen you expect me. I shall probably be away from camp for severaldays--may be a week, or possibly even more than that. Don't worry, inany case. Remember that I know how to take care of myself."

  The Doctor promised, but it was with much of apprehension in his mind.He saw that Tom was looking forward to his projected expedition with agood deal less of confident hope than he usually manifested on suchoccasions, and he gravely feared that the boy was planning to take someserious, if not even desperate, risk. He knew that Tom was daring to afault, and that when he had formed a purpose he pursued it to itsultimate accomplishment or failure, with no regard whatever to the risksrun, except that prudent forethought and circumspection which mightenable him to avoid threatened evils.