CHAPTER X.
A DISTURBANCE IN CAMP.
Jake Elliott got very little sleep that night. Indeed it was nearlydaylight when he fell asleep and it was one of Sam's marching rules tomarch early. He waked the boys every morning as soon as it wassufficiently light for them to begin preparing breakfast, and bysunrise they were ready to begin their day's march.
This morning it was cloudy and there were symptoms of a coming storm.Sam was up at the first breaking of day, and he hurriedly waked theboys.
"Come, boys," he said, "we must hurry or we shall be too late to crossa river that's ahead of us, before it begins to rise. Get breakfastover as quickly as possible, for we mustn't fail to make seventeenmiles to-day, and if it rains heavily it'll be bad marching in thisswamp. There's higher ground ahead of us for to-morrow, but we mustn'tbe caught in here by high water in the creeks."
The boys sprang up quickly and made all haste in the preparation ofbreakfast. Jake Elliott was dull and moody. The fact is he was sleepyand tired with the night's excitement, and in no very good conditionto march. He dragged with his share of the work, but breakfast wassoon over, and Sam was ready to start. Taking out his compass to gethis bearings right he opened it, and saw the ruin that had beenwrought.
He looked up in surprise and caught Jake Elliott's eye. In an instanthe guessed the truth.
"Lay down your bundles, boys," he said, "we cannot start just yet."
"Why not, Captain Sam?" asked two or three boys in a breath.
"Because Jake Elliott has broken our compass," replied Sam, lookingthe offender fixedly in the eye.
"Shame on the wretched coward," exclaimed the boys. "Let's duck him inthe creek."
"I'm not a coward, and whoever says I broke the compass--"
"Silence!" cried Sam peremptorily. "Don't finish that sentence, Jake.It isn't a wise thing to do. Besides there's no use putting it in thatway. 'Whoever says,' is a vague sort of phrase. You know very well whosaid that you broke the compass. I said it; Sam Hardwicke said it, andyou do not dare to say that I lie. Don't try to say it by calling me'whoever says.' That isn't my name."
Sam was as cool and quiet as possible. There was no sign of agitationin his voice, and no anger in his tone. The boys, however, werefurious. They were in earnest in this expedition, and they supposed,of course, that the destruction of the compass would force them toreturn to camp. Beside this, it angered them to think that Jake haddone so mean a thing.
Billy Bowlegs, the smallest boy in the party, was especially furious.Walking up to Jake with his fists clenched, he said:
"Jake Elliott, you're a sneak and a coward, and you daren't answer foryourself. Just deny it please, do deny it, so's I can bat you in themouth. I'm hungry to wallop you. Do say I lie, or say anything, openyour head, or lift your hand, or wink your eye, or look at me, or dosomething. Just give me any sort of excuse and I'll give you what youdeserve, now and here."
Billy screamed this out at the top of his voice, advancing on Jakeevery moment, as the latter drew back.
"What can I say to make you fight?" he continued. "I'll call youanything that's mean. Just say what it shall be and consider it said.Won't any thing make you fight? _There_, and _there_ and _there_, nowmay be you'll resent that."
The words "there and there and there" were accompanied by threevigorous slaps which Billy laid with a will on Jake's cheeks, indespair of provoking him to resent anything less positive. It was alldone in a moment, and in another instant Sam had brought Billy Bowlegsto his senses, by quietly leading him away and saying.
"Let him alone, Billy; there's no credit in fighting such a coward."
Enough had occurred, however, to show that Jake was thoroughly scaredby the little fellow's violence, and he could not have been morethoroughly whipped than he was already.
When order had been restored, Sam said quietly:--
"The breaking of the compass is a serious mishap, and the want of itwill give us trouble all the way; but luckily it is not fatal to ourexpedition, if you boys will help me work out the problem without theaid of the needle."
"Help you! You see if we wont!" cried the enthusiastic boys in chorus.
"Thank you," replied Sam, lifting his cap, "I thought I could dependupon you."
"But can you really find the way without the compass, Sam?" asked Tom.
"Certainly, else I shouldn't be fit to be in the woods."
"How can you do it?"
"I'll show you presently."
"What'll you do with Jake?" asked Sid Russell.
"I'll take him with us," replied Sam.
"Is that all?"
"That is enough, I think. He is the worst punished boy or man inAmerica this minute, and he'll be punished every minute while he stayswith us."
"Well but ain't nothin' more to be done to him? Can't I just duck hima little or something of that sort?"
"No, certainly not. We all know him now, as a coward and a miserablesneak. What's the good of demonstrating it further? It would bedirtying your own hands."
"That's kind o' so, captain, but I'd sort o' like to duck him a littleanyhow. The creek's so handy down there."
"No," said Sam. "I want no further reference made to this matter. JakeElliott will go on with us, and as I have said already, he's punishedenough. Besides it may prove to be a lesson to him. He may do betterhereafter, and if he does, if he shows a genuine disposition to atonefor his misconduct by good behavior in the future, I want nobody totell of what has occurred here, after we get back to our friends. Iask that now of you boys as a favor, and I shall think nobody myfriend who will not join me in this effort to make a man out of ourcompanion. I am ready to forgive him freely, and the quarrel has beenmine from the first. You can certainly afford to hold your tongues atmy request, if Jake tries to do better hereafter. I want your promiseto that effect."
The boys required some urging before they would promise, but theiradmiration for Sam's magnanimity was too great for them to persist inrefusing anything that he asked of them. They promised at last, notonly not to refer to the matter during their campaign, but to keep ita secret afterward, provided Jake should be guilty of no furthermisconduct.
"Thank you, boys," said Sam, "and now, Jake," he continued, "you havea chance to redeem your reputation. You cannot undo what you havedone, but you can act like a man hereafter, without having thisbusiness thrown up to you."
Sam held out his hand, but Jake pretended not to see it.