CHAPTER XV.
THE BOY FROM THE BLUE RIDGE.
"I expected this, but not so soon!" quavered Bumpus, dropping in a heapon the ground, and continuing to mop his heated face with that enormousbandana.
The other two walked forward.
"We must make sure that this is the same place," remarked Thad."Because, you see, there might happen to be two little sandy beachesvery much alike."
"No danger of that, suh!" declared Bob, with conviction in his manner."I took right good notice of a heap of things, and they all seem totally. This is the same place, I give you my word on that."
"Well, here's all the proof we want," said the scout-master, pointingdown at his feet, as they stood close to where the little waves wererunning over most of the sandy stretch. "The water has washed out someof our footprints; but you can still see where Bumpus tripped at theedge of the rise here, where that root sticks up a little. Rememberthat, don't you Bumpus?"
"That, you're IT," replied the fat boy, getting up to come forward, andstare at the marks he had made, as though they confirmed his worstfears. "And now fellers, you see the blessed old island _has_ got peoplehidin' on it! They came back here and hooked our boat while we werepoking along through the scrub like a bunch of geese. Now, how are wegoing to get back home? We'll just starve to death out here. AndStep-hen he c'n turn my bag inside-out while I'm gone, too!"
That last seemed to worry him more than anything else, Thad noticed,with a little surprise; because he did not believe for a minute thatBumpus knew anything about the compass which Step-hen accused him ofhiding.
They looked across the wide stretch of water. The waves were indeeddancing at quite a lively rate now, showing that a fresh breeze hadstarted up since they started on their little exploring trip.
Thad suddenly conceived an idea. Perhaps it was the wash of the wavesagainst the bank that gave it to him.
He turned on Bumpus.
"See here, how far up did you pull that boat?" he asked, suddenly.
The fat boy stared, and scratched his head.
"Do you mean when we first landed; or afterwards when you told me tocome along or stay here, just whichever I liked?" he asked; but it wasonly to gain a little time that he said this, because he already knewwhat the answer would be.
"When Bob and myself were going into the brush I told you to pull theboat up, and either stay here, or follow. Did you do it, Bumpus?" Thadwent on.
"Oh! I heard you say it, all right," admitted the fat boy, frankly; "butwhen I looked back, it seemed to me that the old boat was far enough upon the sand; and then you fellers were making off so fast I just thoughtyou'd leave me alone if I didn't hurry. So I just put after you,pellmell."
"Well, that's what's the matter," said Thad, with a look of disgust."Next time see to it that you obey orders, no matter what you happen tothink."
"Then the boat's drifted away, suh, you think?" Bob remarked, eagerly.
"That's what I imagine," replied Thad. "Notice which way the wind iscoming, and you can see that it throws the water up on this beach, whichis wasn't doing when we left here. Once she was loose and the samebreeze would make her move along past that little wooded point yonder. Ireckon that if we climb out there, we'll see the boat adrift."
"But why haven't some of the boys ashore noticed it, and let out a whoopto draw our attention?" asked the boy from the Blue Ridge.
"They may have been too busy to look this way," answered Thad; "andthen, besides, the boat would be carried behind the island so theycouldn't see it. Come on, and we'll soon find out."
"But if we don't find it however am I going to get on the main landagain?" complained Bumpus.
"Well, it would serve you right if you did have to stay here aloneawhile," Thad told him, with a sternness in his face which the merrytwinkle in his eyes belied. "After being so shiftless as to let such anaccident happen, you surely deserve to suffer. Isn't that right, Bumpus;own up now?"
"Oh! I suppose it might be;" the fat boy admitted; "but I hope you won'tthink of leaving me out here all alone. I might get a scare, and betempted to jump in; and you know what a poor swimmer I am, Thad. Oh!bully, bully, there she is, Thad, and floating along just as sassy asanything!"
The boat was not more than a hundred and fifty feet away, though bydegrees moving further off all the while, as the wind and the wavesinfluenced her movements.
"Now somebody will have to strip and go after her," said Thad. "And ifyou were a better swimmer, I'd say it ought to be you, Bumpus."
"You'll have to excuse me this time, Thad," declared the other,earnestly. "But are you sure it was only the wind that carried her off?"
"You can see for yourself that there's no one in the boat, using thepaddle," the scout-master replied.
"That's so, Thad, but seems as if I c'd see somethin' in the water underher bow; and it looks like two hands holding on to the gunnel above,just as if somebody might be swimmin' along and dragging the boat afterhim."
Both the others broke out into a laugh at that.
"I see that imagination of yours is working overtime, Bumpus," remarkedThad; and then turning to the Southern boy he went on: "Shall it be youor I, Bob?"
"I hope you'll let me go after her, suh," said the other, quickly,beginning to throw off some of his clothes, as if anticipating afavorable decision on the part of his superior officer in the Silver FoxPatrol.
"Go then, if you want to, Bob," suggested Thad, smiling; for he wasbeing drawn closer to this gallant son of the Sunny South every day; andconstantly found new causes for admiring the other's self sacrificingdisposition.
Inside of three minutes Bob White went in from the headland with asplash, and swam toward the floating boat like a water spaniel. Reachingthe runaway he was seen to clamber aboard, after which he picked up thepaddle, and started to urge the boat toward the shore again.
Not until then did Bumpus seem to heave a sigh of relief. Evidently thepoor fellow had really expected to see some dreadful enemy clasp Bobaround the neck as he started to slip over the side of the boat.
After Bob had resumed his clothes, they entered the boat, and left thevicinity of the island. Thad kept looking it over as they graduallymoved further away, as if not satisfied, by any means, with what littlehe had seen of the place.
"Yes," he remarked, "I'm pretty much of a mind to put it to the fellows;and if the majority favors, we'll change our camp to-morrow, for a tryon the island. There's _something_ about that place that seems to drawme."
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," declared Bumpus, dolefully; "because Ijust know they'll want to ferry over--Allan because he's ready to doanything you say; Step-hen, for he wants to meet up with all sorts ofadventures, and says he means to get away out in the Rockies some ofthese days; Smithy because he's afraid you'll all think him weak andgirlish if he draws back; and Giraffe too when he gets the idea thatmebbe we'll be leaving the bear behind; because it'll mean just so muchmore left for him to eat. Huh! if I'm the minority, might as well makeit unanimous, and be done with it. Can't die but once, anyhow, so whatdoes it matter?"
Of course neither of the others paid much attention to what Bumpus said.He always liked to hear himself talk; and as his comrades said, his"bark was worse than his bite." Bumpus often said he wouldn't, andchanged his mind immediately.
When they landed the others were just about starting out to have Allanshow how the long talked-of Indian picture writing was done. They askedquestions, of course but neither Thad nor Bob would gratify theircuriosity.
"We're going to keep all that for around the camp-fire to-night boys,"declared the scout-master, firmly. "Wouldn't interrupt this arrangementfor anything. And to tell the truth we didn't find anything so seriousas to warrant a recall. So go right along with the game, Allan, and letthe rest of us in on it; because Bob here is as eager to learn as anyof the boys."
Bumpus, however, declared he was that tired he preferred staying in thecamp, to keep the bear company.
"He might get loose and try
to clean us out of all our grub," hesuggested, with a broad smile.
"Sure," replied Step-hen, sneeringly; "and I just warrant you've alreadygot your tree all picked out beforehand, if he does. Much good you'd betrying to defend our provisions. Now, if it was _me_, I'd fight to thelast gasp before I'd let him make way with a single piece of cheese, oreven a cracker."
"I believe you would, Step-hen," replied Bumpus, calmly; "and by theway, perhaps my knapsack has aired enough by now, so I'll put it in thetent again."
Step-hen made a face at him, and hurried away after the rest; but fromthe manner in which he looked back a number of times, and continued toshake his head as he talked to himself, it was plain to be seen that hestill believed the fat boy was hiding something in that same haversack,which he did not wish any one, particularly a fellow named Step-henBingham, to set eyes on. And what else could that be but the missingcompass, which Bumpus had once so indignantly denied having seen, afterhe handed it back to its owner?
Allan did not intend going far, since there was no need of it. He couldillustrate all he wished to in the way of the famous Indian picturewriting, which Boy Scouts in other troops had found so interesting astudy in connection with woodcraft. Even Thad, who had dabbled in it tosome extent in the past, was deeply concerned; because he knew that themore these boys became interested in observing things that werehappening all around them, the sooner they would climb up the ladderleading to merit badges, and a right to the name of a first classscout.