CHAPTER XVII.
THE MAKER OF FIRES.
Giraffe spent fully half an hour, if not longer, that afternoon, makingample preparations for his anticipated building of the camp-fire thatnight, after supper had been disposed of.
He had his busy jack-knife at work laying in a store of shavings thatwould flare up in a jiffy, and set the next-sized kindling to going;when by degrees the larger logs would take fire under the fierce heat.Thad kept an eye on him, and others were a bit worried lest the boy whojust doted on building fires overdo the matter, and set the forestablaze.
"Why, you've already got twice too much tinder, Giraffe," remonstratedDavy Jones, as he saw the boy with the knife start in again to cut more.
"Do for starting the fire in the morning then," replied Giraffe. "Mustbe doing something all the time, you know; and I don't enjoy anythinghalf so much as making whittlings for a blaze. You go along with yoursilly pictures, Davy, and let me alone. Thad's keeping an eye on me, allright. And I haven't got a single match about me, you know."
Supper was finally in preparation. The bass had been neatly cleaned bythose who had caught them, Step-hen and Smithy; and for the first timein his life no doubt, the pampered son of the rich widow found himselfdoing the work of a cook's helper. Whether he fancied it or not,Step-hen declared that he did his work neatly, and fairly fast; whichcompliment made Smithy's light blue eyes shine with real pleasure. Hehad entered into a new life, and was evidently resolved to pursue itfurther, taking the bitter with the sweet.
But of course the fish did not constitute the only food they had.Healthy appetites like those possessed by the eight scouts could notfare on fish alone. Thad, for instance, cared very little for freshwater bass, though fond of catching them. And he saw to it that a largecan of corned beef was opened, together with one containing succotash,out of which he constructed a savory dish which he called the canoeists'stew.
Then besides they had stewed prunes, together with a kettle of boiledrice, over which those who preferred it could sprinkle sugar, and wetdown with the evaporated cream which was carried in sealed tins.
Given the voracious appetites which healthy boys usually carry alongwith them into camp, and it was amazing how this mess vanished. AndGiraffe, as he scraped the kettle that had contained the stew, remarkedthat the only mistake made on the trip had been in providing too smallcooking utensils.
"Make your mind easy, Giraffe," said Davy; "next time we'll fetch alongall our mothers' preserving kettles. Fact is, there must be times wheneven a wash boiler looks about the regulation size, to you!"
"That's mean of you, Davy," remarked Giraffe, when he could make himselfheard above the roars of laughter. "Just because I happen to have abetter appetite than the rest of you, is no reason you should keep onjoking a feller about it. You eat twice as much as Smithy here, and yetyou think that's nothing. Well, I happen to be able to go a littlefurther than _you_, that's all. Nothing to be ashamed of, is it, Thad?"
"Oh! the boys must have their fun, Giraffe; and if you're wise you'lllaugh with them," Thad remarked. "When they find it doesn't bother you,the chances are they'll quit quizzing you on your eating ability. DoctorPhilander said that the only danger lay in your putting to great astrain on your digestive powers."
"Well, Doctor Philander ain't here, and we seem to be getting along O.K. without a regular scout-master, too," remarked Davy Jones. "Iwouldn't care if business kept on chaining him to town whenever theSilver Fox Patrol has a chance to camp out. Thad, here, keeps us subduedjust about right."
The bear had not been forgotten at meal times. Thad saw to it that therewas enough food given to the animal to satisfy its hunger; thoughGiraffe always complained that it was just ruinous the way that animaldid eat into their supplies.
"Lucky you laid in an extra amount, Thad," he remarked that sameevening, as he saw the captive make way with all that was placed beforehim. "Guess you must have had an idea we'd have company up here."
"Why, no, the boys warned me that the fresh air might sharpen up some ofour appetites," replied Thad; "and I guess it has."
"That's just it," said Giraffe, quickly; "and I can't be heldresponsible for what this ozone does, can I, Thad? Why, ever since westarted, I've just got an empty feeling down there, like the bottom haddropped out. Half an hour after I fill up, I'm hungry again. It's anawful feeling, let me tell you."
"I was just wondering," said Thad, "if those two foreigners who own thisbeast will ever show up to reclaim him."
"My stars! I hope so," remarked the other, looking horrified at the verythought of keeping Bruin much longer. "But what can we do to let 'emknow we've got their old hairy exhibit eating us out of house and home?"
"Nothing that I know of," laughed Thad, "No use advertising, becausepapers don't circulate through the wilderness; and those ignorantforeigners couldn't read the notice if we put one in. And we can't findwhere to stick the message even if we printed one in picture writing, asAllan had shown us the Indians do. Guess after all we'll just have totake pot luck, Giraffe."
"That means, I reckon, that we'll just have to keep on stuffing our goodgrub down the throat of this silly old bear, until his owners happenalong. Tough luck, Thad! Why, oh! why did the beast ever smell us out inthe beginning?"
"Oh! the odor of our supper cooking must have done that," Thad went onto say. "If you were almost starved, and got on the track of onionsfrying, wouldn't you make a bee-line for that camp-fire, and beg toshare the meal? That's what he did, came walking in, and in his clumsyway tried to dance himself into our good graces. But the hour was late,and we all made a break for the branches of the trees. I'll neverremember that without laughing. It was sure the funniest sight ever."
"There's Step-hen," Giraffe had gone on to remark, "always talking aboutthat uncle of his who lives out somewhere in the wild and woolly west;he says he expects to pay him a visit some day, and brags about howhe'll have a chance to bag his grizzly bear then; but excuse me, if agrizzly can eat any more than this tame one; I wouldn't bag him for agift."
"Oh! you mistake his meaning," chuckled Thad, "When he speaks of bagginga bear he means shooting him and bringing him to bag, not capturing one.The man doesn't live who would try to capture such a monster,single-handed."
"Have you ever shot one, Thad?"
"Well, hardly, seeing that I've never lived where they grew grizzlies;but the time might come when I would have the chance. I'd like to beable to say I had brought such a fierce beast down. But I want to getback, and keep an eye on that fire you've built. It's sure a wonder,only I wouldn't throw any more wood on it for a long time. Those flamesshoot up pretty high, right now."
"Oh! it's just glorious!" declared the young fire worshipper; "and Idon't see how I'm ever going to get to sleep to-night for tinkering withit. When I can attend a fire I seem to thrill all over. Funny, ain't it,Thad, how it affects me? My folks say they'll have to send me to thecity, and make a fireman out of me."
"Well, if they asked my advice," remarked the other, "I'd say you oughtto be put on a railroad engine to stoke. Inside of a month you'd be sosick of making fires you'd never want to try it again as long as youlived."
"Hey! don't you go to putting them up to that dodge, then," remarkedGiraffe, in sudden alarm, "because I don't want to get an overdose ofmaking fires. Just now it's a passion with me. I love to sit, and stareinto the blaze, because I can see all sorts of things there. Why, Thad,honest now, they talk to me just like that silly old Injun picturewritin' does to Allan. I read stories in the fires I make."
"Well," remarked Thad, drily; "we'll make sure then, that this camp-firedies out before we go to our blankets; because I'm bound to know justwhere you are, Giraffe. And now that the bear has finished his supper,and is begging for more, let's go over to the rest of the boys again."
"Yes, for goodness sake let's get away from here," the other scout said."Somehow or other I just know that beast feels a grudge against me.There's Bumpus, as choice a morsel as you'd like to see; yet it
's alwaysme the bear is watching. I sometimes believe that if he did get loose,he'd be mean enough to try and make a meal off me."
"Well, if he can understand English, or even the actions of humanbeings, you'd admit he's had good cause for disliking you," chuckledThad; "because all along you've put up quite a good-sized objectionagainst our wasting any more food on him. And animals can tell who theirfriends are, you understand."
"Is that really so?" Giraffe remarked, uneasily; "then me for a tree ifever he does break that chain. And I'm going to keep a way open underthe edge of the tent, so I can slide out while he's searching among thelot for me. If I had a gun along. Thad, we might enjoy bear steak onthis trip yet."
"Pretty tough eating, believe me; and I'm just as well pleased that youhave no rifle," with which Thad threw himself down by the roaring fire,the heat of which felt good, since with the coming of night the air hadbecome quite chilly.
Giraffe soon fell back on his shaving occupation again. Allan wastelling stories about the Maine woods, and enthusing his hearers, sothat even Smithy was heard to declare that he hoped they would some dayhave a chance to visit that country, to see for themselves if it was asfine as Allan pictured.
"I hope it will be in the early fall, then," remarked Allan; "becausethen you would be in time for the late fishing, and the opening of thedeer season. That's the best time for going up into the Maine woods."
Davy Jones, who had gone down to the edge of the lake to listen to thebass jumping as they fed upon some smaller species of fish, asfrequently happens at night time, came hurrying back to the fire justthen, his face filled with excitement. Thad saw at once that somethingmust have occurred to give the scout a shock; and he wondered whether itcould have anything to do with the mystery of the boat, and thosefootprints over on the island.
"The ghost walked, fellers!" exclaimed Davy, as he caught his breathagain.
"What's all that silly talk mean, Davy?" demanded the scout-master.
"Well, he's been prowling around with a lantern, all right, lookin' forsomething; I give you my word I saw it, Thad," Davy declared, crossinghis heart, boy fashion.
"Where was all this happening?" pursued Thad.
"Why, over there on the island!" answered Davy, positively.