CHAPTER VI
SHORTY GOES TO THE ANT
The next morning, when the boys drew aside the flaps of their tents, thesky was dark and lowering. A good many anxious glances were thrown atthe clouds and open disapproval of the outlook was not slow in breakingout.
"Gee, what a fearful day," said Jim.
"You bet it is," chimed in Shorty.
"That's our luck," wailed Dave, "just when I wanted to go to town to geta new blade for the jack-knife I broke yesterday."
"Oh, come off, you pessimists," sang out Bert, who had just plunged hishead in a bucket of cold water and now was rubbing his face until itshone, "somewhere the sun is shining."
"Heap of good that does us," grumbled Shorty, "but say," as he turned toBert suspiciously, "what sort of thing was that you called us?"
"I said you were pessimists."
"Well, what does that jawbreaker mean?"
"Why," said Bert, who could not resist his propensity to tease, "thatmeans that you are not optimists."
"Worse and worse and more of it," complained Shorty.
"That's just as clear as mud," echoed Jim.
"Well," said Bert, tantalizingly, "listen my children----"
"'Listen, my children and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,'"
chanted Frank, who had recited that identical poem in his elocutionclass at the last term of school.
A well-aimed pillow made him duck, and Bert resumed:
"You see, Shorty, it's just like this: The optimist is the fellow thatsees the doughnut. The pessimist sees only the hole in the doughnut.Now, for my part, there is no nourishment in the hole, but there's lotsof it in the doughnut."
"Aw say, don't make a fellow's mouth water," said Shorty, before whosepractical vision rose up his mother's kitchen, fragrant with the smellof the crisp, brown, sizzling beauties, as they were lifted from thepan, "and me so far from home."
If there were no doughnuts at the breakfast to which all hands camerunning, their place was more than taken by the golden corn bread and thesavory bacon that formed the meal to which they sat down with all theenthusiasm of hungry boys. The food disappeared as if by magic and thetable had been replenished more than once before the boys cried enough.Many a sated millionaire would have willingly exchanged a substantialpart of his hoarded wealth for one of those unjaded appetites. But inpure, undiluted satisfaction, the boys would have been the losers by theexchange.
That very thought struck Mr. Hollis as he watched the havoc made attable by these valiant young trenchermen, and, turning to Dick, who satat his right, he spoke of the starving King Midas. Jim, who overheardthe name, which, as he said "was a new one on him," wanted to know whoMidas was, and how, if he were a king, he couldn't get grub enough tokeep him from starving. The boys, who had by this time taken the firstkeen edge off their appetite, were equally eager to hear the story, andMr. Hollis went on to tell about the avaricious king of the olden timewho could never get enough, but was always asking the gods for more.After a while they became wearied and disgusted and granted his requestthat everything he touched should turn to gold. The king was delightedat this beyond all measure. Now, at last, he was to have his heart'sdesire. He put the gift to the test at once. He touched his sword andit changed to gold. That was fine. He stroked his beard and every hairbecame a glistening yellow spike. That wasn't so fine. He began to get alittle worried. Wasn't this too much of a good thing? Well, anyway therewas no use in fretting. He would go to dinner and get his mind off. Butwhen he touched the food, it too became gold. He lifted a goblet ofwine, only to find that it held molten metal. In the midst of plenty, hewas starving. Upon his knees, he begged the gods to take back theirfatal gift, and, thinking he had learned his lesson well, they did so.His gold vanished, but, oh, how delicious was the first taste of food."And to-day," concluded Mr. Hollis, "there is many a millionaire whosegold doesn't give him the pleasure that a square meal gives the ravenousappetite of a healthy boy."
"Well," said Tom, expressing the general sentiment, "I'd sure like themoney, but, oh, you corn bread."
After breakfast, the boys broke up into separate groups. One went offunder the guidance of Mr. Hollis to gather some fossils that were to befound in great abundance in the limestone that jutted out from a quarryat a little distance from the camp. Another group of the fellows withDick in charge, who were especially interested in bird and insectlife--the "bug squad" as they were commonly and irreverently referredto in camp--went to a little clearing about half a mile away that wasespecially rich in specimens. The day before, Tom had secured anuncommonly beautiful species of butterfly that topped anything in hisexperience so far, and the other boys wanted to add one to their rapidlygrowing collection. Whether the lowering day had anything to do or notwith the absence of these fluttering beauties who love the sunshine,their search was without result, and after two hours spent in this waythey threw aside their butterfly nets and sat down in the shade of aspreading beech to rest and as Shorty called it "to have a gabfest."
Almost directly beneath the eastern branches was a large mound nearlythree feet above the surrounding level and perhaps twenty feet incircumference. As Shorty flung himself down on the centre of the mound,a curious expression came into the eyes of Dick. He glanced quickly atFrank, who returned his look and added a wink that might have arousedsuspicion in Shorty's mind, had not that guileless youth been lyingstretched out at full length with his hat over his eyes. The warmth andgeneral mugginess of the air saturated almost to the raining point,together with the constant activity of the last two hours, had tired himout, and after a little badinage growing less and less spirited, hebegan to doze. The other boys who had been given the tip by Frank andDick, let the conversation drag on purpose, and with a wicked glint ofmischief in their eyes watched the unsuspecting Shorty slip away intothe land of sleep. Soon his arms relaxed, his chest rose and fell withhis regular breathing and horrors! an undeniable snore told that Shortywas not "faking," but was off for good.
From being a spot of perfect peace and quiet, the mound suddenly burstinto life. From numberless gates a swarm of ants issued forth and rushedabout here and there to find out the cause of this invasion. The weightof Shorty's body and his movements as he composed himself for sleep hadaroused them to a sense of danger and they poured out in thousands. Soonthe ground was covered with little patches of black and red ants, and asthough by common consent they began to surround the unconscious Shorty.Some crept up his legs, others his arms, while others climbed over hiscollar and slipped inside.
First, an arm twitched violently. Then a sleepy hand stole down andscratched his leg. The boys were bursting with laughter, and Tim grewblack in the face as he crowded his handkerchief into his mouth. Shortyshook his head as a horse does when a fly lights on it. Again hetwitched and this time seemed to realize that there was something wrong.Still half asleep, he snapped:
"Aw, why don't you fellows quit your kidding? Stop tickling me withthat----"
A yell ended the sentence as a nip more vicious than usual broughtShorty to his feet, this time wide awake beyond all question. He castone glance at the boys, who now made no pretence of restraint but roaredwith laughter. Then he saw the swarm of ants surrounding him and took inthe situation. He tore his hat from his head, his coat from hisshoulders, shook off his tormentors and spinning around like a dancingdervish, dashed off toward the brook. A moment later there was a splashand they heard Shorty blowing, spluttering, diving, rubbing, untilfinally he had rid himself of the swarms that clung closer to him than abrother.
At last he succeeded and came up the bank. Before resuming his clothes,he had to take each garment separately and search every seam and creaseto make sure that not a single ant remained. Then he came back into thegroup like a raging lion. His temper never was any of the best, and thesudden awakening from sleep, the stings and ticklings of the invaders,and perhaps most of all, the unrestrained laughter of the boys hadfilled his cup to the brim. He "saw red," as the saying is, a
ndregardless of age and size was rushing toward the rest with doubled upfists and rage in his heart, when Dick caught him by the wrists and heldhim in his strong grasp until his fury had spent itself somewhat and hebegan to get control of himself.
"Phil," said Dick--he never called him Shorty, and at this moment thatrecollection helped to sober the struggling boy--"remember that thefirst duty of boy or man is to control his temper. The boys didn't meanany harm. It looked to them like a splendid joke, and perhaps we let itgo a little too far. I am really to blame more than any one else becauseI am older and in charge of the squad. I'm awfully sorry, Phil, and Ibeg your pardon."
The kindly tone and sincere apology were not lost on Phil, who was notwithout a sense of humor, which through all his anger began to struggleto the surface. The other boys, too, thoughtless and impulsive thoughthey might be, were sound and kind at heart, and following Dick'sexample crowded about Phil and joined in the apology. The most flaminganger must melt before such expressions of regard and goodwill and Philwas at last compelled to smile sheepishly and say that it was all right.
"You're a sport, Phil, all right," called out Frank, and at this highestof commendations from a boy's point of view, the last vestige of Phil'sresentment faded away.
"Well, anyway, fellows," he said, "I don't bear any grudge against you,but I am sure going to get even with those pesky ants. I never did caremuch for ants anyway. I've been told so often to 'go to the ant, thousluggard,' that now I'm going to them for fair, and what I do to themwill be a plenty."
As he said this, he turned toward the ant hill as though to demolish it,but Dick put up a friendly hand:
"No, Phil," said he, "you wouldn't destroy a wonderful and beautifulpalace, would you?"
"Palace," said Phil in amazement, thinking for a moment that Dick was"stringing" him. "What do you mean by that?"
"Just what I say," returned Dick; "a wonderful and beautiful palace.There is a queen there and she walks about every day in state, surroundedby a throng of courtiers. There are princesses there that are taken outdaily to get the air, accompanied by a governess, exactly as you haveseen a group of boarding-school girls walking out with their teachers.Surrounding the palace is a city where there are hundreds of carpentersand farmers and sentinels and soldiers. If you waited round a while, youwould see the farmers going out to milk their cows----"
At that point, Dick was interrupted by a roar of laughter that burstfrom every boy at once. They had listened in growing amazement that hadrapidly become stupefaction, but this was really too much. What was thematter with Dick? Was it a joke, a parable, a fairy story? They might bekids all right, but there was a limit to everything, and when Dicktalked of ants going out to milk the cows--well! It was up to him toexplain himself or prove his statement, and that they felt sure he couldnever do.
Dick waited good-naturedly while they pelted him with objections andplied him with questions. Then he took from his kit a strong magnifyingglass and told them that he was going to prove to them all what he hadsaid.
"He laughs best who laughs last," he said, "and I am going to show youthat all I said is true. That is," he modified, "I cannot _prove_everything just now, as I would have to destroy this wonderful palace ifI were to try to show you how marvelous it is and how perfect in all itsappointments. But what we don't see ourselves has been seen time andtime again by hundreds of wise and truthful men, and their testimony isas strong as though it were given under oath in a court of law."
"Well," said Frank, "I'm willing to take everything else on faith, butI'm afraid I'd have to see the milking done myself in order to believeit."
"All right," said Dick, "as it happens that is just the thing I can showyou more easily than anything else."
The boys crowded eagerly around him.