CHAPTER XV.
THE FLICKERING TORCH TALK.
"PUT me out! somebody give me a rub down the back! I'm on fire!"
Nobody doubted Davy's excited words, as he danced wildly about, slappingfirst at a smouldering spark on the right leg of his khaki trousers; andthen furiously attacking another burning spot on the sleeve of his coat;only to throw his campaign hat down, and jump on it, under the beliefthat it was threatened with immediate destruction.
Some of the other scouts had managed to scramble to their feet aboutthis time; and seeing that they were not in danger themselves, couldafford to lend a hand in order to save the garments of the unlucky Jonesboy.
"Now your suit's a fine sight!" ejaculated Step Hen.
"Perfectly dreadful!" remarked Smithy, with a shudder; for to the mindof this member of the patrol, with his ideas of what neatness stood for,no punishment could have exceeded such a catastrophe as the one that hadovertaken Davy.
But after finding that his neck had not been dislocated by his fall; andthat, while there would be a few holes here and there about his clothes,they were still fairly presentable, Davy only grinned with his customarygood nature.
"You certain sure _are_ the limit;" declared Bumpus, surveying the otherwith a frown on his rosy face. "Better grow a tail, and be done with it.Then you could take your monkey-shines to the woods, where they'd beappreciated."
"Now that's what I call the unkindest cut of all," replied Davy. "Ileave it to the crowd if I wasn't only obeyin' orders? Didn't you callout to me to come down? Well, didn't I?"
"Huh! but you needn't a spilt our fire that way," grumbled Bumpus, whohowever was secretly just as much amused over the affair as any of therest. "When I say 'come down' you needn't think I mean for you to obeyas fast as that. Reckon you must a tried some dodge that wasn't as easyas it looked, and you lost your grip."
"Here's what did it for me," said Davy, stooping, and picking up a pieceof broken limb, which Thad remembered seeing fall at the same time theboy scattered the embers of the fire. "Rotten as punk, and went back onme. But don't you believe for a minute because I was hangin' head downright then, I struck that way. Easiest thing in the world to turn aflip-flap in the air. I sat down in that fire; that's why my pants gotthe worst of the burns. And say, do I limp when I walk, because I'mfeeling a little sore?"
"Not much more'n usual," remarked Bumpus, cheerfully.
This ridiculous adventure on the part of Davy set them all to talkingagain. Of course previous efforts in the same line, and, carried out bythe same artist, had to be hauled out of their concealment, and made todo duty again, with sundry additions; for what story can there be butwhat is strengthened every time it is told?
So many strange things were taking place all around them that it waslittle wonder the boys declared they did not feel a bit sleepy, evenwhen the patrol leader told them they ought to lie down and get somerest.
"And when everything else fails," declared Step Hen, "why, Davy, here,can always be counted on to furnish music for the band."
"Yes, waltz music," added Giraffe; "anyway, that's what he thought hewas giving us, the way he kicked around. P'raps, now, he believed he wasdoing the turkey trot, all by himself."
But to all these taunts Davy made no response. Truth to tell he seemedto be the sleepiest member of the set, and was seen to yawn numeroustimes. In this way he managed to start some of the others going, sothat by degrees they were all exhibiting evidences of wanting to giveup.
Then there came the job of trying to make themselves fairly comfortable.They had considered this matter before, and settled upon plans for thecampaign. There would be no cabin roof over their heads on this night,only the branches of the big tree; but since there seemed littlelikelihood of rain falling, they did not think they would miss this.
It was the bed part that gave them the most trouble. They had scouredthe immediate vicinity, and each scout had secured whatever he could layhis hands on in the shape of weeds, or grass, or even small branchesfrom the tree--anything to make the ground seem a bit softer to hisbody.
One liked this spot, while another had entirely different ideas; butcoached by Allan, who knew all about sleeping out without shelter, theyone and all kept their feet toward the fire, because that was the partfirst affected by the cooling night air.
Several of them were already stretched out, for while they had arrangeda system of sentry duties, Allan was to take the first spell.
He and Thad stood looking at the actions of the other scouts as theymoved their rude beds here and there, striving to find spots where therewere no roots sticking up, that would poke into their sides or backs.
"They're a great bunch, all told!" remarked Allan, with a wide smile,as he saw Bumpus slily stealing some of the bed of Step Hen, whose backwas toward him, adding it, handfuls at a time, to his own scanty stock.
"The finest ever," added Thad, warmly. "I don't see how we could haveimproved on this patrol, if we'd searched through Cranford with a finetooth comb. Every one of them has his failings, just as all of us do;but they're as loyal and happy-go-lucky a lot of boys as ever any oneknew. And Allan, I expect we'll have some glorious times ahead of us, ifwe go up into Maine with you, later on. That hasn't been fully settledyet, you understand; the question of expense has to be met, as well asgetting away from our school, if it takes up by the middle of September.But we're all hoping, and pulling for it just as hard as we can."
"Won't it be great now," Allan went on to say, "if Bob does find thatpaper he thinks Reuben's been keeping all these years, when he hadn'tought to have let it stay unburned a minute? What d'ye suppose makes asmart scamp like that ever do such a silly thing?"
"I couldn't tell you, only I've heard my guardian say more than a fewtimes that the cleverest scoundrel is apt to make a blunder. If that'strue then I guess this Reuben made his when he kept that paper, just tolook at it once in a while, and shake hands with himself over hiscuteness."
"Will you take a little stroll around with me before lying down?" askedAllan, who was to have the first watch.
"Might as well," returned the other, casting a glance over toward thebalance of the patrol, still squirming more or less, as they tried tomake comfortable nests for themselves. "By that time, perhaps they'll beasleep, and I can drop off without being made to listen to Bumpus'complaining, when Step Hen takes back his stolen goods. Come along,then, Allan."
They first of all walked back along the road in the direction whencethey had come to the strange valley where Reuben lived, a half-waystation between the secret haunts of the moonshiners, and civilization.
"What's that up yonder; looks to me like a torch moving?" remarked Thad,as he elevated his head, so as to gaze upward, along the face of themountain.
"It _is_ a torch, right you are," Allan went on to say; "somebody mustbe picking his way along among those rocks. I'd think he'd sure need agood light on such a black night as this."
"But I guess you're wrong about that," Thad added, quickly; "see, he'swaving his light, now back, and again forward, just so many times.There, he gives it a downward flash that must mean the end of a word;and then he goes on."
"Why, to be sure, it's as plain as anything that he's signalling tosomebody on the other mountain. Yes, Thad, look there, and you can seeanother light move in answer to that first one."
"Even that don't seem to be all," remarked the patrol leader, seriously."Here's a third light back of us; and upon my word I can see a fourthever so far off."
"Looks like all the moonshiners in the mountains might be out in force,and having a jolly old talk among themselves. Wonder what they find totalk about?" Allan hazarded.
"Chances are ten to one it's us they're discussing," said Thad. "OldPhin like as not, is giving his orders. Thought he grinned a little whenI was telling how scouts communicated with each other. He knew all aboutthat, the sly old rascal did; and this has been going on for years andyears before Boy Scouts were ever heard of."
"Thad, they're all arou
nd us; we're surrounded by these moonshiners,with their handy guns; and if Old Phin says we've got to stay up here inthe mountains, why, it's going to be a case of being marooned for us. Wedon't dare run, because they'd take that for a sure evidence of guilt,and pepper us for all that's out. So, there's nothing to be done butstick it out, seems to me."
"Well, we ought to be satisfied," remarked Thad, grimly. "Marooned ornot, it was our intention to stay around here until Bob had settledthose two matters of importance that fetched him down this way."
"Sure, I'd pretty nigh forgotten that," declared the Maine boy, morecheerfully. "So let the mountain men shake their blessed old torches ateach other all they choose, and tell how the trap is to be made snug asall get-out; we'll just play the innocent, and try to find out what wewant to know. Shall we go back to camp now, Thad?"
"Just as you say," returned the other. "Nothing more to see out thisway. We know that Old Phin isn't ready to look on us as friends yet. Hecan't get over the suspicions the sight of our khaki uniforms woke up inhis soul. But so far we hadn't ought to complain with the way thingshave gone. Hope it'll keep on to the end; and that our Bob will get allhe aims for, find his daddy, and take the little girl cousin back toCranford with him."
"And if it all goes to the good, say, p'raps we won't have a feather tostick in our hats, all right, Thad! We'll never get over talking aboutthis thing. But will it go straight; that's the question?"
"You never can tell," replied the other, softly, and encouragingly."We're going to do our level best; and leave the rest. Good-night,Allan; wake Giraffe at the end of an hour, and caution him to keep agood watch. I come next in line, you know."
With these parting words Thad stepped softly into camp, glanced at thevarious forms of the scouts stretched in favorite positions, some evenlying on their backs; and then with a smile the patrol leader lay downupon the rude bed he had made for himself, out of such material asoffered.
In five minutes he was asleep, and forgetful of all the strange eventsthat had marked their strenuous hike into the mountains of the Old NorthState.