CHAPTER XVIII. MORE SERIOUS NEWS.
"Help! hurry up!"
That was what Smithy was calling, in agonized tones that thrilledeveryone of the other scouts. They were rushing pell-mell along the trailwhich Davy and Thad had made in going to and coming from the river, andwhich the other pair had also followed when they went to take anobservation. Now and then one of them would find a root or a vine, andtake a header, but only to scramble erect again, and resume the furiousforward rush.
The river was close by, and at least Smithy had not lost his voice, forhe still kept up his cries; though getting hoarse through the excitement,and the constant strain on his voice.
Then those in the lead discovered their chum. He seemed to be lying flaton his chest at the very brink of the swift flowing river; and while onehand gripped an exposed root belonging to a tree, the other was stretchedover the edge of the bank.
"It's Bumpus!" gasped Giraffe; "and he's fallen in!"
No one took the trouble to offer any objection to this explanation.Indeed, from their previous experience with Bumpus it seemed the mostnatural thing in the world to expect the clumsy scout to tumble overboardevery chance he got. They could in fact look back to any number ofsimilar accidents during the time the patrol had been taking theseoutings in the woods and on the waters.
"Hold him tight, Smithy!" snapped Thad, trying to increase his pace,which was rendered a difficult thing to do because of the many obstaclesthat must be encountered and overcome.
"Good boy, Smithy, keep a-going!" cried Davy, greatly excited.
No doubt these cheery symptoms of coming help did much to encourageSmithy to maintain his frenzied clutch upon the one who was in the water;for he was still holding on when Thad arrived on the spot, accompanied byGiraffe, the best runner of them all.
Down alongside Smithy they both dropped. Yes, there was poor old Bumpusin the flood, swimming with hands and legs, and spurting great volumes ofthe muddy water out of his mouth with each splurge. It chanced that itwas quite deep there, and the river ran like a mill race; so that ifSmithy had released his grip for a single instant the unlucky Bumpus musthave been swept down-stream like a log, in spite of his strenuousefforts.
When his clothes were soaked through, the stout member of the patrol wasapt to weigh several hundred pounds; so it was small wonder that,unaided, Smithy could do next to nothing looking to his rescue--just holdon desperately, and shout for help.
But when Thad and Giraffe took a grip it was a different matter.Altogether they started to drag the imperiled scout up out of hisimpromptu bath.
"Yo-heave-o! Up you come, my boy! One more pull, Thad, and we've got him.Wow! what an elephant he is!"
So saying, Giraffe bent again to the task, with the result that Bumpuswas soon hauled over the edge of the crumbling bank, and dragged to aplace of security. There he lay, sprawled out, gasping for breath, andshedding gallons of water from his soaked khaki suit.
The boys gathered around, staring at him. Although they often pokedconsiderable fun at Bumpus, it was of an innocent sort, for they wereexceedingly fond of him.
"Well, you sure look like a great big grampus hauled up on the beach!"remarked Giraffe, with pretended scorn, though to tell the truth in allprobability he did not really know what a grampus was, only that it livedin the sea, and stood for something clumsy and large.
"Next time you feel like taking a bath, Bumpus, don't be so greedy.You're some size, but the river's on a flood now, and too big for you!"said Davy; and turning to Thad he continued: "Like as not your stick willshow that she jumped up a foot or more when Bumpus dropped in."
"It's a bad time to get your feet crossed, suh, when you-all happen to beon a river bank!" Bob White hinted.
"You're all away off; I didn't stumble, this time, anyhow, and I wasn'ttrying to take a bath either," spluttered the soaking Bumpus, as he satup and started wiping his face with a very wet sleeve.
"How about that, Smithy; what happened to him?" asked Thad.
"The bank caved in under him, that's the truth," replied the other scout."He was wanting to see just a little further down the river, when all atonce he went in. I really couldn't tell you just how I happened to catchhold of him by the back of his coat, because I don't know myself; but Ithought it my duty to call out, and try to get some help. You see, he wastoo heavy for me to lift. I almost broke my back trying, as it was."
"I should think you would!" declared Giraffe; "and it's a lucky thing weheard you calling. Only for that what would you have done, Smithy?"
"I was trying to think all the while," replied the other. "You see, Ididn't dare let go my hold, for the current is terribly swift here. I hadhalf an idea that if only I could work along the bank a little, it mightshoal some, and then Bumpus would be able to get a footing. But I'm gladyou came when you did, for I was rapidly becoming exhausted."
Smithy generally spoke with great exactness, and used words that few ofhis comrades ever bothered with in their conversation; that was one thingconnected with his previous condition that persisted in clinging to theformer dandy of the patrol.
"You did the right thing, and that's a fact!" commented Allan; "I don'tbelieve there's a single fellow who could have raised Bumpus. But, Thad,he's beginning to shiver in this air; don't you think we ought to get himover to the fire?"
"Sounds good t-to me; fire's what I w-want, and l-lots of it too!"stammered the stout scout, trying to get to his feet, in which effort hewas ably assisted by willing hands. "As t-to that bank, how'd I k-k-knowit was goin' to c-c-cave in on me, t-t-tell me that, will y-y-you?"
They hurried him along as fast as he could be urged, and all the while hekept shedding little streams of water, as though he carried an almostinexhaustible supply. When finally the camp was reached, with thewondering Step Hen giggling over the comical sight Bumpus presented, theymade the late swimmer disrobe, and hung his clothes around so that theywould dry in the heat of the fire.
Bumpus himself was wrapped in blankets until he looked like a swathedmummy, and told to just lie there. Under all this manipulation of coursehis chilled blood regained its normal temperature, and he declared hefelt as snug as a "bug in a rug!"
Even this excitement did not cause Giraffe to forget that he had businesson his hands, and supper was taken in charge with the customary results;for they presently found themselves sitting down to a "bountiful repast,"Davy called it, to the evident complete satisfaction of the eminent cook.
By the time they were ready to roll up in their blankets and try to getsome sleep, the clothes hanging from various bushes were thoroughly dry;so that Bumpus could don the same. This released all the extra blanketswith which he had been swathed, which was a matter of vital importance totheir various owners.
The fire they expected to keep going more or less all through the night.Besides the comfort that it brought through the necessary heat, itsbright glow did much to dissipate the gloom around them, and render theirsituation less cheerless.
Giraffe insisted on keeping his gun close at his side, for he said therecould be no telling whether they were safe there or not. If the islanddid happen to be the hiding-place of some desperate criminal, who mightthink to steal a march on them as they slept, he wanted to be ready torepel boarders.
He even had Thad promise to give a certain signal should anything out ofthe way happen while they slept; just as though Thad would be awake allthrough the night, and know about the same.
But the long hours of darkness dragged on, and there was no alarm. Someof the boys slept through the entire night without arousing once; butthere were others who felt more of the weight of responsibility restingupon them, and who frequently sat up to look around, or else got upontheir feet, in order to put more wood on the camp fire.
Morning broke and found them apparently in just the same condition aswhen they had wrapped their blankets around them, and lay down with theirfeet toward the fire, hunter-fashion.
Thad wa
s the first up, and when Allan awoke it was to see the patrolleader returning over the trail that led to the river bank.
It was easy to decide that the other must have been over to learn whathis tally-stick had to tell about the condition of the flood.
"How about it, Thad; falling, I hope?" Allan asked, as he stretchedhimself, after getting on his feet.
"Yes, and rapidly into the bargain, just as we expected would be thecase," came the reply. "That rain could not have extended all the way upto the sources of the river, you see; and it will run out in a bighurry."
"Then we may be able to get across to the mainland before a great while?"queried Allan.
"We'll talk about that while we're eating breakfast," Thad told him; "andas the sun is coming up I reckon we'd better waken the rest of the crowd.They've had a grand good sleep, I take it. Give Giraffe a push, Allan,will you, and roll Bumpus over a few times till he says he's awake;that's the regular program with him, you know." One by one the scouts satup, and yawned, and stretched, as sleepy boys are apt to do when theyhave not been allowed to have their last nap out. Of course Davy did notforget how Thad had made a flood-tally over at the river, whichfortunately Bumpus had not kicked away when he took his unexpected plungewith a portion of the crumbly bank.
"I reckon, now, Thad, you've been over to see what's doing," he remarked,while Giraffe fixed his cooking fire, and set about beginning operationslooking to having breakfast under way. "And if that's so tell us how shestands. Did it drop half a foot or more during the time we snoozed?"
"More like three feet," replied the other; "and if Bumpus fell over inthe same place again he'd find the water hardly up to his waist, withlittle current in place of that mill race of yesterday. Yes, things beginto look encouraging all around, boys!"
"Like fun they do!" bawled out Giraffe just then, as he stood up, andturned a very red and angry face toward the rest of the scouts.
"Why, what ails you now, Giraffe?" asked Smithy, who, generally calm andcold as an iceberg himself, frequently took the others to task when theyshowed signs of great excitement.
"I'm as mad as a wet hen, I tell you, and I wish somebody'd kick me fornot doing what I first meant to last night, ask Thad to set a watch!"exploded the tall scout, stamping on the ground, and grinding his teeth.
Thad smelled a rat immediately.
"Anything been taken, Giraffe?" he asked hastily.
"Anything?" roared the other; "why, there isn't half enough left to giveus a decent meal. I reckon I might be satisfied, but where the rest ofyou are going to come in beats me. Yes, this island is inhabited, allright, and they're a set of low-down thieves at that. You hear metalking, fellows!"