Afloat Part 20

"Let him be, Lil Artha," said the patrol leader, hardly knowing whether it was fidelity to a fellow-scout in distress that influenced Landy, or a dreadful fear lest he find himself left alone in the midst of the dismal swamp.

"Why yes," added Mark, "Landy is doing all right, even if he does wheeze more'n is good for him. But he hasn't stumbled more than six times in the last half hour, which is some record for Landy, you understand, follows [Transcriber's note: fellows?]."

Apparently, Landy took this as a great compliment, for his perspiring face was set in a grin of triumph as he thrust out his tongue at Lil Artha, as much as to say:

"See, Mister Smarty, others appreciate my good qualities if you don't.

So just mind your own business, and leave me alone to attend to mine.

I'll get there or burst a blood-vessel trying. That's the Smith nature every time."

Having heard Landy talk in this strain many a time the rest of the scouts could easily put these expressions in his mouth, though he was too short of breath just then to give them utterance; looks, however, often count more than mere words.

They had been making splendid progress all this while, and must have covered considerable distance since the time when they watched the official posse wind its way past their hiding-place.

Lil Artha and Elmer had once or twice held a low consultation after making an examination of the tracks they were following.

The others, listening to what the leaders said, found they were comparing notes, and that it appeared to be the opinion of both Hen was getting pretty tired. This they could make out in various ways known to scouts who had made a business of reading the story to be found in tracks.

"You can see how uneven Hen walks most of the time," said Lil Artha; "he wobbles even worse than Landy here, which goes to show he's getting pretty tuckered out. Can you blame the poor fellow when p'raps he's weak from hunger? If any of us had to go without a bite to eat all day we'd get wobbly on our pins, too."

There was no dissenting voice raised to this a.s.sertion; eating is so essential to the average boy that nothing on earth can compensate for a dearth of food at the regular intervals.

"Then we saw several places where Hen had sat down to rest, you remember," Elmer reminded the other.

"Yes, and the last time it struck us both that the man had yanked him to his feet again by main force; which I take it wasn't as nice and kind of that bully as you might expect," Lil Artha went on to say.

"Oh! the coward!" Chatz was heard to growl, and the look on his face as he said those few words told what he meant to do if ever the opportunity came his way to strike a blow for the abducted chum.

Filled with renewed determination after this little conference, they once more took up their task. Lil Artha likened their progress to the ways of the Siberian wolf that follows its quarry day and night until in the end its very persistence wins the victory.

"We're in this to the finish," he was fond of saying whenever he had the chance, "and sooner or later we'll get him. The boys of the Wolf Patrol mean to stick to their name, and run the prey to the earth. He just can't get away nohow. All we've got to do is to keep moving, and believe the game is going to come our way. Everybody put his best foot forward again. It's for the honor of the patrol, boys, that we get hold of Hen Condit before the Chief takes him in."

It was now two hours and more since they had started on this new trail.

Before this time no doubt the posse must have reached the deserted hide-out, and learned that the birds had flown. Yes, it was even possible that they were coming along the plain trail the seven scouts had left behind them.

Figuring then that the bulky Chief and his men would not exceed their own rate of progress, they could count on almost two full hours'

advantage over the others. That surely ought to be an abundance of time in which to carry out their plans, granting that they could overtake the fugitives.

Elmer had again cautioned them to keep still. The swamp was very silent where they now found themselves, and sounds could be carried to some distance under such conditions.

Landy was getting on fairly well, considering a number of things that he had to contend with. Indeed, Elmer meant to tell him as much when he had the chance; for he felt that the stout scout deserved encouragement. What might seem trifles to some of the others a.s.sumed the aspect of mountains in the eyes of one who was not gifted with agility by Nature, and had to carry a far greater weight with him than any of his mates were obliged to.

But here was Lil Artha coming to a full stop again. Looking at him the others found that the tracker did not seem to be bending over to examine the trail more closely, as had occurred many times before.

On the contrary, Lil Artha was now raising his head in an expectant att.i.tude. Landy even conjectured that he must be observing a woodp.e.c.k.e.r boring a hole in some rotten tree-top, and was about to try and follow the supposed line of vision on the part of Lil Artha when he heard him say something.

It was only a brief sentence, but it meant worlds to those tired trail followers.

"I smell smoke--wood smoke at that!" was what Lil Artha hissed, as he continued to sniff vigorously.

CHAPTER XV

WOLF PATROL PLUCK WINS

It was no time for talking, and everyone realized that fact. If they were close enough to the fugitives to catch the scent of burning wood, the camp could not be far away.

Elmer and Lil Artha seemed to hit upon the same idea at the same time.

They took note of the prevailing direction of the wind, and guessed that the fire must be in the quarter from which it was blowing. That was not exactly straight ahead, but a little to the left.

Making motions to indicate extreme caution, Elmer led the way. Now was the time for the scouts of the Wolf Patrol to prove the value of their education. Many times in the past had they practiced this very same difficult feat of creeping up on the camp of an unsuspecting enemy, just as a bunch of red Indians might do; and what they had learned under those conditions was going to prove of practical value to them now.

No one tried to hurry. What was the use, when those they followed had come to a halt, and there was no longer any need of haste?

So they went on yard by yard, straining their vision all the while in hopes of glimpsing the column of smoke, or the crackling flames ahead.

In making this advance they were careful to creep along as close to the ground as possible. This was an easy matter for a thin fellow like Lil Artha, but to stout Landy it was quite a different task, though he succeeded in flattening himself out wonderfully well, all things considered.

When finally smoke was discovered, their caution increased, if such a thing were possible. Fortunately, the nature of the ground proved favorable to such work as creeping, there being a certain amount of gra.s.s that might be used to conceal their movements.

Pretty soon those in the advance could catch sight of a figure seated on the edge of the bank at a place where the water extended. Back of him the fire smouldered, as though feeding on wood that had been thrown upon it some time before.

It was Hen Condit!

Imagine the thrill that pa.s.sed through Elmer, Lil Artha and those other fellows when they made this out to be a fact. Pretty soon as they looked they saw that the missing chum seemed to be engaged in industriously fishing, for he had a rude rod in his hand, and baited his hook with some worms even as they watched.

His back was turned toward them, so there was no opportunity for the newcomers to open negotiations with the fellow-member of the Wolf Patrol even should they want to.

And now stretching their necks a trifle more they made another discovery. The man in the case was lying on his back, and so far as they could tell, sound asleep. Apparently, the master could take things easy and rest himself, but the slave must keep constantly employed trying to take in something calculated to satisfy their hunger.

It made Lil Artha grind his teeth when he saw this; and Elmer had to touch him on the arm, as well as shake his head sternly in order to warn him that nothing desperate must be attempted. With victory almost in their grasp they would, indeed, be foolish to ruin things by too much haste.

As motions must from this time on take the place of speech, Elmer began to make use of a beckoning finger to tell the others what their next move should be. This, of course, was a further advance. They must contrive in some way to push closer to the camp, so that when the crisis came, they would be in a position to thwart any move the man might make looking to carrying Hen off with him.

All this had been arranged beforehand, and each fellow knew exactly what part he was to play in the round-up. Lil Artha and Chatz had, indeed, been warned that it would be up to them to make sure Hen did not run away, filled with a fear of the consequences should he be taken, even by his friends.

Advancing in this careful fashion, the scouts had covered many yards, and were now almost within striking distance of the camp. It was at this particular moment that a sudden thing happened calculated to bring matters to a climax.

After all that patient waiting, and rebaiting of his hook, the persistence of the fisherman with the crooked rod was rewarded. He was seen to give a quick jerk, and then with a mighty effort throw a fairly large, shining fish over his head.

No sooner had it landed with a thump on the ground, and commenced to flop furiously, than Hen gave vent to a cry of delight, such as any hungry boy might utter when he found himself favored with a chance to break his long fast.

The sleeping man jumped to his feet as though at first he thought the police had found them out. Seeing the excited boy and the flopping fish, he hurried over to the spot. His first act was to strike poor Hen over the head, and tell him to get busy again if he wanted a bite to eat for himself, because there was only enough in that fish to take the edge off one person's appet.i.te.

Lil Artha came very nearly upsetting all Elmer's plans when he saw this brutal act of the man, for he started to gain his feet, and had to be pulled down by violence, shivering with excitement.

Hen had gone back to his task again, looking thoroughly cowed and disheartened. The man, taking the fish in his hand, held it up as if to admire its looks; then he stepped down to the water as though meaning to clean the prize without any loss of time, possibly spurred on by hunger.