Captain Sam Part 7

A DISTURBANCE IN CAMP.

Jake Elliott got very little sleep that night. Indeed it was nearly daylight when he fell asleep and it was one of Sam's marching rules to march early. He waked the boys every morning as soon as it was sufficiently light for them to begin preparing breakfast, and by sunrise they were ready to begin their day's march.

This morning it was cloudy and there were symptoms of a coming storm.

Sam was up at the first breaking of day, and he hurriedly waked the boys.

"Come, boys," he said, "we must hurry or we shall be too late to cross a river that's ahead of us, before it begins to rise. Get breakfast over as quickly as possible, for we mustn't fail to make seventeen miles to-day, and if it rains heavily it'll be bad marching in this swamp. There's higher ground ahead of us for to-morrow, but we mustn't be caught in here by high water in the creeks."

The boys sprang up quickly and made all haste in the preparation of breakfast. Jake Elliott was dull and moody. The fact is he was sleepy and tired with the night's excitement, and in no very good condition to march. He dragged with his share of the work, but breakfast was soon over, and Sam was ready to start. Taking out his compa.s.s to get his bearings right he opened it, and saw the ruin that had been wrought.

He looked up in surprise and caught Jake Elliott's eye. In an instant he guessed the truth.

"Lay down your bundles, boys," he said, "we cannot start just yet."

"Why not, Captain Sam?" asked two or three boys in a breath.

"Because Jake Elliott has broken our compa.s.s," replied Sam, looking the offender fixedly in the eye.

"Shame on the wretched coward," exclaimed the boys. "Let's duck him in the creek."

"I'm not a coward, and whoever says I broke the compa.s.s--"

"Silence!" cried Sam peremptorily. "Don't finish that sentence, Jake.

It isn't a wise thing to do. Besides there's no use putting it in that way. 'Whoever says,' is a vague sort of phrase. You know very well who said that you broke the compa.s.s. I said it; Sam Hardwicke said it, and you do not dare to say that I lie. Don't try to say it by calling me 'whoever says.' That isn't my name."

Sam was as cool and quiet as possible. There was no sign of agitation in his voice, and no anger in his tone. The boys, however, were furious. They were in earnest in this expedition, and they supposed, of course, that the destruction of the compa.s.s would force them to return to camp. Beside this, it angered them to think that Jake had done so mean a thing.

Billy Bowlegs, the smallest boy in the party, was especially furious.

Walking up to Jake with his fists clenched, he said:

"Jake Elliott, you're a sneak and a coward, and you daren't answer for yourself. Just deny it please, do deny it, so's I can bat you in the mouth. I'm hungry to wallop you. Do say I lie, or say anything, open your head, or lift your hand, or wink your eye, or look at me, or do something. Just give me any sort of excuse and I'll give you what you deserve, now and here."

Billy screamed this out at the top of his voice, advancing on Jake every moment, as the latter drew back.

"What can I say to make you fight?" he continued. "I'll call you anything that's mean. Just say what it shall be and consider it said.

Won't any thing make you fight? _There_, and _there_ and _there_, now may be you'll resent that."

The words "there and there and there" were accompanied by three vigorous slaps which Billy laid with a will on Jake's cheeks, in despair of provoking him to resent anything less positive. It was all done in a moment, and in another instant Sam had brought Billy Bowlegs to his senses, by quietly leading him away and saying.

"Let him alone, Billy; there's no credit in fighting such a coward."

Enough had occurred, however, to show that Jake was thoroughly scared by the little fellow's violence, and he could not have been more thoroughly whipped than he was already.

When order had been restored, Sam said quietly:--

"The breaking of the compa.s.s is a serious mishap, and the want of it will give us trouble all the way; but luckily it is not fatal to our expedition, if you boys will help me work out the problem without the aid of the needle."

"Help you! You see if we wont!" cried the enthusiastic boys in chorus.

"Thank you," replied Sam, lifting his cap, "I thought I could depend upon you."

"But can you really find the way without the compa.s.s, Sam?" asked Tom.

"Certainly, else I shouldn't be fit to be in the woods."

"How can you do it?"

"I'll show you presently."

"What'll you do with Jake?" asked Sid Russell.

"I'll take him with us," replied Sam.

"Is that all?"

"That is enough, I think. He is the worst punished boy or man in America this minute, and he'll be punished every minute while he stays with us."

"Well but ain't nothin' more to be done to him? Can't I just duck him a little or something of that sort?"

"No, certainly not. We all know him now, as a coward and a miserable sneak. What's the good of demonstrating it further? It would be dirtying your own hands."

"That's kind o' so, captain, but I'd sort o' like to duck him a little anyhow. The creek's so handy down there."

"No," said Sam. "I want no further reference made to this matter. Jake Elliott will go on with us, and as I have said already, he's punished enough. Besides it may prove to be a lesson to him. He may do better hereafter, and if he does, if he shows a genuine disposition to atone for his misconduct by good behavior in the future, I want n.o.body to tell of what has occurred here, after we get back to our friends. I ask that now of you boys as a favor, and I shall think n.o.body my friend who will not join me in this effort to make a man out of our companion. I am ready to forgive him freely, and the quarrel has been mine from the first. You can certainly afford to hold your tongues at my request, if Jake tries to do better hereafter. I want your promise to that effect."

The boys required some urging before they would promise, but their admiration for Sam's magnanimity was too great for them to persist in refusing anything that he asked of them. They promised at last, not only not to refer to the matter during their campaign, but to keep it a secret afterward, provided Jake should be guilty of no further misconduct.

"Thank you, boys," said Sam, "and now, Jake," he continued, "you have a chance to redeem your reputation. You cannot undo what you have done, but you can act like a man hereafter, without having this business thrown up to you."

Sam held out his hand, but Jake pretended not to see it.

CHAPTER XI.

BACKWOODS GEOMETRY.

The quarrel having ended in the way described in the last chapter, the boys were compelled to find something else to talk about, as they were under a pledge not to refer further to that matter. They were prepared, therefore, to take an interest in Sam's preparations for resuming the march without the a.s.sistance of a compa.s.s. Their curiosity was great to know how he meant to proceed, and it was made greater by what he did first.

The clouds were thick and heavy, as I have already said, so that there was no chance to look at the sun for guidance; but Sam Hardwicke was full of resources. He had a good habit of observing whatever he saw and remembering it, whether he saw any reason to suppose that it might be of use to him or not. Just now he remembered something which he had observed the evening before, and he proceeded at once to make use of it.

He cut a stick, sharpened it a little at one end, and drove it into the ground at a spot which he had selected for the purpose. Then he walked away twenty or thirty paces and drove another stake, sighting from one to the other, and taking pains to get them in line with a tree which stood at a little distance from the first stake.

"What are you doing, Captain Sam?" asked Bob Sharp, unable to restrain his curiosity.