Phil Bradley's Mountain Boys Part 8

"I'm not quite so simple as all that," Phil flashed back at him; "you can see I'm heading the other way."

"Oh! I know what he means," burst out Lub just then; "it's the door!

Phil's going to take down that bar we pushed in place, and open up.

Hurrah! that sounds good to me! Phil knows how to do the trick. You trust him every time, and you'll never get left."

Of course it was all simple enough now, and if Lub could see through it the other pair could also. To be sure, Phil meant to swing wide the door, and thus invite the departure of their unwelcome guest.

They saw him reach the front of the cabin. The bear was apparently suspicious of any sort of movement, and continued to growl threateningly. So long as he did not actually start to make an attack Ethan believed he could afford to remain idle, and hold his ground.

Phil appeared to be having some little trouble about getting the bar loose. The door did not shut closely, and it had taken the combined strength of two of them to fasten it securely.

"Give it a hunch, and then slip the bar up, quick, Phil!" called out Lub; for as he had helped close it he knew best how the thing could be done.

Phil made a third attempt, and this time succeeded, for they saw him open the door, and then back away, still gripping the stout bar in his hands, as though he considered it worth having in an emergency.

"There you are, Mister; now please get a move on you!" called Lub.

The animal must have already sniffed the outer air, to judge from his actions. He may have also suspected some sort of cunning trap, for he did not immediately start on a rush toward the gap in the wall.

"He guesses you're laying for him, Phil," Ethan remarked; "p'raps you'd better back up and join our squad here. There's another upper berth, if so be you think you'd like to join our brave chum Lub."

"Huh! think you're smart, don't you?" muttered the one referred to; but evidently the slur cut to the quick, for what did Lub do but bundle out of his bunk and actually take his place in line with the others, as though to show them that at least it was not _fear_ that had caused him to climb up out of the way.

"I guess he's going to make the run for it!" exclaimed X-Ray Tyson.

"Everybody start to waving their arms when he comes, and keep him going.

Whoop! hurry up your stumps, old bear; this is a white man's cabin, and you're not wanted!"

All at once the beast concluded it would be wise for him to accept of the one lone chance for escape. That open door, and the sweet smell of the outside air appealed irresistibly to his nature.

"There he comes, boys!" snapped Ethan; and with that they all began to make extravagant gestures, at the same time using threatening language that must have appalled the poor bear, could he have understood its meaning.

Snapping and growling he scuttled past the line of excited boys, headed for the open door. He presented such a ferocious aspect that none of them cared to do the slightest thing to bar his forward progress; indeed, just the contrary seemed to be the case. Something must have influenced Lub, for that worthy actually stepped forward out of line; and as the beast shuffled hastily past he let drive with his right foot, just for all the world as though he were trying for a drop kick on the gridiron, with three thousand breathless spectators watching to see if he would make the goal.

Then the bear, thus urged on by every possible means, went hastily through the open door, and was seen no more. The cabin was once again in their undisputed possession.

"Three cheers!" shouted X-Ray Tyson, who after the manner of boys in general, was so completely filled with enthusiasm that he could only think of one way in which to get rid of the surplus "steam," which was by shouting.

The others joined in the noise, and if any one happened to be within a mile of that birch bark cabin just then, before the break of day, he must have been greatly mystified to understand what all the racket could be about.

CHAPTER VII

ON THE BORDER OF THE LAKE

"Did you all see me kick him out?" proudly demanded Lub, who evidently believed that by this action he had established his reputation for bravery beyond all dispute.

"Sure, we did," declared Ethan, "and he must have been some surprised bear when he felt your heft slam up against him. You'd better look out if ever you meet up with that chap again, Lub; they say bears have got wonderful memories, and he'll never forgive such an insult."

The door was fastened again, and the boys climbed into their blankets, for the night air coming in had given them something of a chill.

"No need of trying to go to sleep again," announced Phil; "because daylight'll be along in seven winks. Fact is, I thought it looked that way in the east when I shut the door, though the moon shining like it does fools you some. But it's after four, and dawn comes early these summer days."

Leaving the lantern burning, they lay there and talked matters over. All of them had been so worked up, what with that sudden awakening, and the row that followed, that they would have found it difficult to have resumed their interrupted sleep even though several more hours must elapse before morning.

Lub felt that he had been fully vindicated.

"You fellows thought it smart to laugh at me when I hinted we might have a thief come down the chimney, but see what happened!" he went on to say, desiring to rub it in a little.

"Well, of course none of us ever thought a yearling bear would drop on the roof from a limb of a tree, and smelling our grub down the chimney lean so far over that he'd pitch headlong in," ventured Ethan, who had apparently figured it all out, and knew just about how the thing happened.

"If a bear can do it, any sort of animal, or even a bad man might follow suit," suggested X-Ray Tyson, wickedly.

Lub took up the dare instantly.

"Just what I was thinking," he hastened to say; "and you mark me that when morning comes I'm going to climb up on the roof and look around.

Leave it to me to fix something across the vent of that old chimney, so even a 'c.o.o.n couldn't squeeze through."

"Like as not you'll smother us with the smoke!" grumbled Ethan.

"Not much I will," he was promptly a.s.sured; "I know enough for that. If I had a piece of heavy wire-mesh like's on the windows of our stable at home, it'd be the ticket; but as it is I'll have to use something else.

I mean to sleep nights without thinking that all sorts of ferocious wild beasts are aiming to drop in on us without invitations."

When they saw that the dawn had really come the boys began to move around. Phil led the way to the border of the lake near by and they took an early morning duck. The water was pretty chilly, but then growing lads can stand almost anything. No doubt some of them may even on a dare have braved a skim of new ice on a pond in the early spring.

After a bit, when they had finished their dressing, preparations for breakfast came next in order. Things began to look decidedly comfortable about that time. They forgot all unpleasant things, and the rattle of tongues would have made any one believe in the story of the Tower of Babel.

Every one had his plans laid out, and numerous pet schemes to work. Phil of course meant to roam around the neighborhood, and see what discoveries he could make in connection with the haunts of small animals, or places where they "used," to speak after the manner of a hunter or trapper.

If he could find such a favorite spot it was his plan to set his trap on the succeeding night, with the intention, not of harming the creature, but getting him to touch off the flashlight, and thus take his own picture.

Lub's enthusiasm seemed to have petered out, in that he manifested no immediate intention of climbing to the roof of the cabin. The truth of the matter was, Lub always showed a disposition to put things off; procrastination was one of his greatest faults, even as too much haste had always been X-Ray Tyson's besetting sin. There was the whole day before him; so what need of undue speed. Taking things easy had become second nature with Lub. Besides, as a final argument, he had gorged himself with the fine breakfast, which of course he had helped to cook; and it would be too bad to risk indigestion while on this outing.

So Lub just lay around, and bothered some of the others by asking innumerable questions. Still, he was always willing to a.s.sist if called upon, and for that he was forgiven his lazy habits.

It was toward the middle of the morning when Phil came back again, after roaming around. His manner gave them to understand that he had met with some success.

"Find any place to make your lay-out to-night, Phil?" asked Lub.

"Yes, one splendid spot where a 'c.o.o.n seems to travel down to the water's edge, to fish, or something or other," Phil replied. "You can see his tracks going and coming as plain as anything. I've marked a place where I can tie my camera, and fix the bait so he'll have to be in range when the flash comes. This afternoon I'm meaning to go further afoot, and see if I can run across bigger game."

"You certainly look as if you enjoyed this sort of thing," ventured Lub, a little enviously; for he often wished that he had it in him to love tramping, and all that pertained to woodland sports.

"Why, it seems to grow on you," admitted Phil, with considerable animation. "In the start I didn't care a great deal about it, and sometimes called myself silly to want to spend so much time trying to circ.u.mvent little animals, and get a flashlight picture of them. It's hard work, too, because they're not only shy but cunning as well. What little I've managed to do along that line has made me keen on the subject. And right now I believe I'd rather shoot a moose with a camera than with my Marlin rifle."

Ethan laughed a little, and shook his head.