The Banner Boy Scouts Snowbound Part 24

"But Paul, what could we do to help them?" demanded Bluff.

"With this storm raging to beat the band," added Tom Betts, "it would be as much as our lives were worth to venture out. Why, you can't see ten feet away; and we'd be going around in a circle until the cold got us in the end."

"Hold on, fellows, don't jump at conclusions so fast," Paul warned them. "I'd be the last one to advise going out into the woods with the storm keeping up. But Tolly Tip told me the snow stopped hours ago.

What we see whirling around is only swept by the wind, for it's as dry as powder you know. And even the wind seems to be dying down now, and is blowing in spasms."

"Paul, you're right, as you nearly always are," Jack affirmed, after he had pressed his nose against the cold gla.s.s of the little window.

"And say! will you believe me when I say that I can see a small patch of blue sky up yonder--big enough to make a Dutchmen's pair of breeches?"

"Hurrah! that settles the old blizzard then!" cried Sandy Griggs. "You all remember, don't you, the old saying, 'between eleven and two it'll tell you what it's going to do?' I've seen it work out lots of times."

"Yes," retorted Jud, "and fail as often in the bargain. That's one of the exploded signs. When they come out right you believe in 'em, and when they miss, why you just forget all about it, and go on hoping.

But in this case I reckon the old storm must have blown itself about out, and we can look for a week of cold, clear weather now."

"We'll wait until after lunch," said Paul, in his decided fashion that the boys knew so well; "then, if things brighten up, we'll see what we can do. Those fellows must be suffering, more or less, and it's our duty to help them, no matter whether they bother to thank us or not."

"Scouts don't want thanks when they do their duty," said Phil Towns, grandly. "But I suppose you'll hardly pick me out as one of the rescue party, Paul?"

"I'd rather have the hardiest fellows along with me, Phil," replied the scout-master, kindly; "though I'm glad to know you feel willing to serve. It counts just as much to _want_ to go, as to be allowed to be one of the number."

Bobolink especially showed great delight over the possibility of their setting out to relieve the enemy in distress. A dozen times he went to the door and pa.s.sed out, under the plea that they might as well have plenty of wood in the cabin; but on every occasion upon his return he would report the progress of the clearing skies.

"Have the sun shining right away now, boys," he finally announced, with a beaming face. "And the wind's letting up, more or less. Times are when you can see as far as a hundred feet. And say! it's a wonderful sight let me tell you."

Noon came and they sat down to the lunch that had been prepared for them, this time by Frank and Spider, Bobolink having begged off. The sun was shining in a dazzling way upon the white-coated ground. It looked like fairyland the boys declared, though but little of the snow had remained on the oaks, beeches and other forest trees, owing to the furious and persistent wind.

The hemlocks, however, were bending low with the weight that pressed upon their branches. Some of the smaller ones looked like snow pyramids, and it was plain to be seen that during the remainder of the winter most of this snow was bound to hang on.

"If we only had a few pairs of snow-shoes like Tolly Tip's here,"

suggested Bobolink, enthusiastically, "we might skim along over ten-foot drifts, and never bother about things."

"Yes," Jud told him, a bit sarcastically, "if we knew just how to manage the bally things, we might. But it isn't so easy as you think.

Most of us would soon be taking headers, and finding ourselves upside down. It's a trick that has to be learned; and some fellows never can get the hang, I've been told."

"Well, there's no need of our talking about it," interposed Paul, "because there's only one pair of snow-shoes in the cabin, and all of us can't wear those. But Tolly Tip says we're apt to find avenues swept in the snow by the wind, where we can walk for the most part on clear ground, with but few drifts to wade through."

"It may make a longer journey av the same," the old woodsman explained; "but if luck favors us we'll git there in due time, I belave, if so be ye settle on goin'."

Nothing could hold the scouts back, it seemed. This idea of setting forth to succor an enemy in distress had taken a firm hold upon their imaginations.

Besides, those days when they were shut up in the storm-besieged cabin had been fearfully long to their active spirits, and on this account, too, they welcomed the chance to do something.

There could no longer be any doubt that the storm had blown itself out, for the sky was rapidly clearing. The air remained bitter cold, and Paul advised those whom he selected to accompany him to wrap themselves up with additional care, for he did not wish to have them take the chance of frosting their toes and their noses.

Those who were fortunate enough to be drafted for the trip were Jack, Jud, Bobolink and Tom Betts. Some of the others felt slighted, but tried to be as cheerful over their disappointment as possible.

Of course, Tolly Tip was to accompany them, for he would not have allowed the boys to set out without his guidance, under such changed and really hazardous conditions. A trained woodsman would be necessary in order to insure the boys against possible disaster in the storm-bound forest.

Well bundled up, and bearing packs on their backs consisting in the main of provisions, the six started off, followed by the cheers and good wishes of their comrades, and were soon lost to view amidst the white aisles of the forest.

CHAPTER XXV

AMONG THE SNOWDRIFTS

"This is hard work after all, let me own up!" announced Jud Elderkin, after they had been pushing on for nearly half an hour.

"To tell you the truth," admitted Tom Betts, "we've turned this way and that so often now I don't know whether we're heading straight."

"Trust Tolly Tip for that," urged Paul. "And besides, if you'd taken your bearings as you should have done when starting, you could tell from the position of the sun that right now we're going straight toward that far-off hill."

"Good for ye, Paul!" commented the guide, who was deeply interested in finding out just how much woods lore these scouts had picked up during their many camp experiences.

"Well, here's where we're up against it good and hard," observed Bobolink.

The clear s.p.a.ce they had been following came to an abrupt end, and before them lay a great drift of snow, at least five or six feet deep.

"Do we try to flounder through this, or turn around and try another way?" asked Jud, looking as though, if the decision rested with him, he would only too gladly attack the heap of snow.

Before deciding, Tolly Tip climbed into the fork of a tree. From this point of vantage he was able to see beyond the drift. He dropped down presently with a grin on his face.

"It's clear ag'in beyant the hape av snow; so we'd better try to b.u.t.t through the same," he told them. "Let me go first, and start a path.

Whin I play out one av the rist av ye may take the lead. Come along, boys."

The relief party plunged into the great drift with merry shouts, being filled with the enthusiasm of abounding youth. The big woodsman kept on until even he began to tire of the work; or else guessed that Jud was eager to take his place.

In time they had pa.s.sed beyond the obstacle, and again found themselves traversing a windswept avenue that led in the general direction they wished to go.

A short time afterwards Jud uttered a shout.

"Hold on a minute, fellows!" he called out.

"What ails you now, Jud--got a cramp in your leg, or do you think it's time we stopped for a bite of lunch?" demanded Bobolink.

"Here's the plain track of a deer," answered Jud, pointing down as he spoke. "And it was made only a short time ago you can see, because while the wind blows the snow some every little while, it hasn't filled the track."

"That's good scout logic, Jud," affirmed Paul; and even the old woodsman nodded his head as though he liked to hear the boy think things out so cleverly.

"Here it turns into this blind path," continued Jud, "which I'd like to wager ends before long in a big drift. Like as not if we chose to follow, we'd find Mr. Stag wallowing in the deepest kind of snow, and making an easy mark."

"Well, we can't turn aside just now, to hunt a poor deer that is having a hard enough time of it keeping life in his body," said Tom Betts, aggressively.

"No, we'll let the poor beast have his chance to get away," said the scout-master. "We've started out on a definite errand, and mustn't allow ourselves to be drawn aside. So put your best foot forward again, Jud."

Jud looked a little loth to give up the chance to get the deer, a thing he had really set his mind on. However, there would still be plenty of time to accomplish this, and equal Bobolink's feat, whereby the other had been able to procure fresh venison for the camp.