Camp Mates in Michigan; or, with Pack and Paddle in the Pine Woods

by St. George Rathborne

  CHAPTER VI

  EVIDENCE THAT TALKED

  “Now tell us about Gabe, and how he came to be run out of the Woodstockcamp?” asked Teddy.

  “Why, it was this way,” began Amos, without the slightest hesitation;“he’d been known as the bully for years and years. Many’s the man heknocked down, and beat up terrible like, just for crossing him. Theywere that afraid of Gabe, that when he told a silly story everybodyjust roared. And I take it there ain’t anything to beat that, toshow how one man lords it over twenty. But his time came,” and Amossnickered, as though even the recollection of what he had witnessedgave him the greatest pleasure.

  “I suppose a bigger man than Gabe came to camp; and when set on, justup and took him unawares?” suggested Dolph.

  “Took him unawares goes,” replied the other, “but as for the rest, justlisten. You saw how Gabe, he looked at me lots of times uneasy like.Guess he knew I’d be telling you all about his fall, after he wentaway. Mebbe that helped to hurry him off, too, because I guess he ain’tnever gotten over being touchy on that sore spot. Notice that he’d hadhis nose broke, didn’t you?”

  “Why, yes, now that you mention it, there was a crook to it. Did thenew bully do that when he hit Gabe?” asked Teddy.

  “It was like this,” continued Amos, soberly. “We had a little Swedenamed Larz, the quietest and most peaceful man you ever saw. Nobody hadever seen him lift a hand to hit anything. He used to do whatever hewas told by the rest, and since they took him to be just a good-naturedfellow, why I guess they imposed on him a heap.”

  “Well, one night Gabe, who had been drinking, and was just wild for arow with somebody, after trying all he could to get some of the men tofight, picks on Larz. I think he struck him, and said something thatthe Swede didn’t like one little bit. Just how he did it, nobody everknew. They heard the sound, and saw Big Gabe measure his length on thefloor, his head striking so hard that it must have made him see stars.He started to get up, and was knocked flat again. And before Larz wasdone, he’d made the big coward, who turned out to be only a bag ofwind, apologize to him before the whole shouting crowd.”

  “And after that, of course, Gabe never dared stay in camp a day. And hequit the company too. They called Larz the Terrible Swede after that;but the man became just as quiet as ever, and refused to take the placevacated by the bully. That was about two years ago; and I haven’t seteyes on Gabe till tonight. But I did hear he was doing all sorts ofthings, from shooting game out of season, to netting bass when the gameand fish warden was far away and selling ’em in the towns. And now youknow all about him, as far as I can tell you.”

  Of course, both the other boys laughed heartily at the idea of thathusky logger being whipped by a mild-mannered, inoffensive man half hissize.

  “These Swedes can go the limit when they get their mad up,” Teddyremarked. “We have a number working for us; and such dare-devil fellowsyou never saw. Why, they think nothing of risking their lives in a logjam; and hardly a year passes but what a number of serious accidents dooccur to them at one time or another. Sometimes it’s a tree falls on aman; then again a slip of the ax cuts his foot terribly; and in spring,when the freshet comes, and the logs start down, you just ought to seewhat goes on. They’re a hard lot, it’s true, but a braver batch of menit’d be impossible to find.”

  “I’d have given a lot to have had a picture of that little scrap,”remarked Dolph, who was fond of taking snapshots with a kodak hecarried.

  “Well,” continued Amos, “you’d have had a fine chance at the timelittle Larz was sitting on Gabe, and pounding him for keeps, until hemade him roar out that he’d had enough, and took back everything he’dsaid. I’ll never forget it. Gabe won’t either, though he never wentback to get satisfaction being afraid that there were too many of thatlogging crew who had a bone to pick with him.”

  “Yes, and I suppose nine out of ten believed they could down him, afterthe little Swede had shown them the way,” added Dolph.

  “Now, about keeping an eye on our stuff tonight; how had we betterarrange it?” asked Teddy.

  “I could stay up on the watch,” remarked Amos.

  “Yes, one-third of the time, and that’s all,” the other quicklyobserved. “You had it even harder than either of us, paddling againstthat current; because there were two in our boat to change about. Andyou’ve got to have some rest, as well as us. So here is what we’ll do;divide up the time between now and dawn into three parts. I’ll standguard the first watch; then I’ll wake up Amos, and he’ll surely promiseto give you a punch when his time is out. Get that, fellows?”

  “Suits me all right,” declared Dolph; “and I don’t want any funnybusiness, either, about getting me up. I’d be as mad as a wet hen ifAmos lets me sleep on, and in that way cheated me out of my rights. Weagreed when we started out on this trip it was going to be share andshare alike, and no favors shown. Shall we crawl in now, Teddy, andleave you to yourself?”

  “Yes; but remember to take my gun, everybody. He seemed to like itbetter than yours, Dolph,” the lumberman’s son went on to remark.

  “Showed his good sense, that’s all; I’m not stuck on this gun half somuch as I used to be. If it goes back on me again, I’ll throw it awayafter this trip, and get one like yours, Teddy. Come on, Amos, it’sus to snatch a few winks, while our brave chum mounts guards over ourpossessions.”

  Dolph was undeniably tired enough to welcome the chance for somehours’ sleep. And it seemed to him that his head had hardly hit thepillow, which consisted of a bag filled with the same kind of stuffthat constituted their beds, hemlock browse, stripped by hand from itsattendant stems, than he lost consciousness.

  He was suddenly aroused by a tremendous bang; and although for themoment Dolph found himself unable to place himself, some sort ofintuition caused him to feel for his gun, and crawl hastily out of thetent.

  Amos had been just ahead of him, and was on his feet as Dolph appeared.

  “What is it; more cats invading us?” demanded the latter, when he sawthe figure of Teddy just beyond the fire, in the act of half raisinghis gun, as if tempted to shoot again.

  The other was laughing as if there might be something of a joke.

  “No cats this time,” he replied; “unless you choose to call two-leggedthieves by that name.”

  “Whew! did he come back, then?” gasped Dolph, as he suddenly rememberedtheir unwelcome visitor of the earlier evening, and the suspicion theyhad entertained as to his thievish propensities.

  “I heard a sound as of somebody or _some thing_ creeping throughthe bushes,” declared Teddy, “and making as sure as I could of thedirection, I let one shot go.”

  “Did he yelp?” demanded Amos, grinning as he remembered the fine,dust-like shot which the owner of the repeating gun had said he meantto use.

  “Well, I didn’t hear anything like that,” admitted Teddy. “If he got adose he sure knew how to keep a tight upper lip. But I felt certain Iheard a patter of feet on the pine needles, like somebody scooting offin a big hurry. I was just thinking I’d like to give him another shot,when you came out and interrupted me. Now it’s too late, because he’sgone.”

  “But you ain’t sure of it, are you?” asked Dolph.

  “Well, I’m just dead certain that I heard those sounds; but of courseit might have been some sort of animal pattering away. Tell you what,we’ll light the lantern, and take a look over there where I fired.”

  “Oh! do you expect to find drops of blood, or anything like that?”asked Dolph, with a little catch in his voice.

  “Hardly, but we might be able to run across a trail; and Amos here isa pretty good hand at reading signs. Get some clothes on, both of you;then we’ll take our lantern, and see.”

  Apparently, then, Teddy must have considerable faith in the theoryhe had advanced, since he was ready to put it to the test of anexamination. So both Dolph and the woods boy hastened to get theirmissing garments, not being as warmly clad as they would like, when itcame to standing
around in that night air.

  Presently they made their reappearance again, and better prepared toundertake the adventure which Teddy had proposed. He led them in adirect line, as though he had been taking exact note, and knew where tolook.

  “See here, you can see where my charge of shot cut through this lowerlimb of this tree, and sent a lot of green stuff to the ground. ButI’m a little afraid, fellows, that we’re going to have some troublelocating anything like footprints; because, you see, the ground’s ashard as all get-out around here.”

  Ten seconds later, and Teddy came to a stop.

  “Now, as near as I could say,” he remarked, “this ought to be aboutwhere he was at the time I fired. See anything, Amos?”

  Carrying the lantern, the woods boy was carefully examining the ground.He scratched his head as he looked up.

  “Nothing doing yet, as I can see,” he remarked. “Just as you said,Teddy, the ground is as hard as the mischief right here. I might comeon some sign where p’raps he broke off a twig when he hurried so, toget away. That’s what I’m really looking for right now; somethingthat’ll tell there was a sneaker here.”

  “Hope you find it, then, Amos,” said Teddy, who was more or lesschagrined because he had not been able, thus far, to advance thenecessary proof, in order to show he had not been mistaken in hisbelief; and that it really was a man, probably Hackett, whoseretreating footsteps he claimed to have heard, after firing at random.

  Amos did not give up so easily. He seemed to just _feel_ that thereshould be some sort of evidence at hand, if one did not tire huntingfor the same. And so, holding his lantern low, he kept looking to theright and to the left.

  All at once the others heard him give an exclamation; and Teddy feltthat there was something akin to delight in the cry.

  “Found the trail, have you, Amos?” he demanded joyously.

  “No trail, but something better,” came the answer. “Come here, both ofyou. What do you make that out to be?”

  He pointed to some object on the ground. It looked like a bunch ofpaper. Teddy bent down and secured possession of the thing, which heinstantly raised to his nose, as though anxious to make doubly sure.

  “Some of our coffee, by the great horn spoon!” he exclaimed, “and sincewe know who carried this away, stuck in his pocket, why, it ain’t ahard thing to guess now, is it, that Big Gabe came back, meaning totake away either one of our canoes, or, failing that, my dandy repeaterhere. Well, I only hope he carried off some of the charge that was inthe barrel of this same gun.”

  Solemnly the package was passed around, each of the others smellingof it, and then nodding an assent to the explanation advanced by TeddyOverton. The pretended hunter for wild ginseng had come back, filledwith a desire to lay hands on more of that delicious coffee, or some ofthe other possessions of the camp mates.