CHAPTER IX.
JAKE ELLIOTT GETS EVEN WITH SAM.
Jake Elliott was a coward all over, and clear through. He had alwaysbeen a bully and pretended to the possession of unusual courage. Hehad tyrannized over small boys, threatened boys of his own size andsneered at boys whom he thought able to hold their own against him ina fight. He had had many fights in his time, but had always managed toget the best of his opponents, by the very simple process of choosingfor the purpose, boys who were not as strong as he was. As a result ofall this he had acquired a great reputation among his fellows, andmost of the boys in his neighborhood were very careful not to provokehim; but he was a great coward through it all, and when he first camein collision with Sam Hardwicke his cowardice showed itself tooplainly to be mistaken. Now there is a curious thing about cowards ofthis sort. When they are once found out they lose the littleappearance of courage that they have taken such pains to maintain, andbecome at once the most abject and shameless dastards imaginable. Thatwas what happened to Jake Elliott. When Sam conquered him soeffectually on the occasion of the boot stealing, he lost all thepride he had and all his meanness seemed to come to the surface. If hehad had a spark of manliness in him, he would have recognized Sam'sgenerosity in sparing him at that time, and would have behaved himselfbetter afterward. As it was he simply cherished his malice andresolved to do Sam all the injury he could in secret.
When Sam organized his expedition at Camp Jackson, Jake had twomotives in joining it. In the first place things around the camplooked too much like genuine preparation for a hard fight with theenemy, and Jake thought that if he should enlist he would be forced tofight, which was precisely what he did not mean to do if he couldhelp it. By joining Sam's party, however, he would escape thenecessity of enlisting, and he thought that the little band was goingaway from danger instead of going into it. He thought, too, that ifany real danger should come, under Sam's leadership, he could run awayfrom it, or sneak out in some way, and as he would not be a regularlyenlisted soldier, no punishment could follow.
This was his first reason for joining. His second one was still moreunworthy. He was bent upon doing Sam all the secret injury he could,and he thought that by going with him he would have opportunities towreak his vengeance, which he would otherwise lose.
When he learned, as we have seen, whither Sam was leading his party,and on what errand, he was really frightened, and Sam's sharp rebukemade him still bitterer in his feelings toward his young commander. Acoward with a grudge which he is afraid to avenge openly, is a verydangerous foe. He will do anything against his adversary which hethinks he can do safely, by sneaking, and when Jake Elliott threwhimself down on his pile of moss he did not mean to go to sleep. Hemeant to revenge himself on Sam before morning, and at the same timeto make it impossible for the expedition to go on. If he could forceSam to return to Camp Jackson, he said to himself, he would humiliatethat young man beyond endurance, and at the same time get himself outof the danger into which Sam was leading him. Everybody would laugh atSam, and call him a coward, and suspect him of failing in hisexpedition purposely, all of which would please Jake Elliott mightily.
How to accomplish all this was a problem which Jake thought he hadsolved by a sudden inspiration. He had formed his plan at the verymoment of receiving Sam's rebuke, and he waited now only for a chanceto execute it.
An hour passed; two hours, three. It was after midnight, and all theboys were sleeping soundly. Jake arose noiselessly and crept to thetree at whose roots Sam had laid his baggage. It was thirty feet ormore from any of the boys, and Jake was not afraid of waking them. Hefumbled about in Sam's baggage until he felt something hard and roundand cold. He drew out a little circular brass box about two and a halfinches in diameter, with a glass top to it. It was Sam's compass. Hetried hard to raise the glass in some way, but failed. Finally, withmuch fear, lest he should awaken some of the boys, he struck the glasswith the end of his heavy Jack knife and broke it. This admitted hisfingers, and taking out the needle of the compass he broke it half intwo. Then replacing the brass lid, leaving all the pieces of theruined instrument inside, he slipped the compass back into itsoriginal place and crept back to his bed by the fire.
"Now," he thought "I reckon Mr. Sam Hardwicke's long head will bepuzzled, and I reckon I'll be even with him, when he gives up that hecan't go on, and has to turn back to Camp Jackson. A pretty storyhe'll have to tell, and wont people want to know how his compass gotbroke? They'll think it very curious, and maybe they wont suspect thathe broke it himself, for an excuse. Oh! wont they though!"
He fairly chuckled with delight, in anticipation of Sam's humiliation.He knew that the country south of them was wholly unsettled, aperfect wilderness of woods and canebrakes and swamps, which nobodycould go through without some guide as to the points of the compass,and hence he was satisfied that the destruction of Sam's instrumentwas an effectual way of compelling the young captain to retreat whileit was still possible to retrace the trail the party had made incoming. He was so delighted that he could not sleep and hours passedbefore he closed his eyes.
Captain Sam: The Boy Scouts of 1814 Page 9
