The Ranger Boys Outwit the Timber Thieves

by Ralph Henry Barbour

  CHAPTER XI

  A LUCKY FIND

  "Guess it's nothing serious, Garry," said Phil, who had followed Garry'slead and stopped swimming long enough to see what the cause of the callwas. "It looks as though he had made a discovery of some sort."

  The chums put on an extra burst of speed, and soon had reached the spotwhere Dick was standing.

  "What's all the commotion about?" inquired Garry half breathlessly, asthey clambered up on to the bank. "We thought you were calling forhelp."

  "I am truly sorry I frightened you, but I just found something that wemay need before our stay at the camp is done," and Dick led the way intothe woods for a few feet. "I got out on the bank to rest a bit, andthought I saw signs of a camp having been here at one time or another,so I nosed around and tucked away in the brush I found this," anddisplacing some of the debris that had fallen around the object, Dickdisclosed a birch-bark canoe, made after Indian fashion.

  "I should say that was a find," exclaimed Garry. "Now we can do all theexploring around here that we want to, and if we find nothing here wecan portage the canoe across the woods to Dutton Lake and continue ourinvestigation."

  They were disappointed, however, for on dragging out the canoe, theyfound that a great hole had been torn in the bottom.

  "Now wouldn't that jar you. I wish I had looked at it more carefullybefore I called to you," said Dick in a disappointed tone.

  "Let your Uncle Dudley take a look," ordered Garry. After a few moment'sinvestigation, he straightened up. "It can be repaired easily with whatsimple tools we have and a little help from old Mother Nature. Our onlytrouble will be a swim of about four miles. Two across to the point thatI noted when I looked through my glasses, and two back to where we wantto do our work, which had better be here."

  "I think I begin to see faint glimmerings of what you intend to do,"said Phil, as he scanned the end of the lake that came within hisvision. Phil had abnormally keen eyes, and could often see things thatthe other boys required a glass to discern.

  "Well, Sherlock, what do I intend to do?" asked Garry with a laugh.

  "It seems to me, if my eyes don't fail me, that I can see a sort of awhite clump of woods about two miles distant, at least the sunshinecasts a brighter glare than it does on the green of the pines andspruces. Now to me that spells b-i-r-c-h. Am I right?"

  "Right again. That's just what I have in mind. Let's start. We ought tobe able to have a fine canoe by noon if we don't loiter."

  They swam back to where they had left their clothes, and it was decidedthat Phil should stay behind to guard their clothes, packs and rifles.Garry got his hatchet and sheath off his belt, and tucked his knifesafely into the sheath of the axe blade. Then by knotting two of thebandanna handkerchiefs that they customarily wore about their necks, hemade a sort of a strap affair and tied the axe securely on his backbetween his shoulder blades. This left his arms perfectly free forswimming, and then he and Dick set out with easy strokes for theirdestination across the lake. They took plenty of time and occasionallyrolled over to float on their backs so that they could rest. At last,after several resting spells, which were mainly for Garry's benefit, asDick could have done the whole distance without fatiguing himself in theslightest, they reached the clump of birches.

  Resting a few moments on the bank, they proceeded to strip a goodsection of bark from one of the birches. This was a simple matter, asall that was necessary to do was to cut a girdle around the tree a fewinches from the bottom, and another about three feet above. Then avertical cut was made between the two girdles, and after about twentyminutes of prying the bark from the trunk with the knife, the two takingturns at the task, they had the roll of bark neatly cut off.

  "Now if we could only find a swampy place around here where there wouldbe some tamarack trees, we could get a couple of the crooked roots forwhich the tamarack is noted, and that would furnish us with a rib forthe canoe. As it is, we will have to makeshift with that twisted birchbranch that I see, which Nature seemed to have put there for ourparticular use today," and Garry proceeded to get the branch as hespoke.

  "We can roll this up and tie it with a strip of handkerchief, and pushit along with us on the return swim. Then it will be a small job torepair the canoe."

  "What are you going to use to attach it to the bottom of the canoe whereit is broken," asked Dick.

  "I have something in my knapsack. For some reason or other, while inBangor, I bought a ball of extra fine linen cord, and one day while wewere in the woods at Sourdehunq I needed some shoemaker's wax, anddidn't have it, so last time we were in town I bought a piece. I neverexpected to use it to repair a boat with, however, just bought the stuffin case an occasion arose where we might need it. Now it will come inhandy," and as he finished, Garry slipped back into the water. Thereturn trip occupied somewhat longer, as the bark was a bit unwieldy asthey pushed it ahead of them.

  When they returned to the spot where they had left Phil, the sun wasalmost in the center of the sky, denoting it was near noon. They foundthat Phil had improved the time while they were absent and had started afire and caught several good bass.

  "Best fishing here I ever saw. I don't believe a line has been thrown inthis patch of water for years, the fish just jump at the bait," shoutedPhil with the true Isaac Walton enthusiasm.

  "I also got a couple of pickerel that were so foolish as to leap at mybait, and have enough for dinner and some to take back to the camp withus tonight."

  All were so eager to get at the business of fixing the boat, that theyhurried through lunch with extra speed. Then they sped through the woodsto the spot where the old canoe had been found.

  As Garry prepared to repair the boat, he began to laugh at somethingthat seemed to be amusing him greatly.

  "Let us in on the joke," asked Phil. "You are grinning there to yourselflike a Cheshire cat."

  "I was just thinking that either Barrows is a fool or takes us forbrainless idiots. The idea of telling us that there was nothing in thecamp with which a boat could be calked, and there are only some hundredsof square miles in the state just full of the finest thing in the world.Nothing more than the pitch on the pine trees all around us."

  "I noticed it this morning when the manager remarked about it, butthought it just as well to keep my knowledge to myself," remarked Dick.

  "All right, then, you fellows set to work with your knives and dig a lotof those pitch lumps off the trees and then start a fire and melt it inyour drinking cup. It will spoil the cup, but we can easily get anotherone," directed Garry.

  The boys immediately set about doing his bidding, and as they worked,Garry got out his knapsack and proceeded to rummage through it for thelinen cord and the shoemaker's wax. Having found them, he set to work towax the cord thoroughly, making it less likely to shrink. Next heexamined the broken rib of the canoe, and determined how much of thebirch branch he would need to repair it. He took his knife and shaved along diagonal slant on the piece of rib in the canoe, then matched theslant on the piece of branch. Having fixed them so they would fit, hetook a piece of fishing line and wound it carefully around the joint,starting several inches above where the two pieces joined, andcontinuing for several inches onto the firm wood beyond the spot wherethe repair was made. This is called "splicing." Most boys have spliced afishing pole or a broken bat in much the same way.

  The rib having been spliced, the next step was the patching of the hole.Garry got the birch bark, and laid it over the gaping rent in the bottomof the craft, and marked a line around so that it overlapped the hole byabout four inches. The extra bark was then trimmed away, and he wasready to sew it on. He took the awl blade of his knife and punched aseries of holes around, piercing both the patch and the bark of thecanoe. Having done this, he called for the hot pitch and poured it onaround the edge of the hole. Then he firmly laid the patch on, and asthe pitch cooled it formed a sort of a natural mucilage. Garry hadpreviously waxed one end of the cord so that it would be easy to stickit through the holes, and working
swiftly he threaded the cord in. Whenthe job was completed, he reversed his steps, so that the result was afirmly sewn patch.

  Nothing else remained to do but to daub hot pitch liberally over theseam on both sides, and calk the edges where the patch was attached tothe craft.

  "There," said Garry, as he stepped back and proudly surveyed hishandiwork. "That's a craft that will be as seaworthy, or rather aslakeworthy, if there is such a word, as one could want."

  "Um, let me see," mused Dick aloud, as he looked over the canoe."There's one other quite necessary thing to be done."

  "Well, smarty, what is there to be done," asked Garry a trifle hotly.

  "I was just wondering whether we would rig up a sail or have you a gasengine in your knapsack with which to make this gallant ship navigate?"asked Dick as he burst into laughter, in which he was joined, first byPhil, and a bit later by Garry, when he saw that the joke was on him.

  "Phil, you're the handy man with the knife, what say to a couple ofpaddles?" asked Garry after the laughter had subsided.

  "Have 'em for you in an hour. That's quick work, however, and I won'tpromise you a very handsome product."

  "We won't bother about looks as long as they will propel the canoethrough the water. That remark of Dick's about the sail, although it wasintended to be humorous, isn't such a bad idea either, only there is noway that I can think of right now to make a sail. We'll browse aroundthe camp when we get back and see if we can dig up a bit of canvas andmake one of those lateen sails, you know those triangular shaped affairssuch as the boats in the Mediterranean use," said Garry.

  While he was talking, Phil had already set to work to make a pair ofpaddles. "Now you chaps watch me, and after I have fixed one with theaxe, or as much as one can do with an axe blade, I'll get to work withthe knife," he said.

  Phil selected spruce about five inches in diameter and felled it to theground.

  "I hate to spoil a perfectly good tree, but in this case certainlynecessity knows no law."

  He chopped off two sections a little over five feet in length, and thenproceeded to hew one swiftly into a board. This took some little time,despite the fact that he worked at top speed every moment. His last workwith the axe was to fashion very crudely the handle.

  "Now I am going to whittle just the top and a place where the hand willcome in contact with the neck or shaft of the paddle. To try and smoothit up would take too long, and all that really needs to be smooth arethe places where we will have to hold it. If it was left rough we wouldsoon accumulate a crop of blisters. While I am whittling, you chaps canfashion that other section into form as I did."

  After he had whittled enough, Phil sprang to his feet and said, "If I amnot mistaken, I saw an old bottle near the remains of a campfire, andthat will be just what I want." He sped away to where he had seen thevestiges of some fisherman's fire, and soon found what he required. Hesmashed this against a stone, and with the fragments scraped the spotshe had whittled smooth and free from lumps.

  The second paddle was not long in the making, but the entire job hadtaken well over three hours. "We have about three hours before it istime to eat, and we might as well put our canoe to the test, and see ifit works," announced Dick.

  "Time to eat! Don't you ever think of anything but eating?" demandedGarry.

  "Yes, sir; when I'm not thinking about time to eat, I'm thinking aboutwhat to eat," responded Dick promptly.

  "Say, Phil, he's hopeless. What say we make for that outlet at the farend of the lake. We might just as well do that as anything, since wehave no real plan of action. Then tomorrow we can make a complete tourof the lake, and thus get a comprehensive idea of the whole body ofwater."

  The canoe was launched, and the boys climbed in. Garry and Phil electedto paddle, leaving Dick to sit in the middle.

  "If that patch will hold Dick up, you can be sure it's a good job,Garry," laughed Phil, as they pushed off.

  "So that was why you chaps were so kind as to do all the paddling. I'mto be the happy little subject of the experiment. Well, if I get aducking there is some consolation in the fact that you two will followsuit," said Dick good naturedly.

  Garry had done a fine bit of work, however, and the craft proved to beall that they hoped it would. They made it dance through the water andwere delighted to find that they could make much better speed than inthe ordinary wooden canoe. The only thing necessary, however, was tokeep perfectly quiet, as the balance of a bark craft is a much moreprecarious thing than that of a solid factory made canoe.

  It took them but a short time to reach the outlet, and they beachedtheir boat and started on a tour down the stream, which was a shallow,weedy affair.

  Their early scout training, and their need of vigilance during theirpatrolling of the woods when on duty as fire rangers had made theirpowers of observation especially keen, and it was second nature almostfor them to note signs of trail that would be unseen by one unversed inthe lore of the woods and forests.

  They had walked about a quarter of a mile, when Phil's exclamation madethem pause.

  "There's fresh trail there, or I'm no good at sign reading any more,"remarked Phil. The boys gazed at the ground and quickly saw that Philwas right.

  With no wasted words, they turned and followed the slightly outlinedtrail. It took only a few minutes for them to reach a crude log shack,one that had evidently been constructed early that summer, as the freshcut logs showed.

  The door swung loose on crude rope hinges, and after debating a momentthey decided to enter: They found practically nothing in the way offurniture. There were no bunks, but a pile of boughs had been thrown ineach corner, and a rough table had been built in a corner of the hut. Onthis reposed several dirty tin dishes. The remains of the food werestill fresh, showing that someone had eaten there within the past day orso.

  "That means that they are apt to be back at any time, and so we'd betterlight out. It may be some camper and it may be some enemy. I am inclinedto think it the latter, for a camper would have taken some pains to makethings just a little bit more comfortable," said Garry. "I think,however, we will plan to keep watch of this place and see who happens tooccupy it."

  "Well, I can tell you right now that it is someone from the loggingcamp. One of those who are mixed up in the trouble there. Look underthat table on the floor!"