by Morgan Scott
CHAPTER X.
AN EXPERIMENT WITH FLAPJACKS.
A wild yell of terror burst from the lips of the horrified Dutch boy,who flung himself backward upon the flat rock, kicking, flopping andclawing at the slippery, clinging root.
“Eels!” he yelled chokingly. “Hellup! Took him off quervick! Safe me,pefore I vas dead already!”
The spectators were convulsed with laughter, and Springer, clinging tohis sides, collapsed upon the ground.
“Oh! oh!” gasped Phil. “Did you ever see anything so funny? It will killme!”
“It vill kill _me_ uf you don’t took him avay!” screamed Carl, tearingfrantically at the entwined root, his eyes seeming ready to pop from hishead. “An eel hass got me! Hellup!”
Even Stone was shaken by laughter.
“Vot vas der matter?” wailed the floundering Dutch boy. “Vhy didt younot assistance gif me? Pimepy I vill pite dot eel, undt it vill poisonme!”
After a time he succeeded in tearing the root away and flinging itaside, following which he rolled over and over to escape from the thinghe feared so much. The whole affair was intensely ludicrous.
Trembling and panting, Carl got upon his feet and ran a short distance,only to trip and fall with a crash that brought a puffing grunt from hislips.
“It seems too bad,” said Stone; “but, still, I can’t help laughing.”
“Oh, yah!” raged the frightened lad, sitting up and glaring at Ben. “Itpeen funny to see an eels choke somepody plack undt plue, ain’t it? Goahead undt laugh your sides split.”
“Why, that thing wouldn’t hurt you, Carl,” said Grant, advancing andwiping his eyes, for excessive laughter had brought the tears. “It don’tlook to me like an eel.”
“Iss dot so!” sneered Duckelstein scornfully. “Maype you supposition itvas a catfish? Maype you peliefe it peen a whales? I pet you I know aneels vhen he sees me, undt uf dot vas not an eels I vill alife svallowit.”
The Texan lifted the rod with the long root dangling at the end of theline, causing Carl to scramble away still further and once more get uponhis stubby legs, prepared to run.
“It’s not an eel at all,” said Rod; “it’s nothing but an old root thatmust have caught upon your line in some manner.”
“Vot?” squawked the Dutch boy, staring incredulously at the thing. “Itpeen a roots? Vot iss? It couldt not peen a roots, for didt I not feelhim aroundt my neck viggle undt choke me almost der vind out of? Keepavay!” he howled, as Rod started to advance. “Perhaps it didt like aroot look, but an eels can tell me efery time.”
“Look here,” invited Rodney, taking the thing in his hands and detachingit from the line. “I tell you it’s nothing but an old root.”
Even then Duckelstein found it almost impossible to believe the evidenceof his eyes. Chagrined, he finally said:
“Vale, dot peen der first time I efer knew a hook to pite a roots. Itvas a most singular concurrence.”
“You see now,” said Stone, attempting to appear quite grave, “why welaughed and didn’t go to your assistance.”
“Didt you knew all der time it peen a roots?” questioned Carl a bitsuspiciously.
“Yes, we knew it all the time.”
“Vale, uf dot vas der case, I vill again say dot it peen a strangeconcurrence, and I didt not understood him. I couldt not comprehensionhow dot root came on my line caught.”
“That’s the most natteral thing in the world,” said Crane. “Yeou went tosnoozin’ and let your line sink to the bottom. The old root was downthere and got ketched on it.”
“Maype dot vas so,” admitted Carl, although his suspicions were plainlyunallayed; “but der bottom of der vater off der rocks vas nothings butgravel undt sand, undt I couldt not imachine vot made dot roots svimthere.”
“He’s on to you,” whispered Piper in Crane’s ear. “Beware of the hour ofvengeance.”
“Vhy didt you not out loud say it?” demanded Duckelstein, giving Piper alook. “Vhy didt you vhisper dot fashions? I oxpect you haf enchoyed agreat deal uf fun mit me already soon. Maype sometimes der laugh villout come der other side your mouth of. I vill now home go.”
Overflowing with resentment, he started toward the old white horse,which, with head drooping and eyes closed, seemed, like Carl, to havethe sleeping habit.
“Don’t hike away mad in that fashion,” entreated Grant, following. “Youwon’t forget the stuff you’re to bring us every morning, will you?”
“Oh, no,” assured Carl, “I vill not let it forget me. I vill aroundtcome, as agreement, undt maype you vill some more fun haf py me—undtmaype you von’t.”
Grasping the horse’s bit, he compelled the animal to back the heavywagon round so that he might drive away. Climbing upon the wagon, hepicked up the reins, but turned for a moment before departing to say:
“You vant to out look for dot gouger. If dot gouger shouldt aroundt comeder night in, he might pite you.” Then he gave the reins a slap, chirpedto the ancient nag and started.
“May I be eternally chawed up!” rasped Sleuth, glaring at Carl’sreceding back. “Is it possible the fellow knows something about myterrible experience last night? He hauled our dunnage over here. Youdon’t suppose he found a way to plant those confounded ants in mysleeping bag, do you, comrades? If I thought so, I would unhesitatinglyshed his gore.”
Springer choked and coughed in the attempt to suppress another shout oflaughter, while Crane, with admirable soberness, made answer to Piper:
“I really don’t see haow he could have faound the chance, Sleuthy.Yeou’ve got jest as much reason to suspect that I done it myself, andyeou know there wa’n’t no chance for that. I tell yeou them sleepin’bags always become infested if they ain’t used reg’ler.”
“It will be a long time before I use one again, regular or irregular,”asserted Piper. “I’ve had my lesson.” The manner in which he utteredthese words made it impossible for Sile, even, to keep his facestraight.
“As I once before remarked,” observed Grant, “I don’t reckon CarlDuckelstein is quite as sleepy as he looks. It was plenty plain that hesuspected us of putting up that joke on him.”
After laughing and chatting a while longer, they became aware that itwas midday and time for dinner.
“I’m hungry again,” announced Sleuth; “and even taking up a hole in mybelt, after the manner of the bold pioneers of other days, will notsatisfy me. What are we to have for rations?”
“Perhaps the cuc-cook will suggest something,” said Springer, looking atStone.
“I’ve told you before,” reminded Ben, “that I’m a mighty poor cook.”
This brought a chorus of remonstrance from the others, and Grantremarked:
“I reckon you’re the best cook in the bunch, and we can stand it if youcan. Our bread must be running low. Can you make bread?”
“Or flapjacks?” cried Sile. “Them’s the things, flapjacks. We broughtalong a can of molasses, and if yeou can knock together some flapjacks,Ben, it’ll fix us all right.”
“The kind I’d make would be likely to fix you,” agreed Stone. “Still,I’ve seen my mother make them, and I’m willing to try.”
That was enough, and, encouraged by his mates, he set about the task.First he measured out a quart of flour, into which he rubbed dry abouttwo tablespoonfuls of lard, adding a teaspoonful of salt, two of bakingpowder and two of sugar, the latter to make the flapjacks brown. Withthe addition of cold water and the vigorous use of a spoon he produced athin batter.
In the meantime a hot fire had been built beneath the sheet-iron stovetop and the frying pan placed upon one of the uncovered holes. When thepan was well heated Stone greased it with a piece of fat pork thatsizzled and spluttered.
“Now,” he said, as the boys, having set the table, gathered around towatch him, “we’ll soon find out what sort of things they will be.”
“I’m willing to take a ch-chance, anyhow,” declared Springercourageously.<
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“Starving men in the wilderness have been known to subsist on oldmoccasins,” said Piper, licking his lips. “Your flapjacks can’t be muchworse, Ben.”
“I should hope not,” said the cook, using the big spoon to ladle some ofthe batter into the frying pan. “You fellows better get ready to tacklethem as they come hot from the skillet.”
“I’m going to watch,” said Sleuth, squatting near, the heat of the firehaving caused the perspiration to start out on his face. “It’s well thatall adventurous characters who explore wild and unknown lands shouldhave at least a rudimentary knowledge of the culinary art.”
With repeated dips of the spoon Stone had poured enough batter to fillthe hot pan within half an inch of the rim, and this he now watchedclosely as it began to cook. As soon as the cake was full of bubbles andthe edges had begun to stiffen, he lifted the pan and shook it with arotary movement, which set the big flapjack free.
“Are you going to flip it?” questioned Sleuth eagerly. “They always flip’em, don’t they?”
“I’m going to try it,” said Ben, holding the pan slantingly away fromhis body. “Look out.”
He gave a toss and a flip, and the hot cake sailed into the air. In vainhe sought to catch it, and in vain Piper dodged.
The flapjack hit Sleuth fairly in the left eye, and he fell over uponhis back with a howl of dismay.
Naturally, this incident was productive of considerable merriment, inwhich, however, the victim failed to join.
“Enjoy yourselves!” rasped Sleuth, gazing ruefully at the lost flapjackas it lay on the ground. “Laugh, while I perish of hunger, you heartlessbrutes! Say, Ben, don’t try to flip the next one; turn it with a knifeor something. And please hurry up, or in the throes of famine I’ll eatthat half-cooked thing that soaked me in the blinker.”
Stone, however, persisted in the attempt to flip the flapjacks, and,having learned something through his first failure, succeeded quite wellwith the next cake, although Piper took care to keep well out of range.Having caught the knack, the cook furnished flapjacks as fast as thefire would brown them, and, urged by him, the boys began devouring themalmost as rapidly as they came to the table. Adrip with molasses, theywere not so bad, either.
“I’ve sus-seen worse,” said Springer.
“Where?” laughed Ben.
“In the dictionary,” replied Phil, lifting a dripping piece to hismouth.
“Come on, Stoney,” urged Crane. “Don’t yeou dast to try ’em? Ain’t yeougoin’ to eat any?”
“When the rest of you begin to falter,” said Ben, as he watched anotherone browning, “I’ll take a venture. If they prove fatal we’ll all perishtogether.”
Far from proving fatal, however, they fully satisfied the hunger ofthose vigorous boys, whose healthy digestions gave them not a singlepang. The last morsel was cleaned up, and Stone was universallyacclaimed as a wonderful cook.
“I reckon that settles it,” said Grant, when he had finished. “You’vegot your job cut out for you during this outing, Ben, and I shall votethat you be given full charge of the commissary department.”
