The Scientific American Boy Part 10

TROUBLE WITH THE TRAMPS.

We were a proud lot when the house was finally completed. From the veranda we had an excellent view up and down the river. We could see our camp on the island and keep watch of our goods. Late one afternoon Dutchy and I were lolling about on the Goblins' Platform, idly watching a hawk soaring above us. The rest of the boys had returned to the island in canoes an hour before and left the heavy scow for us to row back. It was drawing near supper time and we had about decided to start for home, when I chanced to see a scow up the river. It looked exactly like ours, and in it were two men, evidently drunk, from the way they carried on. A glance showed me that our scow was not at its moorings. How were we to reach the camp? One of the men had evidently seen us and was pointing us out to his companion. We rushed down the Jacob's Ladder, but by the time we reached the river bank they were in midstream and heading rapidly northward. Our shouts merely brought forth derisive laughter. We were certainly in a predicament. First we ran back up the cliff, and tried from there to gain the attention of the rest of the fellows. They evidently saw us but couldn't make out what we wanted. Then we ran down to a point opposite the island and called to them. But the wind was against us and we couldn't make them hear, so we had to plunge in and wade across.

A COUNCIL OF WAR.

Immediately we summoned a war council. Dutchy and Jack were chosen by lot to guard the camp, while the rest of us started in pursuit in canoes. By the time we got under way the sun had dropped back of the Pennsylvania hills and the shadows were climbing slowly up the Jacob's Ladder. Swiftly we paddled up-stream, keeping close to the western sh.o.r.e, where the water was very quiet. We didn't expect to go far, because there were rapids less than three miles up, and we were sure that no tramps would ever be ambitious enough to row a heavy scow against the swift current at that point. As we rounded a sharp bend in the river, we noticed a camp fire a few hundred feet further up, around which five or six men were lounging, and there, just below them, was our scow. What were four boys to do against six grown men? We were each armed with a club, and could have made a pretty good fight if necessary, but after a whispered consultation we decided it would be best to wait until dark, when we could creep up quietly and steal away unnoticed with our boat.

VENGEANCE.

It seemed as if darkness never would come. It was scarcely dusk when our patience gave out and we paddled up stealthily, hugging the sh.o.r.e. Bill gained the scow unnoticed, but just as he was about to push off he discerned the body of a man within. It was one of the tramps lying there in a drunken stupor. What was to be done? Every moment was precious. A yell from the fireside decided him. With a mighty push he launched the boat out into the current, while we threw him a line and towed the boat out to midstream. With a volley of curses the men sprang up and pelted us with stones. But they were poor shots, and we escaped without serious injury. Our prisoner, in the meantime, was snoring heavily in the scow undisturbed. We took him down-stream and then unceremoniously picked him up and dumped him overboard within a few feet of the sh.o.r.e. It was a rude awakening, and nearly frightened the wits out of the man. But it brought him to his senses, and in a moment we were dodging more stones, sent with such good aim that we had to lie flat in the bottoms of the boats until the current carried us out of reach.

A DOUBLE SURPRISE.

It was now quite dark, and we had some difficulty in groping our way back to camp. There was no moon and the stars were obscured by clouds.

Our only course was to follow the sh.o.r.e line until we got around the bend, and then we steered for the beacon fire, which, by prearrangement, had been kindled on Point Lookout. But the spirit of mischief was in us.

We thought we would have some fun with Dutchy. We could see him silhouetted against the blaze. Jim and I hung back in the canoes, while Reddy and Bill went on with the scow, splas.h.i.+ng their oars and shouting and singing in disguised voices, like drunken men. Dutchy was evidently very much agitated. His "h.e.l.lo, there! Boat ahoy!" was greeted with derisive yells.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 145. A Joke on Dutchy.]

"Say, we'll lick the life out of you, the same as we did them other kids," shouted Reddy.

This was too much for Dutchy. He ran for all he was worth, yelling for Jack to come quick.

We had a merry laugh over the situation when suddenly the tables were turned. Something whizzed past Bill's ear; I was stung on the arm with a heavy nail; a large stone hit the scow; Reddy had his hat knocked off, and Fred upset his canoe trying to duck out of reach of the invisible missiles before we could make our a.s.sailants understand that we were friends and not the tramps. The joke was on us after all. We hadn't counted on Dutchy's accurate aim or Jack's skill with the crossbow.

TRAMP-PROOF BOAT MOORING.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 146. A Tramp-proof Mooring.]

Around the camp fire that night we discussed our adventures and made plans to prevent their recurrence. It was evident, for one thing, that we would have to moor our boats off sh.o.r.e in such a way that they would be out of reach of meddlesome persons, and yet could be drawn in toward sh.o.r.e by any one who knew how. This was the way we did it. A pair of galvanized iron ring bolts were procured on Jack's next trip to Lamington for provisions, also a light rope about forty feet long. The ring bolts were screwed into a pair of stout anchor stakes about two feet from their lower ends. The rope was pa.s.sed through the rings and the ends were joined by tying them to a galvanized iron link. Then it was soaked for a while to shrink it before it was set in place. After the rope had shrunk sufficiently, the two stakes were driven into the bed of the river, one close to the bank and the other far enough out to hold the rope belt clear of the bottom. Both stakes were sawed off under water, just above the ring bolts, so that they were hidden from sight.

When we wanted to moor our boats we secured their anchor ropes or "painters" to the link. A large stepping stone marked the spot were the inner stake was driven, and standing on this stone we were able to reach down and haul in on the lower strap of the belt to draw the boat out a safe distance from sh.o.r.e, and then when we wanted to use our boat again we would haul in the upper strap to draw the boat in toward sh.o.r.e.

CHAPTER XIII.

WIGWAGGING AND HELIOGRAPHING.

Our tramp adventure was really quite a blessing to us, for it taught us the necessity of a good signaling system between the Goblins' Platform and the island and led to our learning how to wigwag, and later to the construction of a heliograph. Uncle Ed, when he read of our experience, sent us the U. S. Army "Manual of Signaling." Fred, the tailor of our camp, made us two white flags with red centers. Each flag was two feet square and was fastened to a light staff about five feet long. Then we got out the manual and practised sending signals, at first within shouting distance, until we got to be quite expert.

WIGWAG SIGNALS.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 147-150. Ready, First Movement, Second Movement, Third Movement.]

There were only three different movements that could be made with flags, but in the book different combinations of these movements were given to represent each letter of the alphabet and the numbers from 1 to 0. All these movements were begun and ended by holding the flagstaff upright, directly in front of the body, as shown in Fig. 147. The first movement was to swing the flag down to the right and back (Fig. 148), the second to the left and back (Fig. 149), and the third forward and back (Fig.

150). The following table gives the different combinations used for various letters:

The Wigwag Alphabet.

A 22 J 1122 S 212 B 2112 K 2121 T 2 C 121 L 221 U 112 D 222 M 1221 V 1222 E 12 N 11 W 1121 F 2221 O 21 X 2122 G 2211 P 1212 Y 111 H 122 Q 1211 Z 2222 I 1 R 211 tion 1112

Numerals.

1 1111 4 2221 8 2111 2 2222 5 1122 9 1221 3 1112 6 2211 0 2112 7 1222

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 151. The Signal for Letter "B."]

The numbers 1, 2 and 3 indicate respectively the first, second and third movements. For instance, A was represented by the combination 22, which means that the flag must be swept to the left and back twice. B is represented by the combination 2112, that is, a sweep to the left, two sweeps to the right and a final sweep to the left, as shown in Fig. 151.

The end of a word was represented by a sweep forward and back; the end of a sentence by two sweeps forward and back, and the end of a message by three sweeps forward and back. It will be noticed that the same combinations are used for 2 and Z, 3 and _tion_, 4 and F, 5 and J, 6 and G, 7 and V, 9 and M, and 0 and B. The following abbreviations were given in the Manual:

Abbreviations.

a after n not ur your b before r are w word c can t the wi with h have u you y yes

These abbreviations saved a lot of time, for when we wanted to signal the word _after_ instead of spelling it out--22-2221-2-12-211-3--we used the signal for A--22--followed by 3 to signify that it was the end of the word. Before was represented by 2112-3, _your_ by 111-211-3, etc. It took quite a little practice to learn the different combinations. Fred and Reddy soon became experts, and could flash the signals back and forth at a great rate.

WIGWAGGING AT NIGHT.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 152. Wigwagging at Night.]

At night we used a torch in place of a flag. The torch consisted of a roll of dried birch bark tied with wire to the end of a staff. It was found necessary to place another torch on the ground directly in front of the signaler so as to fix a central point and enable one to determine whether the moving torch was swung to the left or right. A later improvement was to use three lanterns, one in each hand and one attached to the waist to fix the central position. It was quite an advantage to have a lantern in each hand, for it saved changing over from one to the other when a second movement followed a first or a first movement a second.

THE HELIOGRAPH.

The book that Uncle Ed sent us had in it a description of a heliograph, that is, an instrument for sending signals with flashes of sunlight.

Although our wigwagging system was good enough for our requirements, yet we thought it would be more scientific to use the sun instrument, and besides, the latter could be used for signaling many miles.

THE SINGLE MIRROR INSTRUMENT.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 153. Trunnion for Mirror.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 154. The Single Mirror Instrument.]

The first thing we did was to procure a small mirror about 4 inches square, mounted in a wooden frame. Then we got a pair of small square head bolts about 1/4 of an inch in diameter and 1 inch long, also two strips of bra.s.s 1/2 inch wide and 3 inches long. In the center of each bra.s.s strip we drilled a hole just large enough to admit the shank of one of the bolts, and then the strips were fastened with screws tight against opposite edges of the mirror frame, with the heads pressed against the frame and the shanks sticking out at each side, as shown in Fig. 153. These projecting shanks served as "trunnions" (that is, pivots) for the mirror to turn on when it was mounted in place. After the trunnions had been set in place we made a peep hole in the center of the mirror by cutting out a piece of the wooden back of the frame and scratching away the silver from the back of the gla.s.s. Only a very small hole was required, about 1/8 inch in diameter. Great care was taken to have the unsilvered spot exactly on a line with the trunnions and just half-way between them. This done, we took two sticks of 3/8-inch wood, 1 inch wide and 3-1/2 inches long. In the upper end of each stick a slot was cut 1/2 inch deep and 1/4 inch wide. Into these slots the trunnions of the mirror were placed, and then the nuts were screwed tightly on, clamping the sticks against the sides of the mirror. The sticks were now connected by nailing a 1/2-inch strip at the bottom, and braced by a couple of corner pieces. This formed a swiveled frame for the mirror, which was clamped to the base of the instrument by means of a bolt 1-1/2 inches long. The bolt pa.s.sed through the bottom board of the frame, squarely under the peep hole of the mirror and through the baseboard of the instrument near one end. The baseboard was 2 inches wide, 10 inches long and 3/4 inch thick.

THE SIGHT ROD.