The Banner Boy Scouts Afloat Part 4

Eggs they hoped to buy from some farmer over on the mainland; and possibly milk as well. Jack even hinted that they might feel disposed, if the money held out, to get a few chickens, and have one grand feed before breaking camp.

"And this time we'll try and make sure that none of our grub is hooked, like it was when we camped up on old Rattlesnake Mountain," Jack had declared, with emphasis, for the memory of certain mysterious things that had happened to them on that occasion often arose to disturb some of the scouts.

"Oh! it ought to be easy to look out for that part of the job," Paul had made answer; "because, you see, we'll have the two boats to store things in, and they can be anch.o.r.ed out in the lake, if we want, each with a guard aboard."

By noon the whole town knew all about the expected cruise. Boys who did not have the good luck to belong to Stanhope Troop became greatly excited over it; and by their actions and looks showed how envious they were of their schoolmates.

Just about then, if the a.s.sistant scout master had called for volunteers, he could have filled two complete additional patrols with candidates; for the fellows began to realize that the scouts were having three times as much fun as any one else.

But Paul was too wise for that. He believed in selecting the right sort of boys, and not taking every one who offered his name, just because he wanted to have a good time. These fellows would not be able to live up to the iron-clad rules that scouts have got to subscribe to, and which are pretty much covered in the twelve cardinal principles which, each boy declares in the beginning, he will try and govern his life by--"to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent."

Some of the scouts were at Headquarters, as the room under the church was called, getting the supplies there in order, to take down to the boats later on, when they were surprised to have a visitor in the shape of old Peleg Growdy.

This man lived just outside the town limits, on the main road. He had once kept his wagon yard in a very disgraceful condition, much to the disgust of the women folks of Stanhope. The boys, too, looked upon Peleg as a crusty old fellow, who hated their kind.

He had done something to offend one of the scouts, and it was proposed that they play some sort of trick on the old fellow in order to pay him back; but Paul ventured to say that if the scouts went in a body to his place, when he was asleep, and cleaned up his wagon yard so that it looked neat, he would have his eyes opened to the debt he owed the community.

Paul, it seemed, had learned the main cause of the old man's holding aloof from his neighbors. It came from the fact that some years back he had lost his wife and children in the burning of his house; and ever since had looked upon boys as especially created to worry lone widowers who wanted only to be let alone.

Well, the scouts certainly made a great friend of Peleg Growdy. He had even tried to induce them to let him purchase their suits to show that he was a changed man; but of course they could not allow that, because each true scout must earn every cent of the money with which his outfit in the beginning is bought. But in many ways had old Peleg shown them that he was now going to be one of the best friends the boys of Stanhope Troop had ever possessed.

He had heard about their intended trip, when he came to town with some produce; and rather than go back home with some things for which there did not seem to be any sale at the price he wanted, he had come around with his wagon to ask his boy friends to please him by accepting them as his contribution to the cause.

They could not disappoint the generous-hearted old man by refusing; and besides the half-bushel of onions, and double the quant.i.ty of new potatoes, looked mighty fine to the lads.

About two o'clock, when it seemed that their list was about complete, even though they would doubtless think of a lot of things after it was too late to get them, Paul decided to send for the wagon that was to haul the tents and other things, including blankets for the crowd, brought from various homes to the meeting place, down to the waiting boats.

"I wanted to get Ezra s.e.xton, but he was busy," Jack explained, when he had carried out the errand given into his charge; "fact is, I hear, Bobolink, that Ezra came early this morning with an order from the professor, and took all those big cases away in his two wagons."

"Well, that was quick work now, wasn't it?" grumbled Bobolink; "reckon I won't ever have a chance to see what was inside those boxes. Say, see here, d'ye happen to know where Ezra hauled 'em? Not to the railroad, I should think, because they only came that way yesterday."

But Jack shook his head.

"Some distance off, I reckon, because the trucks don't seem to be back yet, so I couldn't get to see Ezra," he remarked; "but when we come home again, I'll ask my father about it, and relieve that curiosity of yours, Bobolink."

"Huh! that means mebbe two weeks or so I'm to go on guessing, I s'pose,"

the other remarked, in a disconsolate way that made Jack laugh.

"Funny how you do get a notion in that coco of yours; and it'd take a crowbar to work it loose," he observed, at which the other only grinned, saying:

"Born that way; must 'a made a mistake and left the wrong article at our house for the new baby; thought it was a girl; always wantin' to know everything, and never happy till I get it. But Jack, I'll try and keep this matter out of my mind. Don't pay any attention to me, if I look cross once in a while. That'll be when it's got me gripped fast, and I'm tryin' to guess."

"I've known you to do the same when you had one of those puzzles, trying to work it," chuckled Jack Stormways. "Fact is, I remember that once you told me you sat up till two o'clock in the morning over that ring business."

"But I got her, Jack--remember that; won't you? If I hadn't I'd been burning the midnight oil yet, I reckon. 'Taint safe to make _me_ a present of a puzzle, because I'm just dead sure to nearly split my poor weak brain trying to figger it out. And Jack, I'll never be happy till I know what was in those boxes; and why did that sly little professor believe someone wanted to steal his thunder and lightning?"

It took several loads to carry all their traps down to the boats. But finally, as the groceries had also been delivered, the scouts took count of their stock, and it was believed they had about everything, save what the boys might bring in the morning from home.

Paul advised them to go slow with regard to what they carried along, as they did not expect to be gone six months. If any garments gave out, why, there would be plenty of soap and water handy; and the fellow who did not know how to wash a pair of socks, or some handkerchiefs, had better take a few lessons on how to play laundry woman in an emergency.

"If things keep on multiplying much more," the scout master remarked, as he looked around at the tremendous amount of stuff which the boys were now beginning to stow away systematically; "why we won't be able to navigate the boats through that shallow ca.n.a.l at all. They'll just stick fast, because they'll be so low down in the water; and chances are we'll have to spend all our vacation s...o...b..ring around in that mud trying to coax them along. Go slow, fellows; bring just as little as you possibly can in the morning. If there's any doubt about it being a real necessity, why leave it at home. We're all scouts and true comrades, ready to share and share alike; so, no matter what happens, no one will go without."

Of course there were many persons who came down to watch the loading of the supplies, for half of Stanhope was interested in the expedition; and groups of envious boys could be seen in various nooks, taking note of all that went on, while they wished they had such good luck.

No one was allowed on board who had no business there. Of course when any of the fathers or mothers of the boys who were going happened along, they were only too proudly shown through both boats, and had everything explained by half a dozen eager scouts. But a couple of guards stood at the gangplank, and no boy was allowed aboard unless accompanied by his parents; and even then a strict watch was kept, because there were some pretty mean fellows in town, who believed in the motto of "rule or ruin." When they were not allowed to play, they always tried their best to see to it that no one else played, either.

"There's Ted Slavin and Ward Kenwood sitting up on the bank over there, Paul," remarked Jack, about half an hour before the time when the scouts would have to be going home to their suppers.

"I've been watching them," replied the scout master; "and from the way they carry on, laughing when they put their heads together, I had just about made up my mind that they were hatching up some mischief."

"Mischief!" echoed Bobolink, who was close by at the moment, and heard what was being said; "say, that's too nice a word to use when talking about the pranks of that combination. Ward, he supplies some of the brains, and all of the hard plunks; while that bully, Ted Slavin, does the work, or gets some of his cronies to do it for him. Now, I wonder if they'll try to come aboard here, and play hob with our stuff, like they did once before when we were all ready to hike off on a jaunt?"

"Don't bother yourself about that, Bobolink," said Paul, quietly. "I had decided, even before I noticed Ward and Ted, that we must have a guard stay on board all night. I'm going to see right now what fellows can be spared. They can go home to supper, and some of us will wait for them to come back."

"Let me be one, Paul; won't you?" pleaded Bobolink.

"But you are so quick to act, and it might bring on trouble," objected the other.

"Oh! I'll promise to think five times before I act once; and besides, there'll be some fellow along, like Jack here, who can keep me quiet. Of course, though, if you believe I'm not fit to do the work, why--"

"That'll do for you, Bobolink," Paul broke in, "if your folks say you can stay, come back ready to camp on board. I'll find you one or two mates--four if possible--so you can sleep in relays of twos. And I'll also try to fix up some dodge that will cool those fellows off, in case they try to jump aboard between sunset and daylight."

"Huh! I'd rather _warm_ their jackets for 'em," growled Bobolink; who, having suffered before at the hands of the meanest boy in Stanhope, Ted Slavin, had only the poorest opinion of him, and of those who trained in his company.

"When I come back tonight, after supper," continued Paul, "I'm going to fetch my shotgun along. It might come in handy on the cruise in case we ran up against a wildcat, or something like that. And I've known such a thing as a double-barrel to be mighty useful, when fired in the air, to make sneaking boys nearly jump out of their skins with alarm--but always in the air, remember, Bobolink."

"Oh! don't worry about me; my bite is not half as bad as my bark. I like to make out I'm just fierce, when all the while, if you could look inside, you'd find me chuckling to beat the band. I wouldn't shoot a gun at anybody, unless it was to save another fellow's life; and then I'd try to pepper his legs. Fetch the gun, Paul; it'll come in real handy."

So, when Paul did come back after dark, he carried the weapon under his arm in true hunter style; for Paul had been several times up in Maine, and knew a good deal of woodcraft, having had actual experience, which is better than theory, any day.

These four scouts were left in charge of the two boats, when finally Paul went back home to get some sleep before the eventful day that was to witness the sailing of the motorboat expedition:

Bobolink; Tom Betts; Spider s.e.xton, of the Black Fox Patrol and Andy Flinn, who belonged to the Gray Foxes; and firmly did they promise Paul to keep a bright lookout to make sure that no harm came to the boats during the long night.

CHAPTER V

JUST AFTER THE CLOCK STRUCK TEN

"Here we are, monarchs of all we survey," remarked Bobolink, as the last of the other scouts went off, leaving the four guards to their task of taking care of those two fine motorboats for the night.

It was nine o'clock.

The well-known sounds from the church steeple had told them that; and somehow every fellow counted the strokes aloud, as though on this night in particular they meant far more than at other times.

Stanhope, not being a manufacturing town, like Manchester, was, as a rule, rather quiet of nights; except when the Glorious Fourth was being celebrated; or some other holiday kept the younger element on the move.