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Boy Scouts First Camp Fire

<h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> <h3>THE PICTURES THAT TALKED.</h3> "What's that Allan's got in his hand?" asked Davy Jones, as the little party reached an open spot, and the Maine boy came to a halt. "Looks like a strip of fresh birch bark," remarked Giraffe. "Just what it is," Allan spoke up, "and if you watch me, you'll see how the poor Indian, not carrying a hammer and nails along, finds a way to leave his message so that it attracts the attention he wants, just as well as if he nailed it against the trunk of a tree." He bent down, broke off a long wand from a bush, and seemed to partly split one end of this. Into the crotch he inserted the birch bark. The other end he pushed into the ground. "There you are, fellows," Allan went on. "When you reach this point along the trail of your friend, you find that he has left this message for you. Being an Indian, or a border man used to the ways of the Indians, you take the strip of bark in your hands, and examine it. To the eye of the experienced one it is as plain as so many words[131] would be to all of us. Here, look at what I've written, boys." "Say, it's a cute little boy's idea of a procession," remarked Step-hen; "for I take it that all these figures must be meant for men." "And I can see a fire burning, right here," declared Giraffe, eagerly. "What's this four-legged critter, a wolf or a dog?" asked Step-hen, pointing to the object he had in mind. "What would you say, Thad?" asked Allan, smiling. "Well, it strikes me that it must be a dog, because you've made it have a curly tail; and no wolf was ever known to possess such a thing. Besides, it always appears close to the heels of one of the men, and the same one too; so I should say it belongs to that fellow." "Just exactly what I wanted to convey," Allan went on, nodding his head in approval. "Now, if you'll pay close attention, fellows, I'll show you how easy it is to write messages this way. Just as Step-hen said, it's like a boy trying to show his first skill in drawing; but in this case every little mark has its meaning." "It's interesting, all right, Allan," observed Davy Jones. "That's right, it is," echoed Smithy, who had apparently never before realized what a delightful thing it was to get out in the woods with a parcel of chums, and discover what strange things can be found there.[132] "Now, here is what the man in advance is telling the one who comes after," continued the boy who knew. "He is himself following on the track of a party of enemies, and has discovered certain facts connected with their movements, which he wishes to communicate to his comrade coming after, so as to gave him the trouble of wasting time in investigating for himself. And here's the way he does it." He held the birch bark up so all could see. Six pair of eager eyes were immediately glued upon the marks which he had made on the smooth brown inside bark, with possibly the point of his knife, just as the real Indian might. "First, you see, here are five figures represented," Allan began. "That means the total number of the enemy, don't it?" asked Davy, quickly. "Just what it does, and I'm glad to see how you catch on," continued Allan. "Now, after telling how many foes they have ahead, the scout tries to mark each one in some way so they can be distinguished all through the letter. Here's a fellow who seems to be one-armed, for he always appears that way. A second is very tall, you notice, while a third is a dwarf, and a fourth limps a little, for his leg is bent some in every picture. The fifth wears a hat; and as for the sixth, he must be feeling the effects of looking into a bottle too many times; because he wobbles some as he pursues his way. Got all that, fellows?" "Sure, and it's some interesting, Allan," declared Step-hen.[133] "Well, they've been in camp here, for you can see the remains of a fire, but with very little smoke ascending, showing that it is nearly dead. They have gone due northeast after breaking camp. Here are five marks like the pickets on a fence, just alongside this cross. Now, what would you think those meant?" "Looks to me as if the men had gone five miles up to that cross," Thad remarked. "Just what I was going to say," said Davy, disappointed to come in second. "Both of you have hit the nail on the head," laughed Allan; "for that is what the Indian wants to say. And here at the five mile station the party of hostiles appear to have separated, the tall man and the one who is groggy, together with the dog, going off toward the east; while the others keep on straight. And you can see that our friend chooses to follow the three, for some reason of his own." "Here's another picket fence," remarked Davy; "this time only four miles." "Then what?" asked Allan. "There's a crooked line running across. Can't be a snake they've struck, because it's too big for that," mused Davy. "I know," remarked Smithy. "That must be a river, because here's a boat; anyhow, it looks like one to me." "Why, of course," broke in Bob White; "and I must have been blind not to have glimpsed that be[134]fore. They've got to a river, and found a boat there. But what do all these funny marks on the river stand for? Looks like the three chaps might be in swimming. Is that what it means, Allan?" "In one way, yes," replied the other, laughing again, for he found it great fun to have his comrades guessing at the explanation of his crude chart. "Here you see them standing up in the boat, and all of them are holding their hands over their heads. That is the Indian's idea of showing fright." "And just beyond, the boat seems to have broken in two; that shows something happened, I reckon," Davy hastened to remark. "Well, here the three of them are swimming like ducks, and the boat doesn't appear again, so something did happen. Go on Allan, this is just as fine as any illustrated rebus I ever struck," Thad said, himself deeply interested. "Perhaps the one who writes this birch bark message was himself responsible for the sinking of the boat. You failed to notice that just before the accident happened there was a dot on the water close to the boat. That may have been his head, and he managed to cut a hole in the birch bark canoe." "But see here, a little further on you forgot to mark the whole three again; I can only see two, all told," Davy declared. "Well, evidently then the scout wants to convey the impression that there were only two of the enemy at that time," Allan went on. "He must have found some means of disposing of one, either in[135] the water, or from the shore with his gun while they were floundering there." "I guess the two chaps crawled out here on the bank," said Step-hen, pointing. "And plunged into the woods too, for here are trees again, and what looks like a trail, leading toward the west, which is marked by a setting sun. An Indian always designates a setting sun by the spurs that stand up like spokes; while the sun rising is simply a half circle on the horizon." "Well," remarked Davy, his eyes round with eagerness; "I declare, this is mighty interesting; and I must get the hang of this Indian picture writing as quick as I can. You'll see what stunts I'll do after a little while. I'll sure have the rest of you guessing at the puzzles I get up." "You're near the end of the picture, Allan," remarked Thad; "and as I can see only one figure ahead now, I think something must have happened to our friend Limpy, because he doesn't appear again." "I suppose that the scout who follows must have found a chance to cut down the number of the enemy in advance to one," remarked Allan; "and he wants to let his friend know he is still on the trail of that fellow. Here the pursued one must have spent the night, for you can see another dead fire. Away off here it looks like a village, for there are lodges and dogs and squaws. He marks that as ten miles off, and evidently expects to overtake the lone warrior before he reaches the shelter of the tepees. And so[136] you see he has managed to tell the story of his adventure, crudely of course, yet just as well as any one of us might write it out. And once you've got the knack of reading this sort of talk, you can manage it just as fast as you would hand-writing. That's all I'm going to tell you about it to-day; but if you feel that way another time, I'll show you a lot more that is interesting." Davy Jones declared that he would keep the Maine boy to his promise. This queer way of communicating a whole story without writing a single letter seemed to appeal to him especially. And all that evening he was scribbling away upon a pad of paper he had brought along, drawing all manner of remarkable figures, which he jumbled up in such a way that he actually forgot the key to the combinations; and had to get Allan's help in solving some of them, which the others considered a rich joke. During the balance of the afternoon the boys amused themselves in various ways. Several tried the fishing, with the result that there was a good mess of gamey bass caught for supper. Thad, Allan and Bob White lay in the shade for a long time, talking. The Southern boy was eagerly telling his chums various things in connection with his old home away off in the distant Blue Ridge; and from the way the others asked questions it was evident that the proposition to have the Silver Fox Patrol visit the mountain region where Bob had once lived must have sunk deeply into their minds.[137] "I know one thing sure," remarked Thad; "if we're lucky enough to go there, I'm going to carry my shotgun along. A Boy Scout as a rule is seldom seen bearing arms; but there's nothing in the rules of the organization that I can find to prevent a member from enjoying a hunt when he has the chance. Besides, if we camp out, as we expect to, we must depend on getting game for part of our supplies." "And as for the money part," remarked Bob, "while a scout is required to earn the money for his suit and outfit, there's nothing to prevent him from accepting a railroad ticket from his folks, or any other cash to provide him with a summer's outing. So far as I can see it, suh, the whole intention of the organization is to make its members manly, independent, helpful to others, and thrifty. I hope, suh, all of us are trying to carry out those rules. And it would please me more than I can tell you, if you decided to accompany me to that mountain country where they grow men; because I am compelled to go there for my mother, and would be the happiest fellow alive if my seven chums went along to keep me company." "Don't tell it around, Bob," said Thad, quietly, "but really it's as good as settled that if we get back from this first little camping trip in good shape, we're going to get the chance to make a bigger tour," and then the three exultant scouts shook hands, as they saw a glorious future prospect opening before them.[138] <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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