Part 6 (1/2)

He was a sight; wet and dirty and sweaty from running, and scared.

”What are you doing? Camping?” I asked.

He nodded. ”We started for Duck Lake, with nothing but blankets and what grub we could carry; but we got to chasing around and we missed the trail and now we don't know where we are. Gee, but we're wet and cold.

Where's your camp?”

”Back on the ridge.”

”Got a fire?”

”Uh huh,” I nodded. ”Sure.”

”Come on,” he said. ”We'll go and get the other fellow and then we'll camp near you so as to have some fire.”

”All right,” I said.

He led off, and I picked up the rabbits and followed. He kept hooting, and the other boy answered, and we went down into the gulch where the creek flowed. Now, that was the d.i.c.kens of a place to camp! Anybody ought to know better than to camp down at the bottom of a narrow gulch, where it is damp and nasty and dark. They did it because it was beside the water, and because there was some soft gra.s.s that they could lie on.

(Note 25.)

The other boy was about seventeen, and was huddled in a blanket, trying to scratch a match and light wet paper. He wore a big Colt's six-shooter on a cartridge belt about his waist.

”Come out, Bat,” called the boy with me. ”Here's a kid from another camp, where they have fire and things.”

Bat grunted, and they gathered their blankets and a frying-pan and other stuff.

”Lookee! This beats rabbit,” said the first boy (his name was Walt); and he showed me what they had killed. It was four grouse!

Now, that was mean.

”It's against the law to kill grouse yet,” I told him.

”Aw, what do we care?” he answered. ”n.o.body knows.”

”It's only a week before the season opens, anyhow,” spoke Bat. ”We got the old mother and all her chickens. If we hadn't, somebody would, later.”

Fellows like that are as bad as a forest fire. Just because of them, laws are made, and they break them and the rest of us keep them.

We climbed out of the gulch, and I was so mad I let them carry their own things. The woods were dusky, and I laid a straight course for camp. It was easy to find, because I knew that I had hunted with my back to it, in sound of the water on my left. All we had to do was to follow through the ridge with the water on our right, and listen for voices.

I tell you, that camp looked good. The boys had two fires, a big one to dry us by and a little one to cook by. (Note 26.) One of the tarps had been laid over a pole in crotched stakes, about four feet high, and tied down at the ends (Note 27), for a dog-tent, and spruce tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs and brush had been piled behind for a wind-break and to reflect the heat.

Inside were the spruce needles that carpeted the ground and had been kept dry by branches, and a second tarp had been laid to sleep on, with the third tarp to cover us, on top of the blankets. The flags had been set up. Fitzpatrick was cooking, Major Henry was dragging more wood to burn, the fellows were drying damp stuff and stacking it safe under the panniers, or else with their feet to the big blaze were drying themselves, the burros were grazing close in. It was as light as day, with the flames reflected on the trees and the flags, and it seemed just like a trappers' bivouac.

Then we walked into the circle; and when the fellows saw the rabbits they gave a cheer. After I reported to General Ashley and turned the two boys over to him, I cleaned the rabbits for supper.

The two new boys, Bat and Walt, threw down their stuff and sat by the fire to get warm. Bat still wore his big six-shooter. They dropped their grouse in plain sight, but n.o.body said a word until Bat (he was the larger one) spoke up, kind of grandly, when I was finis.h.i.+ng the rabbits:

”There's some birds. If you'll clean 'em we'll help you eat 'em.”