Part 7 (1/2)
”What do you say about that, Johnny?” Elmer inquired.
”Well, it daon't stand tuh reason he did,” replied the other, gravely; ”even if he had holt o' one at the time, he never'd a held on tuh hit arter that rope had slung him head down'ards. Guess I ort tuh know.
If any o' yuh wants tuh feel what it's like, I'll rig the trap up agin in the mawnin' for yuh. Hold a turkey nawthin'. He couldn't even hold his breath, but had tuh give a yell like he was killed.”
Indeed, they were all of pretty much the same opinion. No matter how brave a fellow the trespa.s.ser might be, when he met with such a sudden and unexpected upheaval as that running noose brought about, his wits were bound to desert him for the time being at least.
It may have been noticed also that no one, even bold Lil Artha, the most venturesome of them all, volunteered to make the additional test when morning came. They seemed perfectly satisfied to accept the will for the deed. They had witnessed the speedy working of Johnny's trap, and evidently had no itching to try what it felt like to hang head downward from the limb of a tree, with a leg almost dislocated by a sudden jerking, powerful lever.
”Well, 'tain't no use acryin' over spilt milk, they sez,” remarked Johnny, who, after all, seemed to be of a philosophical turn of mind; ”the thing's done, an' that's all they is tuh hit. Might as well git Mose and fix him here tuh the tree. Them turks has jes' gut tuh be saved, no matter how much trouble it takes.”
”Elmer, what are you thinking about?” asked Mark just then; for being used to the ways of his best chum he could see that the patrol leader was pondering something in his mind.
”If you want to know it was about that yell,” Elmer admitted.
”A pretty husky whoop in the bargain, let me say,” observed Lil Artha; ”I used to think I could beat all creation letting out a yell, but that went one better, you hear me talking.”
”Yes,” added Toby, ”it sounded as if the top of the world had blown off, the fellow made such a howl. Anyway, that's how it seemed to me when I was waked up so suddenly.”
”Have we ever heard a whoop like that before?” asked Elmer.
”Now you're thinking of Hen Condit, of course, Elmer,” came from Toby.
”Well, Hen's got a good strong pair of lungs, let me tell you,”
admitted Landy. ”I remember the time that cow tossed him when he was a small boy, and say, he made everybody inside of half a mile run outdoors to see what was the matter. They found Hen straddlin' a limb of a tree, and whooping it up for all he was worth. It might have been him, Elmer, no telling.”
”And just as well any other person badly scared,” Mark observed. ”I think I'd be able to do some fine work along those lines under the same conditions.”
”Then it seems that we'll never be able to identify Hen by that shout,”
laughed Elmer; ”but there's a way we can find something out, as all scouts ought to know.”
That remark immediately put them all on their mettle.
”Sure thing, Elmer,” agreed Lil Artha, ”for, of course, you mean if we could find a trail around here we might pick out the different footprints; and one of us ought to know something about the kind of shoes Hen wears.”
”That's me,” admitted Landy, ”because I happened to be going with Hen more or less lately. Show me the footprints and I'll tell you soon enough if it's him.”
Of course, nothing could be done without the lantern, so they kept close to Johnny, who carried the same. From time to time he was given instruction how to hold the light so they might examine certain spots.
”h.e.l.lo! Elmer's found something!” suddenly exclaimed keen-eyed Lil Artha, when he saw the scout leader stoop over almost under the tree, and alongside the large drygoods box.
”That so, Elmer; what was it?” several asked him in a breath.
”Gather around me,” the other commanded, ”and let's see if you can recognize what I picked up.”
”Huh! bet you it fell from his pocket when he was dragged upside-down,”
was the way Lil Artha put it; quick to guess the truth, though he had not himself thought of this possibility before.