The Boy Scouts of Woodcraft Camp

ed from a Pullman sleeper and slipped a quarter into th

is is Upper Chai

s sho'. Ain't never been up this way afo

brakeman, but he could see barely half the length of the next Pullman. A warning rumble at the head of the long train adm

uently he had kept a fairly close record of the train's running time, dozing off between stations but waking instantly whenever the train came to a stop. According to his reckoning he should now be at Upper Chain. He had given the porter strict orders to call him twenty minutes

nd made up his mind. If the train was on time, and he felt sure that it was, this [13] was Uppe

ld it was at this altitude before daybreak. And, to be quite honest, there was just a little feeling of loneliness as he made out the dim black wall of evergreens on one side and the long string of empty freight cars shutting him in on the other. The whistle of the la

aloud. "Wonder what I tipped that stupid porter for, anyway! Dad would

right, made out the dim outlines of a building. This proved to be the depot. A moment later he was in t

ame, he was spare with the leanness of the professional woodsman, who lives up to the rule that takes nothing useless on the trail and, therefore, cannot affor

felt that here was one of the very men his imagination had so often pictured, a man skilled in woodcraft, accustomed to meeting danger,

inst the bench beside him rested a double-bladed axe. A pair of beady black eyes burned their way into the boy's consciousness. They were not good eyes; they seemed to carry a hint of hate and evil, an unspoken threat. The man, taking in the new

is this Upper Ch

Woodcraft Camp. So'm I, so let's shake. My name's Jim Everly-'Big Jim' [16] they call me-and I'm goin' in t' guide fer Dr. Merriam

stly call me 'Walt.' My home i

woods afore, did yer?" inquired

and I guess I could most find my way along a trail even if I am a city tenderfoot. I've paddl

go back t' yer daddy this fall yer'll be able t' take him out in th' tall timbers an' show him a few stunts what ain't [17] down in th' program o' city schools, but what every cottontail born in the north woods larns the second d

oment within easy reach in the top of his duffle bag. Despite his natural admiration for this big guide, to whom the mountains, lakes and woods were as an open book, and his unbounded delight in

of them, Mr. Everly?"

[18] I read 'em for, sonny? I've seen some o' them book-writers in th' woods

yet show Big Jim that there was some good in the despised books. To change th

ck with some Indian in him, an' th' meane

ich come to all of us, when we experience sensations which so impress themselves upon the memory that never are they forgotten. Walter felt a thrill that made him tingle from head to foot and, from [19] sheer delight, clinch his hands till the nails nearly bit into the flesh. Since he was big enough to read "Deerslayer" and "The Pat

, just rising above the eastern hills, drew the mist swiftly up the mountainsides in broken, detached masses that eddied, separated, came together and in an incr

sped, and a

usly, while a sincere likin

e asked. "Jes' yer wait till yer see a sunup from th' top of old Bal

with one a glaring red and another a washed-out blue, dotted an irregular clearing on either side of the railroad. Close by, the tail of a log jam choked a narrow river, while the tall iron stack of a sawmill towered above the rough board roof that afforded some protection to the engine and saws. Off to

f so wonderful as these moss and clay chinked cabins. He pinched himself to make quite sure h

pull out for half an hour, and then it'll be a twenty-minute run over t' Upper Lake.

k proclaimed that breakfast was being prepared. Occasionally he had glimpses of weary-faced women in faded calico gowns. One, standing in the doorway of her cabin, was barefooted. A frowzy-headed, dirty-faced little urchin stared at him from the shelter of

ner of the cabin he was just in time to see a boy of about his own age, but a good head taller, strike a vicious blow

erable coward, to strike a boy sma

en his face darkened with an ugly s

n't any av your business,

little fellow like that," replied Walter,

ight?" deman

r, "but I want you to lea

e other, and rushing in he aimed an ugly

ght antagonist as he had contemptuously expected to, he lunged into empty space. The next instant he received a stinging

ge, and hard knocks had toughened him as well. In contrast, the city boy seemed slight and hopelessly at a disadvantage. But underneath that neat khaki jacket was a well-knit, wiry frame, and musc

mp just under his opponent's left eye. The latter backed away. Then he came in again, but more cautiously. He was beginning to respect this elusive a

pponent saw his advantage and swung hard, but Walter caught the blow on his right forearm, and the next instant they were locked in a clinch. This was wha

nasium Walter had twice won the championship [25] for his weight. For a few minutes they swayed this way and that, then Walt

t' break into yer morning exercise, but you an' me hev an engagemen

held out his hand to the discomfite

the village arose and in a manly way, though sheepishly, shook t

," he mumbled. "Oi wish ye'd

be a Boy Scout," shouted Walter as he and Bi