The Boy Scouts of Woodcraft Camp

therefore, he somewhat diffidently told Chief Woodhull of his ambition to secure some flashlight views of deer th

stioning informed him that it was arranged for him to make a two days' trip to Lonesome Pond with

ved for the older boys, whose experience and training fitted them for the [101] "roughing" which such a trip usually involved. Walter fairly

m says--" b

leetle mite bashful. If you don't get him th' first shot, 'tain't likely he'll wait fer a second, so it's up to you t' hev everythin' in workin' order. Run over an' tell cookie thet I want two loaves o' bread, a slab o' bacon, some butter in a wide-mouth jar, flo

ared the first faint flush of the coming day. The forest lay black and still. For a moment or two he shivered in the chill o

t, and the handle of a frying-pan protruding from the top. Big Jim's favorite paddl

ut o' yer blankets. Come in here an' hev a cup o' hot cocoa a

ink and eaten the lunch put up for him

the hoot of a great horned owl suddenly broke the

hoo-hoo! Wh

ad poor huntin' last evenin'," sai

d make out nothing that resembled a bird, and hi

d give yer. Now any five-year-old born in th' woods would hev seen thet big swelled up

e, broad-winged bird, that swiftly and noiselessly dropped behind a low hemlock. A moment later it reappeared, a hare struggling

law o' th' woods, she'd be sittin' nice an' snug this very minute, instead o' stuffin' ole Fly-by-night's craw. Puss was narvous. The hoot startled her an' she moved jest a leetle bit. Probably she rustled a leaf. Them big owls is all ears. Fact, son; the whole side o' th' head, pretty near, is an ear. He heared thet le

e had never outgrown his early training when canoes of his acquaintance had no seats, shot the little craft out into the lake. As they

swiftly on. Walter had been doing his full share, for he was a good paddler, but now the guide suggested that he put up his

feet. Then with thumb and forefinger of his right hand on the focussing screw, ready to shorten the fo

in' an' no sudden move

w warning hiss from Big Jim put [106] Walter on his guard. The canoe seemed merely to drift, but if the boy could have seen the guide he would have witnessed a magnificent

rs caught a faint splash off to his right. Like a flash he turned, swinging his camera with him. The next instant he realized his mistake. With a sharp whistle of surprise and alarm a doe noisily splashed shoreward from a point not fifty yards distant, where she had bee

a shower of silver. As the boy, in open-mouthed astonishment, watched her she lightly leap

ed what a rare opportunity he had missed, and how wholly his own fault it was. He did n

ly-by-night, belong in th' same class. Now if yer mem'ry had been as good as yer fergittery we'd most likely hev drifted right up t' the

tung the chagrined young photographer like a whip-lash, and he could not trust himself to make reply. He was mortified beyond expression, for he had prided himself that he knew the value of noiselessness and motionlessness, and that wh

of his figure, but he kept his face steadily to the front, gazing fixedly ahead, yet seeing nothi

put his paddle up and be ready for whatever else might offer. As he adjusted the camera the boy re

log. With a nod of the head he signaled the guide that he saw, and then attended strictly to his end of the matter in hand. By this time the canoe was close in to the bank, so

feet. As they drifted nearer and nearer to the subject he began to shake with nervous excitement, so that it was only by the exercise of all his will power that he could hold the camera steady. Inch by inch they crept past the tree and [110] Walt

tered his focus accordingly. Now in his reflecting finder he clearly saw the little fur bearer, a mussel in his paws. With a sigh of relief Walter heard the click of the shutter in re

refore, not surprising that under the stress of excitement Walter should suffer this lapse of memo

trick well. Had a bit o' buck fever fust along, I reckon. Thought yer seemed kind o' shaky. Don't yer mind thet none. I've seen a feller with a clean open sh

y got his third chance. It was a great blue heron this time. It was standing on one foot, the other drawn up until it was hidden among the feathers of the under part of the body. The long neck was laid back on the should

possible, he pulled out and tore off the tab, set the shutter and, as the big bird spread its wings, a second click caught it at the very start of its flight. The shutter

m?" ask

alter, a note of pardon

ast," said the guide, once more sh

since the episode with the deer. Mile after mile slipped behind them, the limpid brown water sliding between the unbroken wilderness on either

ing mass of white, with here and there an ugly black rock jutting above the surface. The canoe felt the increased movement of the water and the boy's heart beat f

ove!" came the guide's

st a second. When he opened them the canoe was just shooting through the churning froth on the edge of the rock, and that immediate danger was past. He realized then how comple

no longer in mid-stream. With a few powerful strokes the guide shot the canoe into a back eddy and a second late

houted the guide as he l

yes shining with excitement, as

n his shoulders, with the canoe inverted over his head, it balanced perfectly, and leaving Walter to follow with the r

s old skidways, now firm to the foot and again a bed of oozy black swamp muck in which he sank half-way to his knees. After a mile of this they came out on the bank o

upper end of which a shallow stream connected with a string of three small ponds. The l