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  CHAPTER XXVII

  "FIRST AID"

  Possibly the case was not quite as bad as Hank declared, but for allthat those four lads were certainly in a bad way.

  Paul took charge of affairs at once, as became the acting scout-masterof the troop.

  "It's a good thing we thought to pick up some wood as we came along,"he remarked. "Fetch it in, boys, and get this fire going the firstthing. Then we'll make a pot of coffee to begin with."

  "Coffee!" echoed the four late prisoners of the cave. "Oh, my stars!why! we went and forgot to bring any along with us. Coffee! thatsounds good to us!"

  "That's only a beginning," said Bobolink, as he came back with hisarms filled with sticks, which he began to lay upon the almost deadfire. "We've got ham and biscuits, Boston baked beans, potatoes, corn,grits, and lots of other things. Just give us a little time to do somecooking, and you'll get all you can cram down."

  Paul knew the hungry boys would suffer all sorts of tortures whilewaiting for the meal to be cooked. On this account he saw that theywere given some crackers and cheese, to take the keen edge of theirvoracious appetites off.

  It was a strange spectacle in that hole amidst the rocks, with thefire leaping up, Bobolink bending over it doing the cooking with hiscustomary vim, the rest of the scouts gathered around, and those fourwretched fellows munching away for dear life, as they sniffed thecoffee beginning to scent the air with its fragrance.

  As soon as this was ready Paul poured out some, added condensed milk,and handed the tin cup to Hank.

  He was really surprised to see the rough fellow turn immediately andgive it to Sid Jeffreys and hear him say:

  "I reckon you need it the wust, Sid; git the stuff inside in ahurry."

  Then Paul remembered that Sid had recently been injured. And somehowhe began to understand that even such a hardened case as Hank Lawson,in whom no one seemed ready to place any trust, might have a small,tender spot in his heart. He could not be _all_ bad, Paul decided.

  Hank, however, did not refuse to accept the second cup, and hastilydrain it. Apparently, he believed the leader should have firstchoice, and meant to impress this fact upon his satellites.

  What to do about the four boys had puzzled Paul a little. To allowthem to accompany him and his chums back to Deer Head Lodge would makethe remainder of their outing a very disagreeable affair. Besides,there was really no room for any more guests under that hospitableroof; and certainly Tolly Tip would not feel in the humor to invitethem.

  So Paul had to figure it out in some other way. While Hank and histhree cronies were eating savagely, Bobolink having finished preparingthe odd meal for them, Paul took occasion to sound the one whooccupied the position of chief.

  "We've brought over enough grub to last you four a week," he startedin to say, when Hank interrupted him.

  "We sure think you're white this time, Paul Morrison, an' I ain'ta-goin' to hold back in sayin' so either, just 'cause we've beenscrappin' with your crowd right along. Guess you know that we come uphere partly to bother you fellers. I'm right glad we ain't had achance to play any tricks on you up to now. An' b'lieve me! it's goin'to be a long time 'fore we'll forgit this thing."

  Paul was, of course, well pleased to hear this. He feared, however,that in a month from that time Hank was apt to forget the obligationshe owed the scouts, and likely enough would commence to annoy themagain.

  "The question that bothers me just now," Paul continued, "is what youought to do. I don't suppose any of you care to stay up here muchlonger, now that this blizzard has spoiled all of the fun of campingout?"

  "I've had about all I want of the game," admitted Jud Mabley,promptly.

  "Count me in too," added Sim Jeffreys. "I feel pretty sick of thewhole business, and we can't get back home any too soon to suit me."

  "Same here," muttered Bud Phillips, who had kept looking at Paul forsome time in a furtive way, as though he had something on his mindthat he was strongly tempted to communicate to the scout leader.

  "So you see that settles it," grinned Hank. "Even if I wanted to hangout here all the rest o' the holidays, three agin one is most toomuch. We'd be havin' all sorts o' rows every day. Yep, we'll start furhome the fust chance we git."

  That pleased Paul, and was what he had hoped to hear.

  "Of course," he went on to say to Hank, "it's a whole lot shortercutting across country to Stanhope than going around by way of LakeTokala and the old canal that leads from the Radway into the Bushkillriver; but you want to be mighty careful of your compass points, oryou might get lost."

  "Sure thing, Paul," remarked the other, confidently; "but that's mylong suit, you ought to know. Never yet did git lost, an' I reckon Iain't a-goin' to do it now. I'll lay it all out and make the riffle,don't you worry about that same."

  "We came over that way, you know," interrupted Jud Mabley, "and leftblazes on the trees in places where we thought we might take the wrongtrail goin' back."

  "That was a wise thing to do," said Paul, "and shows that some of youought to be in the scout movement, for you've got it in you to makegood."

  "Tried it once you 'member, Paul, but your crowd didn't want anythingto do wi' me, so I cut it out," grumbled Jud, though he could not helplooking pleased at being complimented on the woodcraft of their crowdby such an authority as the scout-master.

  Paul turned from Jud and looked straight into the face of the leader.

  "Hank," he said earnestly, "you know just as well as I do that Jud wasblackballed not because we didn't believe he had it in him to make anexcellent scout, but for another reason. Excuse me if I'm blunt aboutit, but I mean it just as much for your good as I did bringing thisfood all the way over here to help you out. Every one of you has it inhim to make a good scout, if only he would change certain ways he nowhas."

  Hank looked down at his feet, and remained silent for a brief time,during which he doubtless was having something of an inward fight.

  "All right, Paul," he suddenly remarked, looking up again grimly. "Iain't a-goin' to git mad 'cause you speak so plain. If you fellers'dgo to all the trouble to fight your way over here, and fetch us thisfood, I reckon as how I've been readin' you the wrong way."

  "You have, Hank! You certainly have!" affirmed Bobolink, who wasgreatly interested in this effort on the part of Paul to bring about achange in the boys who had taken such malicious delight in annoyingthe scouts whenever the opportunity arose.

  "Believe this, Hank," said Paul earnestly; "if you only chose tochange your ways, none of you would be blackballed the next time youtried to join the organization. There's no earthly reason why all ofyou shouldn't be accepted as candidates if only you can subscribe tothe iron-bound rules we work under, and which every one of us has toobey. Think it over, won't you, boys? It might pay you."

  "Reckon we will, Paul," muttered Hank, though he shook his head at thesame time a little doubtfully, as though deep down in his heart hefeared they could never overcome the feeling of prejudice that hadgrown up against them in Stanhope.

  "I wouldn't be in too big a hurry to start back home," continued Paul,thinking he had already said enough to fulfill his duty as a scout."In another day or so it's likely to warm up a bit, and you'll find itmore comfortable on the way."

  "Just what I was thinkin' myself, Paul," agreed Hank. "We've gotstacks of grub now, thanks to you and your crowd, and we c'n gitenough wood in places, now you've opened our dooryard fur us. Yep,we'll hang out till it feels some warmer, and then cut sticks furhome."

  "Here's a rough map I made out that may be useful to you, Hank,"continued the scout-master, "if you happen to lose your blazed trail.Tolly Tip helped me get it up, and as he's been across to Stanhopemany times he ought to know every foot of the way."

  "It might come in handy, an' I'll take the same with thanks, Paul,"Hank observed, with all his customary aggressive ways lacking. Thereis nothing so well calculated to take the spirit out of a boy as acutehunger.

  When they had talked for some little time longer,
Paul decided thatit was time for him and his chums to start back to the cabin. Thoseafternoons in late December were very short, and night would be downupon them almost before they knew it.

  It was just then that Bud Phillips seemed to have made up his mind tosay something that had been on the tip of his tongue ever since herealized under what great obligations the scouts had placed him andhis partners.

  "Seems like I oughtn't to let you get away from here, Paul, withouttellin' somethin' that I reckon might be interestin' to you all," hewent on to say.

  "All right, Bud, we'll be glad to hear it," the scout-master observed,with a smile, "though for the life of me I can't guess what it's allabout."

  "Go ahead Bud, and dish it out!" urged Bobolink, impatiently.