Chapter II: Beside the Fragrant Camp Fire

"I heard say that this Baylay had come back to his old haunts; does that mean he used to live up in this section, Mr. McNab?" asked Phil, a little later, showing that his thoughts were still fixed upon the unpleasant neighbor they were likely to have during their outing.

"Aweel, he did spend some time up aboot this way," the driver replied. "You see, the mon has a family, for all his wild ways, and somehow he manages to support the wife and childer and a raft o' dogs, though it's a mystery how he does the same."

"Children you say, and up here in this wilderness?" exclaimed Lub, looking more or less surprised.

"Oh! ay, a pair o' thim I'm tawld, tho' for the matter I couldno' say for certain, since I never ha' set eyes on the same. They tell me that the wife is a wee sma' woman, but that she has been known to subdue her giant husband as no mortal man ever dared."

"Gee! I'd like to see her do it, then," asserted X-Ray, impulsively, of course never dreaming at the time that any such opportunity would drift his way.

When noon came they stopped and made a fire, so as to have hot coffee, which of course every one declared to be very refreshing, for they were chilled more or less by the long inaction.

Then it was on again deeper into the wilderness. The road had been abandoned for some time, since it turned sharply in the wrong direction, heading for the lumber camp on the river. Besides, the vicinity of such a place, where trees were falling all day long, and rough loggers calling out or singing at their labor, could not be reckoned a good hunting-ground, since the game would be scared away.

As the shadows began to lengthen the boys were cheered by hearing Tammis declare they were now close on the spot he had in mind. Once before some years back he had piloted a hunting-party up here, and from all accounts the prospects for big game were much better this season than for a long while back.

One of Phil's hobbies was along the line of flashlight photography. Indeed, he had become quite fascinated with the idea of "shooting game with a camera," and was even losing some of his hunter spirit that had until recently been such a pronounced part of his make-up.

He had already made quite a collection of wonderful pictures, and yearned for other worlds to conquer. Some of these days he declared he meant to take a trip into the fastnesses of Darkest Africa, where he could snap off the wild animals in their native haunts--elephant, lion, rhinoceros, hippopotamus and every other species of creature that lives in jungle and swamp and forest in the country which Roosevelt had recently visited on his great hunt.

Of course Phil expected to add to his collection while on this jaunt; and since Ethan was a born hunter, with X-Ray backing him up, they could supply the camp with what fresh meat was necessary, leaving Lub to manage the culinary department, and lend Phil a helping hand if necessary.

The sun was just about an hour high when McNab suddenly drew in his shaggy team.

"What mair cud ye want than this braw place, laddies?" he demanded, as he sat there, and swept his hand around in a semi-circle.

Phil followed his movement. He saw that indeed there could hardly be a finer spot for camping. It was on the shore of a lake, and they could look far out over the ice-covered surface to where the fir crowned hills came down to the further shore, fully a mile away.

Situated in the heart of the virgin forest, with the ax of the logger still a stranger to the splendid growth of timber, it seemed to offer them a glorious opportunity for spending their fortnight there in the wilderness.

The boys jumped to the ground, and commenced exercising their arms so as to induce a better circulation of blood.

"No need of that, fellows," laughed Phil; "we're going to have plenty of things to do to tire you out before we get settled here. Grab hold, and unload the sledge to begin with. Then all of us must get busy putting up some sort of temporary shelter for the night, like we did before. To-morrow we can start in to build a more permanent one that will resist a blizzard if it comes along."

McNab looked after his team while the Mountain Boys began to get to work under the direction of their leader; for Phil happened to know a great deal more about this sort of thing than any of his three chums.

The merry whack of the two axes they had fetched along told that preparations were underway looking to the temporary shelter spoken of by Phil. Lub was quite an adept in building fires for cooking purposes, since he had had considerable practice; accordingly no one interfered when he started to roll two logs he had picked out until he had them forming what might be called a V, with a little space separating the ends that were close together.

In arranging this he had made sure to leave the broad end toward the prevailing breeze, which at the time was from the west. This insured a good draught, once the fire was lighted; and would also conduce to the comfort of the cook bending over the coals, as it would blow the pungent smoke away from his face.

Phil, not knowing what they might strike away up in this section of Canada, had made sure to purchase certain supplies at a sporting goods emporium in New York, and which had come to him through the mails. Just what these were none of the other boys knew up to the present, though Phil had promised to tell them before long.

Of course they had coffee and tea, sugar, biscuits, bacon, salt pork, beans, rice, some canned goods and like things. And at McNab's they had been fortunate enough to lay in quite a supply of butter and fresh eggs, that might last through half of their expected two weeks in the woods.

By the time darkness began to gather the shelter for the night had been completed, and they clustered around the fire intending to take things easy, as well as eagerly sniff the tempting odors that were beginning to permeate the neighboring atmosphere.

"Now is the chance to tell us, Phil, what under the sun you have in that big package you got from New York City before we left home," suggested X-Ray, who did not like to have anything that was connected with a mystery go long unexplained.

"Well, I suppose I had better keep my promise," laughed Phil, starting to cut the cords that bound the package in question; "or else you will have a fit. There never could be a secret when you were around."

"Oh! I don't know about that," muttered X-Ray, giving Phil a wink, and then looking blandly toward the unconscious Ethan who did not dream that he was concerned in the matter in the least.

"Well, these are some of the concentrated foods that are used by prospectors and Arctic explorers, who can carry but a small pack on their backs, and yet may starve to death for all the game they can get. They are splendid in their way, I'm told, though I must confess that outside of the condensed milk and the soups I never tasted any of these things. I know what they are, though."

The boys commenced examining the various articles for themselves.

"Now tell me what the dickens _erbswurst_ can be?" demanded Ethan as he took up a strange roll that must have weighed several pounds, and looked like a sausage.

"Oh! that's in common use in Germany, especially in the army. It is made of concentrated pea-meal ready to use, and with other vegetables, and some dried meat mixed in with it. You can eat it as it is, or made into a soup it is very fine, and will sustain life better than almost any other thing you could find."

"And what is this queer looking can that has a label telling that it is self-heating; explain to me how can that be?" asked X-Ray Tyson.

"That is really a wonderful discovery, and duck hunters shivering in their blind, on a winter morning, balloonists far up among the clouds, and all persons who need something warm to take away their shaky feeling, but can't have a fire, find a great boon in those soups."

"But how can it be self-heating I'd like to know?" asked Ethan, scornfully.

"It is after all very simple," explained Phil. "The soup is in a second can, and the space between the two is filled with dry quick-lime. When wanted, a small hole is cut in the top of the outer can and some water allowed to pass in. This you see generates a terrific heat, and in a jiffy the soup is made piping hot."

"Well, did you ever hear the beat of that?" exclaimed Lub, who had stopped his culinary labors long enough to look and listen to what was going on, for it really concerned his department.

"And here we have some desiccated vegetables, looks like," remarked Ethan, as he pointed to a variety of cans.

"Those are what they call dehydrated vegetables," explained Phil. "They are potatoes, spinach, onions and cabbage in a concentrated form. One can weighing from four to twelve ounces is equal to from seven to fifteen pounds of the fresh stuff."

"But how do you use them?" asked Lub, wonderingly, thinking no doubt what a labor saving device this would be for the cook.

"Oh!" Phil told him, "just add the proper amount of water to a small portion, and cook it the same way you would the fresh vegetable. They are used pretty generally in the United States navy, I understand; for it is sometimes hard to get green stuff, and a diet of salt meat is apt to induce scurvy in sailors."

"Well, I see you have soup tablets," continued X-Ray Tyson, examining still further, "something that is called trumilk, and another that goes by the name of truegg; do you mean to tell me these are all right, and that you can actually carry eggs along in powder shape?"

"Yes, two of those cans of condensed eggs are equal to four dozen of the fresh variety," explained Phil. "They say they are fine, scrambled or in omelettes, and that is the way we can use them after our other supply gives out."

"Well, if only you've got the money to buy things," remarked Ethan, "there's no need of anybody going into the woods, and taking chances of starving these days, when they supply all these wonderful condensed things. But as for me I'd rather just keep them for an emergency, and live on the fat of the land as long as I could find any fresh meat."

The old Scotch-Canadian was greatly impressed with the explanations given by Phil. He examined the various cans and packages closely, and seemed to handle them almost reverently, as though it was utterly beyond his ken how they could so preserve eggs and things in such a condensed form. And yet for years he had been using, off and on, milk that had been conserved after the same principle.

"Supper's ready for serving, fellows; so get your pannikins where I can dish things out!" announced Lub about that time.

They were soon enjoying themselves about as well as any one could wish. Really Lub was getting better at his profession all the time, and X-Ray as well as Ethan did not hesitate to tell him so.

"Now, I know you're just giving me that taffy so as to influence me to keep on the job right along," urged Lub, a little suspicious when the "Greeks came bearing gifts," though his eyes did twinkle with gratification at hearing the warm praise, because time had been when the same fat boy was very green in connection with camp cookery, and afforded his chums many a hearty laugh over his blunders.

"Honest to goodness I mean every word of it, and more too, Lub!" affirmed X-Ray.

"I never tasted a better cup of coffee," declared Ethan; "and these beans are warmed up to beat the band; while the bacon is as crisp and brown as--well, as I could fry it myself, and that's the highest praise anybody would want to have handed out to them, I guess."

There was enough and to spare, for after the last appetite had been appeased Lub declared that it was a shame to leave that small portion, so he would have to put it away himself, which he accordingly did, though they warned him he was in danger of bursting from over feeding.

Afterwards they made themselves comfortable, each with his warm blanket about his shoulders, and facing the fire. A couple of logs rolled up near the blaze afforded them seats, and for at least two hours they continued to chat on every sort of subject.

Their home life was often touched upon, as well as previous outings in which they had taken part. Ethan even told "The" McNab what wonderful success he had had in his root-gathering and fur-trapping. On hearing how a single black fox skin had netted him three hundred dollars the Scotch farmer said he did not doubt it as he knew a man who had received three times that sum for an especially fine pelt.

"As for meself," he added, "it's verra curious but I never even saw a black fox in all me trapping experience. They do be verra rare, they tell me. I have a good woman and three bairn at home, and a thousand dollars would be a muckle fortune for us, but I dinna expect sich luck to come my way. Ye are verra fortunate I must say, Ethan, lad."

Of course Lub had to titter at that, when X-Ray gave him a kick on the sly, as if to warn him to behave himself, so that their great secret might not be endangered by Ethan having his suspicions aroused.

Presently Lub began to yawn and stretch at a great rate. That might be taken for a sign that he was becoming sleepy, and wanted to turn in. They had their several places portioned off under the temporary shelter, so that if Lub chose he could crawl in when he pleased.

He was evidently of a mind to do so, and had even started to rise to his feet, when the others heard him give vent to an exclamation.

"Didn't that logger say Baylay owned several dogs, fellows?" he demanded.

"Why yes, he did," replied X-Ray, quickly; "but what makes you ask such a thing as that, Lub?"

"Because I reckon then he must be somewhere around here right now, for there's a strange animal nosing about in the shadows over where I threw what scraps were left of our supper!"

At that every one looked. Sure enough they could see a moving figure, that did look like a pretty good-sized dog.

Phil, however, uttered a low word of caution.

"Sit tight, everybody!" he hissed, "until I reach out and take hold of my gun!"

"But, Phil, go slow if that's one of the poacher's dogs!" warned Lub in alarm.

"Dog nothing!" came from Phil as he took up his gun; "that's a gray wolf I tell you!"