CHAPTER XIII
AT BEAR CAMP
"Talk about the old-time coaching days!" remarked Dave. "I don't believe they were any worse than this."
"Oh, Dave, you mustn't find fault!" cried Jessie. "We'll soon be there, I hope."
"Providing we don't go down in some hole and break off a wheel," put in Roger. "Say, this road is some rough!"
"I'll have it rolled down for you the next time, Roger!" cried Phil, gaily. "Just imagine yourself in the wild West, in one of the old-time overland coaches, with the Indians in full pursuit. How about that, Belle?"
"It sounds good enough for a dime novel," answered the girl from the West. "Personally I never saw any Indians in pursuit of a stage-coach or anything else. The Indians around Star Ranch were as peaceable as one could wish."
Over the rough and rather narrow trail bumped the two stage-coaches. Our friends frequently found themselves bounced off the seats, and more than once they were in danger of cracking their heads against the roofs of the turnouts. It was growing dark, and the only lights the drivers had were their smoking lanterns. Inside of the stage-coaches the boys had their hand flashlights, which they used occasionally to illuminate the scene.
"Never mind! Don't you care!" cried Phil, and then added: "What's the matter with a song?"
"Let's give them our old Oak Hall song!" exclaimed Dave, and a moment later he started their old favorite, sung to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne."
"Oak Hall we never shall forget,
No matter where we roam,
It is the very best of schools,
To us it's just like home.
Then give three cheers, and let them ring
Throughout this world so wide,
To let the people know that we
Elect to here abide!"
"Oh, how splendid!" was Belle's comment. "Please sing it again," and they did.
Then they followed with a number of familiar songs. The sound was caught up by those in the second coach, and soon they too were singing lustily.
"Gosh-all-hemlock!" was the comment of the stage-driver of the forward coach. "That there singin' is better'n a nigger minstrels!"
"Better join in," suggested Dave, and then started up with "The Suwanee River," and to the surprise of all the old stage-driver broke in with a heavy bass voice which really balanced the others quite well.
The storm was a thing of the past, and as night came on the thin crescent of the new moon and numberless stars showed themselves.
"O my, look!"
"Isn't that perfectly grand!"
"I don't wonder they call it Mirror Lake!"
Such were some of the cries from the girls as the first of the stage-coaches rolled out on the edge of the sheet of water by which the bungalows were located. Here, at a certain point, they could gaze down the full length of the lake. In spite of the rain that had fallen the surface of the water seemed unusually smooth, and it glistened in the light of the moon and the stars like silver.
"Oh, it's just too splendid for anything!" exclaimed Jessie, as she clapped her hands in delight. "What a beautiful place to come to!"
"I don't see how it could be any prettier than it is," added Laura.
"Why, it's just like a scene from fairyland!" declared Belle. "Oh, I know I'm going to have just the nicest time ever while I'm here!"
"I see the bungalows!" cried Roger, and he pointed to a number of lights twinkling between the trees.
"I told Mary, the hired girl, to light up so we could see where we were going," said Mrs. Wadsworth.
"This is about as far as we can go with the stages," announced the driver of the first turnout, as he came to a halt. "You'll have to walk the rest of the distance. Bill and me will help you with the traps."
Soon the other stage came up, and all on board alighted. The two stage-drivers took the heaviest of the suitcases, while the boys and Mr. Porter and Mr. Basswood carried the others. Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth led the way along a trail that was still somewhat wet and slippery.
"It's right in the woods, that's sure!" declared Roger.
"What do you think of it?" asked Dave, as they approached the two bungalows, which stood only a short distance apart.
"Oh, I like it very much. I think we ought to have a dandy time here, Dave."
"Just what I was thinking."
Their approach had been noticed by the servant girls, and this couple came out to meet them. Then the two drivers were paid, and they returned to their stages and started back for Carpen Falls.
"I'm glad that journey is ended!" remarked Jessie, as she sank into a rustic rocking-chair. "My! but it was quite an adventure; now wasn't it?"
"It certainly was, Jessie," answered Dave. "I don't suppose you'll want to go back by automobile?"
"Not unless you guarantee the weather, Dave," she answered, with a smile.
The Basswood family, along with Shadow and Luke, had gone off to the second bungalow, leaving the others at the one over which Mrs. Wadsworth was to preside. The lady of the bungalow showed the girls and the boys the various rooms which they were to occupy. As all of the other baggage had arrived from the railroad station two days before, the tourists lost no time in getting rid of their damp garments and donning others more comfortable. After that all made an inspection of the bungalow, and then trooped over to the other building.
"Say, this suits me down to the ground!" said Luke. "It couldn't be better."
"I noticed a number of canoes and rowboats at the dock," said Shadow. "We are bound to have some fine times out on that lake."
"And did you notice the bath-houses?" added Ben. "That means good times swimming."
"Providing the water isn't too cold," said Phil. "In some of these lakes among the mountains it gets pretty cold, don't you know, especially if the lake happens to be fed by springs."
"Oh, pshaw! who's afraid of a little cold water?" cried his chum, disdainfully.
"Any danger of a bear coming to eat us up?" queried Luke.
"Oh, don't say bears again!" cried Jessie. "I don't want to hear of them, much less see them."
"Say, that puts me in mind of a story!" cried Shadow, eagerly. "Once a bear got away from his keeper and wandered around a little New England village until he came to a cottage where an old lady lived. All of the villagers were scared to death, and some of them started to get their shotguns and rifles with which to kill Mr. Bruin. But the old lady had her own idea of what to do. She grabbed up a broomstick and began to hammer that bear right on his nose, and would you believe me? Mr. Bruin got so scared that he ran away and then went straight back to his keeper and allowed himself to be chained up again!"
"Shadow, is that a true story or a made-up yarn?" asked Laura.
"It was told to me down East, and they said it was absolutely true," was the answer. "They even gave me the name of the old lady."
"Say, Shadow, it was a wonder they didn't give you the name of the broomstick," said Dave, and with that there was a short laugh.
Dave, Roger, and Phil had been given two rooms between them. One was considerably smaller than the other, and this Dave occupied. On the other side of a little hallway were the girls, while Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth and Dunston Porter occupied large chambers next to the living-room. In the rear were two tiny rooms for the hired help. At the other bungalow Ben and his friends occupied three little rooms, while Mr. and Mrs. Basswood had a large apartment off to one side. At this bungalow there was an extra large living-room in which was placed, among other things, a small upright piano, somewhat out of tune but still usable.
"Now don't you boys dare to play any tricks to-night!" said Laura, when she and her girl friends were about to retire. "You just keep your tricks for some other time."
"All right, Laura, I'll make Roger and Phil be good," answered her brother. "I guess we are all tired enough to sleep soundly." And he certainly spoke the truth as far as he personally was concerned, for hardly had his head touched the pillow than he was off to the land of dreams.
The boys were up bright and early on the following morning. It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining brightly and a gentle breeze blowing from the West. To be sure, the forest back of the bungalow was still wet, but it had dried off down at the shore of the lake, and at the dock where were located two rowboats and several canoes.
"Let us all go out for a row after breakfast," suggested Dave. "It will limber us up."
The aroma of freshly-made coffee and of sizzling bacon filled the air between the bungalows, and soon the young folks who had gone down to the dock to look at the lake and the craft on it, came trooping back for their breakfast.
"Don't you think it would be more pleasant if we could all eat together, Mrs. Wadsworth?" said Laura, while they were partaking of the repast.
"Perhaps so, Laura, and maybe we'll be able to arrange it," answered the lady. "Mrs. Basswood spoke about it. They have a large living-room there that might be utilized as a dining-room for all, and in pleasant weather we might all eat out on our wide porch."
"That's the talk!" cried Dave. "I'd rather eat outdoors any time, if the weather would permit."
"Oh, yes, let us eat on the porch!" cried Jessie. And so, later on, it was arranged, the entire party eating indoors only when it was wet.
The canoes had been turned over and were perfectly dry, but the two rowboats had to be bailed out. Various parties were made up to go out, and presently Dave found himself in one of the canoes with Jessie as his sole companion.
"Any particular place you'd like to go?" questioned our hero, as he dipped his paddle into the lake, and with a firm sweep sent the long and graceful canoe gliding away from the little dock.
"Supposing we go along the shore, Dave?" answered the girl. "I would like to see how it looks beyond this cove."
"All right, I'll keep as close to shore as possible," he replied. And then they set off, leaving the others to go where they pleased.
"You don't suppose there's any danger of our upsetting?" queried Jessie.
"We won't upset if you keep perfectly still," answered Dave. "I think I can manage this craft all right."
On and on they went over the smooth surface of the lake, passing at times close to the shore and under the overhanging branches of trees, which at some points were very thick. In spots the water was shallow, and so clear that they could see the bottom with ease and occasionally catch sight of fishes darting in one direction or another.
"I think we're going to have some fine times fishing up here," declared the youth, as a beautiful trout flashed by only a few feet away.
They were coming around a long curve of the shore. Just ahead was a high point of rocks, on which somebody had erected a rude summer-house of untrimmed tree-branches.
"What a cute little place!" declared Jessie, in delight.
"It must belong to some of the cottages around the bend," answered Dave. "I believe there is quite a colony somewhere up here."
They passed around the point of rocks, and a few minutes later came in sight of several rustic cottages set in a grove of trees. In front of the cottages was a long, narrow dock, at which rested several craft, including a fair-sized motor-boat.
"Hello, I didn't know there was a motor-boat on this lake!" exclaimed Dave. "Whoever owns it must have had some job getting it here."
No one was at the dock or on the motor-boat, and passing that point, Dave sent his canoe along another picturesque bit of the lake shore. Then, as they made another turn, they came in sight of a log cabin which had evidently been erected many years before.
"Well, I never! Dave, what in the world are those folks doing?"
The cry came from Jessie, and not without reason, for they had suddenly come in sight of three or four men and several ladies, all stationed in front of the old log cabin. One of the men was dressed in the garb of a woodsman; and he held a large ax in his hands, raised over his head as if to strike down one of the younger ladies. Then another of the ladies rushed up, and fell on her knees with upraised hands in front of the man.
"Hello, I know these people!" cried Dave, in astonishment. "They are the moving-picture actors who were on board that burning steam yacht!"
CHAPTER XIV
SOMETHING OF A QUARREL
"The moving-picture actors, Dave?" queried Jessie, in wonder.
"Yes. Don't you see the man over there with the camera? He is grinding out a picture of that scene."
"O my! is that the way they do it?" returned the girl, with interest. "I've read about it, but I never had a chance before to see how it was done."
Dave brought the canoe to a standstill, and both watched the little drama being enacted before the old log cabin. Our hero saw that the young lady in the scene was Della Ford, and the elderly lady the one she had called Aunt Bess.
"All over!" exclaimed a man, who stood beside the individual at the moving-picture camera. The latter had stopped turning the handle of the machine, and now he proceeded to cover the whole outfit with a black cloth.
"Well, I'm glad that's over!" those in the canoe heard Della Ford exclaim. "Come, Aunt Bess, let us go back to the water." The young lady turned from the group, and as she did so she caught sight of the canoe and its occupants. She stared for an instant, and then her face lit up.
"Mr. Porter! is it possible!" she exclaimed. "I certainly didn't expect to meet you up here. Aunt Bess, here is the young gentleman who saved us from drowning."
"You don't tell me!" came from the aunt, and then both hurried their steps toward a tiny dock beside which the canoe was resting.
"I certainly didn't expect to meet you again, and away up here in the Adirondacks," answered Dave, with a smile. And then, as the young moving-picture actress came closer, he introduced the girls to each other.
"This is my aunt, Mrs. Bess Ford," announced Della, to Jessie. "I suppose you saw us acting just now?"
"We did," answered Jessie. "It was quite interesting."
"I suppose it is, to an outsider," responded the young actress. "It gets to be an old story with us; doesn't it, Aunt Bess?"
"Oh, I don't mind it," returned the aunt. "I'd rather be up here in the woods acting for the movies than down in some stuffy theater in this warm weather."
"Did Mr. Porter tell you what a grand hero he is, Miss Wadsworth?" asked Della Ford, turning to Jessie. "Oh, he's just the grandest hero I ever met!" and she beamed on Dave.
"Come now, Miss Ford, please don't mention it again," expostulated Dave. "I didn't do so very much, and you know it."
"Isn't saving my life a good deal?" demanded the young actress, archly.
"Oh, I don't mean that. What I mean is that anybody could have done what I did."
"But you did it, young man, and you ought to have credit for it," put in Mrs. Ford, bluntly. "It was certainly a brave thing to do."
"It was; and I shall never cease to thank Mr. Porter for it," went on Della Ford, and she gave Dave another warm look, at which he blushed more than ever.
This look was not lost on Jessie; and she bit her lip in a way that showed she was not altogether pleased. Then Mr. Appleby, the manager of the moving-picture company, came forward, followed by several others.
"This certainly is a surprise!" said the manager. "First we meet on the Atlantic Ocean, and next in the heart of the Adirondacks."
"It's like some of your changes in the movies," answered Dave, smiling. "You show us a shipwreck, and then, presto! you transfer us to an office in Wall Street. You must have to jump around pretty lively to get all the scenes of a drama."
"We don't take just one drama," explained Mr. Appleby. "We sometimes do half a dozen or more. For instance, while we are up here we are going to take the outdoor scenes to fifteen or twenty dramas. Then we'll go back to the city and finish up with a number of interiors."
"Wouldn't you like to be a moving-picture actor, Mr. Porter?" asked Della Ford, eagerly. "You could go into a nautical rescue scene very nicely."
"There you go again, Miss Ford!" returned Dave. "Just the same, it must be some fun being in a moving picture."
"Oh, Dave, don't you go into any moving picture," interrupted Jessie, quickly.
"Why, what would be the harm?" he questioned.
"Oh, no particular harm, I suppose. Only I shouldn't like it," she answered, in a low tone.
"You might get into our next scene," went on Della Ford, ignoring Jessie's remark. "We are going to have one that will show several canoes besides the motor-boat tied up at the dock around the bend."
"Well, I'll think about it," answered Dave, hesitatingly; and then he went on to Mr. Appleby: "By the way, is Ward Porton still with you?"
"He is with my company, yes; but he is not here just now," was the reply. "I expect him in a week or so."
"I met him in Crumville, where I live."
"Is that so? I thought he had gone to his old home down East. However, it doesn't matter; he has a right to go where he pleases."
"By the way, Mr. Appleby, I would like to speak to you in private for a moment," went on Dave, and leaping ashore he drew the manager to one side.
"What is it?"
"You have a new member of your company, a young fellow named Link Merwell."
"Yes, what of it?"
"Link Merwell is a criminal – a fugitive from justice," answered Dave. And then he gave the man some of the particulars already known to my readers.
"If what you say is true, Porter, I don't want that fellow in my company," said Mr. Appleby, warmly. "What do you want me to do when he comes, hold him a prisoner?"
"I wish you would do that, and let us know. Mr. Wadsworth will take care of Merwell."
"All right, I'll do it – if he shows up. But he may not do that – if he has found out that you are in this vicinity," added the manager.
"I'm thinking he will make himself scarce," returned Dave, with a grim smile.
In the meantime Della Ford had come down to the side of the canoe.
"Where are you staying, Miss Wadsworth?" questioned the young actress.
"At a bungalow near the end of the lake," returned Jessie, and explained about the location and who were in the party.
"Oh, how delightful! You will surely have a splendid time here. We are located in the cottage around the bend where you perhaps saw the motor-boat tied up. I am sure we'll be very glad to have you call on us."
"Thank you; perhaps we'll get this way again some time," returned Jessie, somewhat coolly.
"You must come and see us, Mr. Porter, by all means," went on the young moving picture actress when our hero returned to the side of the canoe. "And bring the others along, too. I liked the appearance of your chums. You all seemed to be so jolly."
"Dave, don't you think we ought to be going?" questioned Jessie.
"Just as you say," he answered, and dipped his paddle into the lake.
"Then you don't want to stay and take part in that other picture?" called out Della Ford, as the canoe began to leave the dock.
"Not to-day, Miss Ford," called back Dave. "But I may get into one of your pictures just for the fun of it."
"Do! And don't forget to call at the cottage," returned the young lady; and then the canoe passed out of hearing of those on the shore, and a dozen strong strokes of the paddle sent the frail craft out of sight around another headland.
"That certainly was a surprise," was Dave's comment, as they passed along under some overhanging trees. "I never dreamed of coming across that moving-picture company in such a fashion as that."
"What did you get out for?" asked Jessie, curiously.
"I wanted to ask Mr. Appleby about Link Merwell. He didn't know Link was a criminal. He says if Link shows himself up here he will make him a prisoner and notify us."
"Isn't it queer that Link should join that company!"
"Rather, although I suppose he has got to do something for a living, – and I guess he isn't the fellow to pick out hard work. Acting in the movies must be easy – and lots of fun in the bargain."
"You are not going to act with them, are you, Dave?" questioned Jessie, with her big round eyes full upon him.
"Oh, I don't know. I think perhaps it might be sport."
"I don't think so."
"Miss Ford tried to make a regular hero out of me. I wish she wouldn't do that."
"Well, it was a grand thing for you to do – to pull her out of the water, Dave, and she ought to be exceedingly grateful. Just the same, I don't think I like her very much," and Jessie pouted a little.
"Is that so? Why, I thought she was real nice."
"She's awfully forward."
"I didn't notice that. But maybe it's her calling makes her so. An actress can't be just like other people."
"I think she might be when she wasn't acting. Anyway, I think she was too – well, too gushing."
"I noticed that you didn't give her any invitation to call when she invited you," went on Dave, after a pause, during which they left the vicinity of the shore and swept out into Mirror Lake.
"Why should I? Mamma might not approve of it. I don't think she has a very high opinion of moving-picture actors and actresses."
"And I guess you haven't either, Jessie," returned Dave, somewhat bluntly.
"Oh, I don't know about that," and the girl tossed her head. "They have a right to act in the movies if they want to. They've got to earn their living some way, I suppose. Don't you think we had better be getting back, Dave?"
"Why, it's early yet, Jessie!"
"Never mind, I think I would rather go back. Now that the sun is overhead it is quite warm."
Dave started to answer, and then suddenly shut his mouth tightly. The paddle went deeper into the water, and the canoe shot around quickly in a long semicircle.
"Oh, Dave! don't tip us over!"
"Don't fear. The canoe won't go over if you sit perfectly still," he replied, in a tone that was somewhat unsympathetic.
"Are you going back to the bungalows?"
"Why, certainly. That was what you wanted – to go back; wasn't it?"
"We haven't got to race back, have we?"
"I'm not racing; but I thought you wanted to get out of this hot sun."
"Dave, I think you're angry with me," returned Jessie, reproachfully, but she did not raise her eyes as before. Instead she kept them fastened on the bottom of the canoe.
"Angry? What foolishness! What is there for me to be angry about?"
"Oh, you know well enough."
"I don't see why you should feel so cut up over Miss Ford. I can't help it if she is grateful – as you put it – for my saving her from drowning; can I?"
"Oh, it isn't that, Dave. Of course she ought to be grateful. But you – you – " Jessie's voice broke a little and she could not go on.
"Me? I haven't done a thing! Didn't you hear me tell her to quit it?"
"Oh, it wasn't what you said. It was – But never mind, let us get back to the bungalow." And Jessie kept her eyes on the bottom of the canoe, refusing to look at her companion.
"And I'm sure I didn't do a thing either. Now please don't be silly and – "
"Dave! Silly!"
"I didn't mean that exactly, Jessie. But you know – "
"It's not a bit nice for