In camp at Fort Brady

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Class P ~ 2 ~ ~7 Book

Gopjoight N° _

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Chapter I Roy Mercer Makes A Suggestion

“i^lEE! I wish we had a camp like those West Side boys,” said Roy Mercer, as he laid down a well-thumbed copy of the Greenkill Annual.

“ So do I,” said Johnnie Lee. “ They have an awful lot of fun there.”

Roy picked up his book and went on reading. It was the little volume prepared annually by the Junior members of the West Side Y.M.C.A. of New York City, and it told in detail the story of the summer’s fun at the West Side camp near Kingston. Roy finished the book and laid it down. Then he sat staring dreamily out of the window. Before him was the main street of Central City; a bustling little municipality in the central part of Pennsylvania; for he was sitting by the window of the boys’ branch of the Central

City Y.M.C.A. But though he looked out on a street tilled with traffic, he did not see what was passing in the busy thoroughfare. His thoughts were far away — at the camp in the hills near Kingston.

Roy was only fourteen years old, but he was very quick and active and brimful of fun. Just now he looked doleful as he sat staring out of the window. Presently he turned to the other boys, some of whom were reading while others were playing games, and repeated his suggestion. “Gee! I wish we had a camp! Why can’t we? ”

“ Why can’t we? ” echoed Henry Harper, who had been sitting with a meditative look on his face ever since Roy first spoke. Henry was sixteen. He was large for his age, very well built, with dark hair and eyes. He seemed even older than he was, for the death of his mother and Henry’s increased intimacy with his father had made him more mature than most boys of his age. Henry always did the planning for the crowd. His suggestion of the possibility of a camp, therefore, instantly put an end to the various activities in the room, and all the boys came flocking around. “ It seems to me that we ought to be able to get up a camp for ourselves, ” said Henry.

“ How could we do it? ” said Willie Brown, a boy of fourteen, who always distrusted his own ability. “ We have n’t any place to camp and we have n’t any tents or things.”

u We can make our own tents or build leantos,” said Lew Heinsling, a wiry boy of fifteen years, who had made several trips to the Maine woods with his father and was already a good woodsman. “ That ’s easy! But where could we go and how could we start a camp? ”

44 1 don’t know,” answered Henry. 44 It would cost lots of money to buy the outfit and I don’t know how we could get it. But there must be a way. My father says if you want a thing bad enough, you can always get it. Do we want a camp bad enough to try to get it? ”

44 You bet!” 44 Sure thing!” 44 Well I guess! ” shouted the boys.

44 Then let ’s talk to Mr. Haskins about it,” said Henry, and the entire group went rushing upstairs to the office of the secretary in charge. 44 1 think we could get an outfit together withn IN CAMP AT FORT BRADY out very much cost,” said Mr. Haskins, after the boys had explained their errand. “ The main difficulty would be to find anyone willing to let you occupy his land for a month. Then, too, there ’s a whole lot of work about running a camp, and we have n’t any funds to put into this. If I can arrange for a camp, will you boys do the work? ”

“ Sure! ” was the answer.

“ Then come here to-morrow afternoon, and in the meantime I ’ll see what I can do.”

Among the young men who frequented the Y.M.C.A. were a number of college students home for the summer vacation. Mr. Haskins thought that some of these young men might be willing to help the boys out. His plan worked even better than he had hoped it would. Among the men he had in mind were two who proved not only willing to help the boys, but who were able to do a great deal for them. One of these men, James Hardy, was a medical student who had just finished his junior year. The other, William Young, was a junior in the engineering department at Bucknell. Best of all, Mr. Hardy’s father owned a beautiful farm on the banks of the Susquehanna River, and was willing to allow the boys to camp there as long as they wished. So it was arranged that the Central City Juniors should go into camp on Mr. Hardy’s farm for one month. “ Doctor ” Hardy, as the medical student was commonly called, was to be the leader of the camp, with Mr. Young as associate.

When the boys heard this news, they made the rafters ring with their shouts. “ Maybe we can catch a fox or a chipmunk,” cried Charley Russell with delight; for nothing made him so happy as to be out in the country where he could catch wild animals.

“If we can’t catch them, we can shoot them,” said Carl Dexter, a lad of fifteen, who had earned quite a reputation as a marksman.

“ You can have your old animals,” said Robert Martin, a fifteen-year-old boy, who was very fond of swimming. “ Me for the water.”

“ A canoe for mine,” shouted Alec Cunningham. “ I ’ll show you fellows how to paddle.”

“ Will there be any place to play baseball? ” asked Jimmy Donnelly, a bright-eyed boy of fifteen, who was known as the best ball player of his age in Central City.

“ Can we catch bass there? ” demanded George Larkin.

So it went, everybody shouting out what was uppermost in his mind, until Mr. Hardy called for order. “ Now, boys,” he said, “ the place I have in mind for a camp is a very fine place and you will like it. But before we take any steps to organize the camp, I want every one of you to promise me to obey orders, to do your camp duties cheerfully, and not to quarrel.”

The new leader paused and looked around the circle of faces. All were bright and smiling but one. Lem Haskins, a boy of sixteen, wore an expression almost of sullenness. The boys could have told Mr. Hardy that this was Lem’s habitual expression and that Lem was no more pleasant than his expression. He was lazy and never did what he was told to do if he could avoid doing it. Mr. Hardy did not know this, of course, for most of the boys were strangers to him; but he noticed the expression and looked keenly at Lem until the latter’s eyes fell in embarrassment.

Mr. Hardy had not intended to say any more, but now he went on: “ When people go camping for a month, things always turn up that are disagreeable to some members of the camp. Each one of you must remember that what we are after is the greatest good for the greatest number. If something comes up that you don’t like, you must not make a fuss about it. You must try to forget it. We are going to conduct this camp with as little expense as possible. That means that we have to do the work ourselves. If there is any boy here who is not willing to do his share of the work, I don’t want him in the camp. Finally, where a number of people act together, someone always has to take charge. That is necessary for the good of the organization. I am going to have charge of this camp. Whatever I tell you to do will be for the good of the whole camp. Some of you will be told to do things you may not want to do. I want you to obey orders cheerfully. I don’t want anybody about camp who is sullen. And now,” said Mr. Hardy, “ do you want to go camping on these terms? ”

“ Yes! ” shouted the boys in chorus.

“ Very well,” said Mr. Hardy. Then he announced his plans to the boys.

The main expenses, he told them, would be for food and car fare. The latter item would be slight, as Central City was less than fifty miles from the camp ground. The cost for food would be no more than the cost of maintenance at home. The boys would have to employ a cook, but as one could be secured for a dollar a day, the cost to each boy would be slight. Mr. Hardy said that he could secure a very good cook that the boys would like, through the assistance of farmer Robinson, who tilled the Hardy farm. That would save car fare for the cook.

“ As for the camp outfit,” said Mr. Hardy, “ there are two good-sized wall tents, two smaller tents, and two tent-flys that belong to the Y.M.C.A. We can use the larger fly for a dining tent, the smaller one for a cooking tent, and the smallest tent for a storehouse. The three other tents will accommodate nine boys. • Including the cook, Mr. Young, and myself, there will be fifteen in camp, so you will need tent room for six more boys. I think I know where I can borrow three small wall tents, so that takes care of the canvas. Major Rogers of the National Guard has agreed to lend us fifteen cots, provided that we will be responsible for any damage. I shall have two collapsible stoves made of galvanized sheet iron, but the secretary says that the Association will pay for them, as they will be useful in future camps.

“ The rest of the equipment,” continued Mr. Hardy, “ you will have to provide yourselves. We shall need dishes, cooking utensils, wearing apparel, bedding, and whatever outfit for sports you choose to take ; only you must not take too much.”

Then Mr. Hardy gave each boy a typewritten list of the articles he must provide. Each was to bring two blankets, a paper of large safety pins, a sweater, four pairs of stockings, with thread and needle for darning them, three sets of underwear, three shirts, two pairs of stout shoes with thick soles, a bathing suit, a cap or hat, handkerchiefs, three towels, a scrubbing brush, a washcloth, a toothbrush with tooth powder and soap, a brush and a comb, two square little bags that buttoned up — one to put miscellaneous articles in and one to use as a pillow after

18 IN CAMP AT FORT RRADY stuffing — a clean, bright lard pail, and a strong pocketknife.

In addition each boy was required to bring a certain number of dishes and cooking utensils. All these articles were to be brought to the Y.M.C.A., where they could be sorted and packed in boxes for transportation. Steamer trunks were readily procured, and one trunk was provided for every two boys. It was planned to start for camp on Monday, the fifth day of July. In the week that intervened the cots had all to be examined and tied in bundles, the tents to be gone over, the ropes examined, poles provided where they were missing, and stakes made of stout wood. The two rowboats and the four canoes, owned by various members of the party, were to be crated and sent ahead by freight.

Mr. Hardy, who was an experienced camper, paid especial attention to the preparation of the “ hardware box/’ as he dubbed it. For this he secured several good axes and hatchets, a spade, some rope and wire, an assortment of nails, a carborundum stone, and various other tools and supplies that he knew would be necessary. Mr. Hardy also got together a complete first-aid kit, some books, a few games, and some balls, bats, and gloves.

Mr. Hardy had made complete lists of everything required. He checked off the lists as the boys brought in the things. Meantime he and Mr. Young, because they could handle tools better, did most of the packing. In this work they found Roy Mercer a great help. He was as bright as a sunbeam and as active as a cat. He handled tools like a born carpenter and it was never necessary to check up his work. He did exactly what he was told to do and he did it right. Henry Harper proved very useful in the collection of things. He took charge of that work, assigning the boys to various tasks and looking after the details in an able manner. “ That boy ’s a born executive,” said Mr. Hardy. And so Henry became first lieutenant. Every boy in the group was on the jump excepting Lem Haskins, who would a good deal rather play games than carry heavy bundles. Rut Henry kept after him and gave him little opportunity to shirk.

For a week Central City was full of boys carrying bundles. The big storeroom at the

Y.M.C.A. looked like an auction room. But order gradually came out of chaos, and the jumble was reduced to regular piles of boxes, bundles, bales of tents, stacks of cots, and trunks and suit cases. The boats were early crated and hauled to the railroad station. Long before Saturday night arrived everything was in readiness. To the twelve impatient boys it seemed as though Monday would never come.

Chapter II

B UT it did come at last, and it brought with it bright, clear weather, with just breeze enough to temper the heat. Every one of the campers reached the Y.M.C.A. building long before the hour set. The wagon that was to take the heavier luggage to the station appeared and was soon piled high. As Mr. Hardy had foreseen, every one of the campers wanted to take more stuff than could possibly be carried. The trunks were bulging full and a number of suit cases had also been pressed into service. Even then there remained for the boys to carry a dozen bundles and all the blankets. The latter were tied up in rolls to be borne over the shoulders like horseshoes.

At first all was confusion. Roy Mercer was everywhere at once, like a fox terrier; but he always knew what he was doing and was as useful as he was busy. Lew ILeinsling, quiet as usual, made sure that the camp tools were not n IN CAMP AT FORT * BRADY forgotten. Willie Brown could hardly yet believe they were actually going camping. Everybody talked at once, and Charley Russell kept them laughing by his imitations of a chipmunk.

But finally Henry Harper got the boys lined up, saw to it each had his blanket roll, and led the way to the station, with Mr. Hardy and Mr. Young coming along in the rear. “ Halt! ” said Henry, when they reached the station. Before they could break ranks Mr. Hardy stepped up.

“ When you get on the train, boys,” he said, “ take your blankets and your bundles to your seats with you. Put your bundles in the racks overhead. Sit together wherever you can find the seats. Don’t forget your bundles when we reach Muncy.”

Then the train came rushing in, and the boys, with a cheer, climbed aboard. Roy Mercer, as usual, was first. He and Johnnie Lee, who were great chums, got a seat together at the forward end of the car. The others came pushing in. Lem Haskins dragged along in the rear. Instead of hoisting his bundle to the rack above, he dropped it and his blanket in a vacant seat in the rear of the car.

In half an hour the train reached the valley of the West Branch of the Susquehanna and steamed steadily northward, for an hour more, up the west bank. Often the cars were close beside the water. The broad river, sparkling in the sunlight, here rushing over shallows and there lingering lazily in deep pools, was very different from the muddy little stream at Central City.

“ Gee ! I ’ll bet it ’s full of fish,” said George Larkin.

“ Bully for swimming,” cried Robert Martin.

“ How ’d you like to shoot that? ” Alec Cunningham yelled back to Carl Dexter as the train was passing a pretty little rapid.

Presently the train curved to the. right, thundered over a long bridge, beneath which the water was leaping in swirling rapids, then turned sharply upstream again, and in a moment more the brakeman was shouting, “ All out for Muncy.”

The boys grabbed their bundles and clambered out. An enormous farm wagon was drawn up by the station, and in it were a big man in overalls, with the j oiliest face imaginable, and a boy of fifteen, who sat beside him on the seat. They were farmer Robinson and his only child, Teddy. Both of them seemed more than glad to see Mr. Hardy. Mr. Robinson wrung his hand hard and Teddy fairly hugged him. “ You ’re more than welcome to Muncy Farm,” said the big farmer. Then the luggage was piled in the wagon and the boys headed southward and started on their first hike — a two-mile march to camp.

The last mile of the way lay along the bank of the river, which was now on their right. Presently Mr. Hardy turned sharply to the left and led the boys through a field along a path that followed the course of a brook. The ground sloped upward, gently at first, and then more sharply. The path entered some woods. The grade was now steep and the boys began to breathe hard under their bundles. Suddenly a rocky ledge, thirty feet high, that extended along the face of the hill in each direction, barred the path. Mr. Hardy turned to the right along the foot of this ledge. Shortly a great cleft in the rock appeared. The boys scrambled up through this gateway and found themselves on a sort of level promontory that thrust itself out from the brow of the hill like a huge nose. Here was a clearing of about an acre, evidently very old, for the stumps were almost all rotted away and the ground was covered with a fine sod. From below, the place was not visible, but one standing in the clearing could look out over the tree tops beneath. The scene that lay before them made the boys shout with admiration.

The campers were looking straight across the valley and facing northwest. At their feet were the steep hill and the sloping field up which they had just toiled. Parallel with the ridge on which they were standing ran the river, which here flowed from northeast to southwest. Evidently it was deep, for its surface was without a ripple. Mr. Hardy told them that at this point the stream was about a thousand feet wide.

The farther bank of the river was heavily timbered, the trees apparently being left standing to protect the bank from floods; for beyond the fringe of timber, plowed fields extended in every direction. This rich bottom-land, now golden with grain and green with corn, stretched back from the river for several miles, sloping gradually upward into a great mountain ridge.

This ridge, which Mr. Hardy said was Bald

Eagle Mountain, stretched to the southwest as far as the eye could see; but almost abreast of the camp it came to an abrupt termination, turning sharply downward, like the nose of a fish. From their elevated station the boys could see that the river, after continuing northward for a mile or two, described a wide curve and swung around on the other side of Bald Eagle Mountain.

The semicircular valley thus formed was completely walled in on the north by mountains, which rose tier upon tier, like some vast amphitheater of nature. The nearest line of hills was cultivated, some of the fields extending quite to the summit. This checkerboard of hillside fields, some brown, some yellow, some green, with the great arc of the river flowing below, stood out in the sunlight so beautifully that for a moment the campers were silent in wonder.

The view to the south, though very different, was equally striking. Between Bald Eagle and the river lay a long reach of farming land, with the little town of Montgomery shining in the sunlight some four miles downstream. The river itself widened as it flowed southward, until, at a distance of two miles, it was perhaps three times as wide as it was immediately in front of the camp.

The ridge on which the campers were standing drew rapidly closer to the water, until the fields disappeared and the mountain rose, a jagged, rocky precipice, sheer from the river’s edge. Its threatening face was dotted with evergreens that had sprung up in every crevice of rock where their roots could find lodgment.

Still farther to the southward the river swung sharply to the left and was lost behind this towering precipice. It appeared to have come to an abrupt end, and the broad reach of the stream below the camp seemed more like a lake than a flowing river.

“ Well, boys, how do you like it? ” asked Mr. Hardy, who had been smiling as he watched the looks of wonderment.

“ Bully! ” “ Great! ” “ Out of sight!”

shouted the boys in chorus. Then Lew Heinsling spoke up.

“ Where are we going to get drinking water, Mr. Hardy? ” he asked quietly.

“ Good for you, Lew! ” said Mr. Hardy. “ I

28 IN CAMP AT PORT BRADY wondered who would be the first to ask the question. Come over here.”

He led the way to the middle of the north side of the clearing, where, in the shade of a rock, a stream of water gushed forth and went gurgling away through the grass. “ This is a very famous spring,” remarked Mr. Hardy, “ and when we have more time, I will tell you its story. Just now we must get to work on the camp.” From his pocket he drew forth a piece of paper showing a sketch of a hillside camp.

“ That ’s this very clearing,” exclaimed Lew Heinsling.

“ It is,” said Mr. Hardy. “ Mr. Young planned the camp the day we decided to come.” He spread the piece of paper on a bundle and the boys crowded round. The plan looked very much like the one on the opposite page.

“ You see,” explained Mr. Hardy, after the boys had examined the plan carefully, “ we are to put the dining tent next to the spring, and the cooking tent back of that, with the storehouse just behind the cooking tent. We have six sleeping tents, and Mr. Young has arranged these in two rows. Altogether we shall have three rows of tents with three tents in a row. We shall put them in regular order in the rear half of the clearing, like a kind of military camp. That will keep the front half of the clearing open. We are going to be in camp such a long time that I

Forest Ridge

A = Dining tent B= Cooking tent C= Storehouse D E F G H I

J=Camp fire K= Spring

= Sleeping tents think it will be best to have board floors for our tents.’ *

“ There ’s a pile of lumber up there at the edge of the clearing,” broke in Charley Russell, whose sharp eyes never missed anything. Mr. Hardy smiled approval. “ Yes,” he said, “ I asked Mr. Robinson to bring the boards here, when I wrote him about our coming.”

“ How did he ever get them up the rocks?” piped up Johnnie Lee.

“ Wait a bit and you ’ll see,” answered Mr. Hardy.

Just then the rattle of wheels was heard. The boys turned toward the river, but no team was visible. A minute later the farm w^agon appeared among the trees on the upper side of the clearing. The farmer had followed a wood road that led upward through the forest at an easy grade. Fie drove into the clearing and the luggage was unloaded at a convenient spot.

The next two hours w r ere busy ones. On the camp plan Mr. Young had noted down the sizes of the different tents. The smaller ones were eight by ten feet; two were twelve by fourteen feet; the dining fly was a huge sheet of canvas eighteen by thirty-two feet. Mr. Hardy handed a tape to Roy Mercer. “ I want you and Johnnie Lee to pick out the boards for the various floors,” he said. “ You may make the floor of the dining tent eighteen by twentj^ feet.”

Roy and Johnnie immediately ran over to the lumber pile and began to measure and sort out the boards and the planks.

“ Does anyone know how to fix up a spring? ” inquired Mr. Hardy.

“ I do/’ said Lew Heinsling.

“ Then take Carl Dexter with you and fix this spring so we can get water without difficulty. Mr. Young will stake out the locations for the tents,” continued Mr. Hardy, “ and I want you, Henry, to take charge of assembling each tent.”

Henry at once set some of the boys to work carrying the boards for the floors and stacking them in the locations indicated by Mr. Young. He had Willie Brown open the bundle containing the tent pegs and distribute the necessary number of pegs at each tent site. Robert Martin brought the poles. Other boys were opening the tents and carrying each canvas to its appointed place.

Meantime Lew and Carl were fixing up the spring. They found that the ground sloped rapidly away on that side of the clearing. Here a number of trees had sprung up within the clearing, doubtless encouraged by the flow of water. In the shade of one of these trees the two boys found an excellent place to build a reservoir where the stream had eaten its way deep into the earth. The spot was so close to the spring itself that the water was still cold and spariding. Here they scooped out a deep basin and dammed up the outlet with rocks and earth. They had already cut a piece of chestnut sapling an inch and a half in diameter and two feet long. The bark of this they slit longitudinally along one side and carefully peeled it from the wood. They then tied the bark together in its original form, making a perfect tube. This was built into the breast of the dam about four inches below the surface of the impounded water, which at once began to run through the pipe in a strong, steady flow. Flat stones were placed beneath the outflow to prevent the soil from washing away. By placing a pail under the chestnut pipe it was now possible to obtain water without in any manner disturbing the reservoir. In fact it was just like drawing it from a faucet at home.

Under Henry’s direction Jimmy Donnelly had opened the camp tool chest. When Mr. Hardy saw that he said to Jimmy, “ I ’m going to appoint you custodian of tools. I want you to count the tools now and see that they are kept in their places. That is a very important task.”

“ Right ! ” sang out Lew Heinsling, who had overheard the conversation. “ My father almost lost his life once because the camp hatchet was lost”

In a very short time the boards and the planks for the tent floors were assembled. Hatchets and nails were gotten out, and under the supervision of Mr. \ r oung the floors were speedily made, put in place, and leveled. George Larkin drove home the last nail.

“ Gee! but I ’m hungry,” he said as he threw down his hatchet.

“ You have a right to be,” said Mr. Hardy. “ It ’s dinner time.”

A shout went up which was succeeded by a look of dismay. The cook had not arrived and the camp supplies were still nailed up. Mr. Hardy stood grinning for a moment. “ It ’s all right, boys,” he said, “ Mrs. Robinson is going to give us our dinner.”

She did, and none of the boys will ever forget that dinner. “ Gee! I feel like a bass drum,” said Johnnie Lee. “ I don’t believe I ’ll be able to get back through that gateway in the rocks.” Everybody laughed. Mr. Hardy let the boys eat all they wanted to, and Mrs. Robinson, the motherliest kind of a woman, kept filling up their plates until they could eat no more. During the meal Teddy and Lew struck up a friendship that was destined to last not only through the month of camp, but throughout their whole lives, and that was to become an important factor in the life of each. The two were seated beside each other at table, and their liking for each other came about naturally enough ; for Lew, as we already know, was skilled in woodcraft, and Teddy had that love for outdoor things that every country boy feels, and the ability to take care of himself under almost any conditions in the open.

As soon as they were back at camp Mr. Young picked out a tent-raising crew. Under his direction four pegs were driven temporarily into the soil to hold the four corner guy ropes of a tent. The poles were inserted within the tent, which was immediately raised and held in place on its platform, while the permanent stakes for the guy ropes were quickly driven home under the experienced eye of Mr. Young. Then the guy ropes were drawn taut and the tent gang turned to the next canvas. Under this efficient plan tent after tent rose into the air and the entire nine were soon erected.