Yes, Elmer, watching, could see the different shades of feeling crossing the strong face of the injured man, just as sometimes he had observed clouds chasing athwart the blue sky in fleecy array. Love for the child; pain because of his injury and long wait there by the lakeside; suspicion concerning the presence of Rufus Snodgrass, and something like genuine gratitude toward the rest of the scouts—all these varying emotions Elmer could detect as they passed in review across the face of the other.
In the endeavor to take Jem's thoughts from his late precarious condition, Elmer now started to talk with him, asking how it happened that a woodsman of his long experience should be caught by a falling tree in a storm.
The man laughed a bit harshly, as though disgusted with himself.
"It was an accident, pure and simple, boy," he went on to say. "Jem Shock never believed he would be caught like a rat in a trap; but I ducked the wrong way, my foot slipped, and before I could recover I was down. So I've lain here for hours, hoping my Conrad might come along, for he knew about the lakes, and where I went to look after my fish-lines. I never once thought about you boys. Yes, I'm glad, of course, you came, because Conrad never could have got me out alone; only it hurts me to be beholden to his son."
And Rufus, hovering near by, heard this. His face flushed painfully, and he bit his lips until the blood came, while his eyes flashed indignantly. With an effort, however, he managed to get a grip on himself. Perhaps it was the look he caught on the face of the scout-master that brought this about. At any rate, when Rufus spoke, his voice was fairly calm; and, moreover, there was a note of entreaty in it.
"Jem Shock," he said, in thrilling tones, while the methodical "chunk" of Lil Artha's ax told how its sharp edge was biting deeply into the hard wood of that limb by which the man was pinned down, "please listen to me. I can understand just how you must feel while you believe my father did you a great wrong. I don't blame you a particle either, for feeling mean toward him. But you must know that sometimes terrible mistakes do happen, and that even the best of men may blunder. I tell you I am dead sure such a thing came about, and that at this day my father is utterly unconscious of the fact that you believe he wronged you."
"Not quite that, youngster," said the man grimly. "He knows before now what my opinion of Hiram Snodgrass is; because, after I learned that he'd come to a town near by to live, I sent him a letter."
Rufus refused to be disconcerted by this startling intelligence.
"All right," he said, "I'm real glad you did, Jem. My father ought to know what a cloud his name is under. I meant to tell him all about it myself just as soon as I got home from this trip. Make your mind up you'll hear from him before long, Jem. He'll never rest easy until he's investigated the thing to the bottom, and found out the whole truth. If some men bamboozled you, and let you believe he was in the bunch, my father'll fix them, all right. They'll do the right thing by you when he gets after them with a sharp stick, or I'll eat my head. I guess I ought to know my dad better than anybody else could, and he's straight as a die, even if he is a real estate speculator."
Elmer was visibly impressed with the splendid way in which Rufus stood up for his father. He only hoped the elder Snodgrass might prove to be just the kind of man the boy claimed. Jem Shock, too, could not but be somewhat affected by the sturdy championship of the accused man's cause; though a sneer found a place on his blood-streaked face, and his eye still showed signs of coldness and unbelief.