The Ranger Boys and Their Reward

by Claude A. LaBelle

Dick had to admit that he was surprised when he found that the contrivance worked, for he had doubted whether or not it would be a success. Having cooked his mushrooms, he sought the rocks again for bait for a fish, and made another discovery. Under some of the biggest rocks were crawfish. He knew that these could be roasted and eaten.

These, however, would do for another day. Then there were roots and berries of various kinds that could be used as sustenance. Altogether there was a quantity of foodstuff that he could use.

He rolled in that night close to the fire, satisfied that he would live the week out in comfort and have the laugh on his friends.

Next morning, after another breakfast of fish and mushrooms, he determined to push up the stream and seek out a new camp place. After a walk that took him nearly half the morning, he branched away from the stream and lay down for a rest. Here he made a discovery that set him thinking. The find was nothing more nor less than a few feathers. He knew after a brief examination that these were from wild turkeys who probably roosted in the trees during the night. The finding of the feathers convinced him that this was perhaps a natural roost for the birds.

After an afternoon of exploration, during which he found some wild raspberries, he came back to the turkey roost spot as he called it. He found he was right in his first conjecture. There were several turkeys roosting on some of the lower branches. Dick procured several good-sized rocks and hurled them at the birds. Two good shots each brought down a turkey, partially stunned. It was the work of a minute to wring their necks.

He cleaned them and roasted them in the coals, and after eating what he wanted, wrapped the cooked flesh in bark and put it by for the next day.

The third morning found him exuberant and cheerful, and he decided to take a long trek in the woods. Twice during the morning he found signs that the mounted Rangers had passed that way, and figured that he was in the line of patrol. He did not want to meet the Rangers so early, as he wanted to subsist entirely on his own discoveries. The afternoon brought him to the foot of a good-sized hill, almost a young mountain.

He noted the location of a spring for use that night, and decided to utilize the remaining hours of light in climbing up the big hill to get a look at the surrounding country.

The climb consumed a good hour of hard work, and he had almost reached the top when he found that he was looking at a cabin. It was perched near the edge of a cliff, and looking out, he figured that there must be a sheer drop of perhaps a hundred feet or more.

At first Dick thought this was the lookout of a Ranger, and entered. There were no maps, however, nor anything else to indicate that the cabin was a lookout. Someone had built a fire recently there, though, and he looked about the cabin. There was a crude cupboard at one end, and in this he found several packages of food.