Phil Bradley's Mountain Boys

by Silas K. Boone

She could not be longer restrained, but rushing ahead passed inside the cabin. The boys purposely loitered. When finally they ventured to enter it was to find the lady on her knees, with the arms of the child tightly clasped about her neck. She had one of the wounded man's hands in hers; and apparently the breach between them had been healed, for he was looking upon mother and child with a love light in his eyes.

This influx of guests was getting serious, X-Ray and Lub had a regular argument as to which one should surrender his bunk to Mazie's mother. She would not hear of any such thing, however, and insisted that there was plenty of room for both Mazie and herself in the one bunk.

And after she had recovered from her exposure Mrs. Merriwell insisted on making herself useful, both in the way of a nurse, and in helping with the cooking. As for Mazie's "daddy," he no longer looked the unhappy man the boys had considered him; since he was not going to be called upon to make that terrible sacrifice which he had considered was his duty.

This new arrangement left the boys more opportunity to prosecute their various pleasures. Lub had begun to show a decided interest in certain things connected with woodcraft, so that Ethan only too gladly accepted every chance to explain how to follow a trail, what certain signs stood for, what was the best way to make a fire in a storm, and dozens of other things equally as interesting.

Of course Phil was more than ever engaged with his flashlight photography. He had secured a startling picture of the red fox whose tracks he had discovered; and this spurred him on to greater things. Often Ethan kept him company, and showed that he had really started to take a deep interest in this newer method of hunting without a gun.

Mr. Merriwell steadily grew better. He hopped around by the aid of his crutches, and hoped to be able to walk some by the time the Mountain Boys thought of leaving the North Woods for their home town, which was further south, though still in the uplands.

Josh Maxfield, the guide, stayed with them. He made himself useful, and Ethan managed to pick up quite a fund of information from the experienced native, who had been born and bred in the pine woods.

Many were the cheery evenings they all spent, in front of the cabin if it happened to be warm, or before the fire if the night air was chilly, as often turned out to be the case. Josh had plenty of interesting stories to tell. Mazie in particular was keenly interested in his accounts of how the black bear outwitted the honey bees that had made their hive in an old hollow tree; so that he usually secured a sweet treat as long as he could reach in with his paw, and tear the heavily laden combs out.

All too soon did the days pass, until finally it was decided that they must be starting back over the old trail.

Every one would be sorry indeed to say farewell to Birch Bark Lodge. The Merriwells made Phil promise to send them a set of all his pictures, and in particular the one that showed the dear old cabin.