Billy stared at him for a minute, then suddenly choked over the cup of hot cocoa he was drinking. When he had recovered his breath a broad smile lighted his battered face.
“Spud, old Scout, we win!” he exulted. “Here’s where we beat the big chief after all! Why didn’t I think of it before? It’s as easy as picking up chips at a wood-pile. We haven’t said a word about that second line. We won’t, except to Woodhull. We’ll take him along and run that line clear to bounds. Then we’ll show Louis how to use that bee box, and let him go on and find the tree. You know there are no bounds for the tribe leaders. Fifty points for the Delawares—— Oh, my lucky stars!” Billy finished with a whoop that brought the cook running to see what the trouble was.
In the meantime Dr. Merriam was having a conference with Big Jim at the headquarters. “I tell yer, doctor, thet leetle scatterbrain hev got more woods sense than three-fourths o’ th’ rest o’ these youngsters put together. Wish yer could see thet camp o’ theirn. Couldn’t ’a’ built it no better myself. An’ then he had sense enough t’ stick right thar and send up them smoke signals. If he only hed th’ level top piece o’ thet youngster thet went in t’ Lonesome with me he’d hev th’ makin’ o’ one o’ th’ best leaders in camp, even if he did hear a bar.” The big guide chuckled.
“So you don’t take any stock in the bear?” asked the doctor.
“Not th’ least leetle mite,” replied Jim. “Folks thet’s lost allers hears bars or wildcats. I been watchin’ out some sharp an’ I ain’t see no sign o’ bar nigher’n ten mile o’ this camp in th’ last three years.”
“Where did those bees come from?” asked the doctor.
“Feller thet lived in this camp th’ summer ’fore yer bought it had a couple o’ hives. Guess some o’ ’em must hev got away from him. Thet youngster cert’nly did run ’em down slick. Hadn’t never noticed th’ leetle honey bugs myself.”
The doctor smiled. “I had,” said he, “and I had intended to line them out some day, but Billy got ahead of me, and as you say, he certainly did the trick very cleverly. The thing that pleases me, however, is the fact that he was observing enough to notice them. I don’t believe that there is another soul in camp beside myself who had discovered them. Jim, that boy has got the right kind of stuff in him. We’ve got to take him in hand and develop his bump of caution and sense of responsibility.”
“If he could run with young Upton fer a while——” began the guide.
“The very thing I had in mind,” interrupted the doctor. “When Buxby’s period of probation is over I think we’ll have to plan a trip for you with those two youngsters, one that will put them on their mettle. It will be an interesting experiment. What do you think about opening that bee tree?”