Double Challenge Page 3

  3

  THE CAMP

  Sprawled on his favorite bearskin in the Harkness living room, Tammiedreamed a dog's good dreams and his paws twitched with excitement as helived again some old adventure. Al, sitting in front of the fireplace,studied the bed of glowing coals within it as though they were asfascinating as the first coals he had ever seen. Sitting at the tablewith a pen in his hand, a pile of fresh paper on one side and a pile ofcrumpled sheets on the other, Ted was busy writing.

  He laid the pen down, picked up what he had just written and frownedover it. Making a motion to crumple this paper too, he thought better ofit and called, "How's this, Dad? 'For Rent, furnished camp in theMahela. Bunks for eight. Forty-five dollars a week in small game season,sixty in deer season. Available for season. Ted Harkness, R.D. 2,Lorton.'"

  Al shrugged. "Says 'bout everythin' you got to say."

  "I don't know." Ted's frown deepened. "'Bunks for eight,' it says. If abunch of deer hunters take the place, they may bring twelve or sixteen.Do you think I should say, 'Bring extra cots for more than eight?'"

  "Mighty important point," Al said gravely, "but do you figure you got tothrow out that much sign?

  "If I was readin' that and wanted to rent a camp and saw 'bunks foreight,' I'd calc'late that there wasn't bunks for ten or sixteen. I'dfigger that, if I brought more than eight, I'd best bring somethin' for'em to sleep on."

  "If I say 'accommodations for eight,' and a bigger party wanted to takethe camp, they might pass it up."

  "'Bunks' is the word," Al pronounced. "Why it's pra'tically liter-choor.City people are always gettin' accommodations. Might help rent your campif they knew they was goin' to sleep on bunks."

  "That's a point," Ted agreed. He continued to frown thoughtfully. "Nowthis 'available for season,' do you think I should say at ten per centdiscount?"

  "Nope."

  "But doesn't everybody do that?"

  "Everybody 'cept horse traders, and you can always do your horse tradin'when and if you have to. But I don't think you're goin' to rent for theseason."

  "Why not?"

  Al shrugged. "Figger it out by yourself. How many city people can take awhole season just to go huntin'? Most they get is a couple of weeks orso."

  "That's right, too. Do you think I should say, 'deer and small gameabundant'?"

  "I wouldn't. Nobody'd come into the Mahela 'thout havin' some idea theycould find game here and there's another point."

  "What's that?"

  "You're tryin' to build up a business, and the more repeat business youcan get, the less it'll cost to get it. Promise too much and you mightdrive business away. Some people, readin' about over-plenty game, mightexpect a flock of grouse behind every tree and a ten-point buck in everyswale and be mad if they didn't find it. Let 'em do their own lookin'."

  "I was thinking of hiring out as a guide."

  "Wouldn't put that in either. Some people want guides and some don't.Anybody who rents your camp and wants a guide will ask you where to findone. Then you can dicker."

  "Do you think I'm asking too much money?"

  "Nope. Chances are that you won't get less than six in any party. Splitthe cost amongst 'em and it won't break any one. Your prices are fair."

  Ted lost himself in his literary effort. "It doesn't seem veryforceful."

  "Land o'goshen!" Al's eyes glinted with amusement. "You're tryin' to getinformation across, not writin' a speech! How many papers you crumpledso far?"

  "Well," Ted looked at the pile of discarded papers beside him andgrinned, "quite a few. You really think this is all right?"

  "A masterpiece," Al answered solemnly. "Mail it afore you change yourmind again."

  Ted folded his paper, wrote a short letter to the effect that he wantedhis ad to run in the classified section, wrote a check, put all three inan envelope and addressed it to a leading daily newspaper in a city fromwhich the Mahela drew numerous hunters. Tammie trotted beside him as heran down to the mailbox, put his letter in and raised the red flag tolet Bill Parker, their rural carrier, know there was mail to pick up.He ran back to the house.

  _"Br-r!_ It's cold!"

  "The jackets in the closet," Al observed drily, "are not there becausethey look pretty."

  Ted said meekly, "Yes, Dad."

  He re-seated himself at the table and took up his pen. The first huntingseason, for woodcock, opened next week. Two weeks later, squirrels,cottontails and ruffed grouse became legal game and the season ran for amonth. During the last week of small game season, black bears could beshot. Then everything else was closed and hunting wound up with thethree-week deer season.

  Ted calculated carefully. There were six weeks of the small game season.If he rented his camp throughout at forty-five dollars a week, it wouldgive him a net return of two hundred and seventy dollars. Three weeks ofdeer season would add another hundred and eighty, or a total of fourhundred and fifty. Ted consulted his expense records.

  Jud Hawley had sold them the land with the old building on it for ahundred and fifty dollars and Al and Ted had torn down the old buildingand rebuilt it. Just the same, expenses had mounted with incrediblespeed. Al had all the tools, but it was necessary to buy nails. Thewindow casings Al had fashioned, but the glass that went into them costmoney. They'd had to buy a secondhand cooking range and a heating stoveand enough table and cooking ware to serve many people. Bedding had beenan expensive item, and composition shingles for both the roof and outerwalls had cost a great deal.

  Economizing as much as possible and hiring no labor, the camp had stillcost six hundred and fifteen dollars. However, the old building hadbeen a huge place and there was enough lumber left over to buildanother, smaller camp as soon as they acquired another building site.Ted nibbled the end of his pen.

  "We'll be in the clear on this one before next hunting season; theneverything it brings in will be pure gravy."

  "How do you figger it?"

  "There's six weeks of small game hunting and three of deer season. Ifthe camp is rented continuously, it will bring in four hundred and fiftydollars. Then, when fishing opens--"

  "If," Al broke in, "is a right fancy word. Might be a good idea to rentyour camp 'fore you spend the rent money."

  "It might at that," Ted said meekly, "and I forgot to charge against itthe fifteen dollars the ad's costing."

  "Charge it," Al advised, "and get this one thing straight. There's nosuch thing as 'pure gravy.' What a body gets, he works for. What hedon't work for, he don't get. You started the ball rollin', but it willstop if you don't keep it rollin'."

  "What do you suggest I do?"

  "Just what you are doin', but don't get cocky about it. You've made astart, but it's a small start that stacks up against a big job. See howthings work out. If they come 'round like I think they will, this campwill make money. But it won't be your money. It belongs to the jobyou've set yourself. Build another camp--and another and another, untilyou've got as many as you can handle. Go on from there."

  "Go on?"

  "You started out," Al reminded him, "to own a place like Crestwood."

  "That will take years!"

  "Did you expect to get it in a week?"

  "Well--No."

  "Good, on account you won't. You'll need years. Then, after you finallyget what you want, or somethin' close to it, all the people who set'round on their hunkers while you worked will still be settin' 'roundtellin' each other how lucky you are."

  Ted grinned, then yawned and stretched. "Gosh! All this heavyphilosophy's making me tired!"

  "What do you think your bed's for?"

  "You get the best ideas!"

  "Oh, I'm the smart one!" Al smiled and filled his pipe. "Catch yourselfsome shut-eye. There's work to be done come mornin'."

  * * * * *

  The next morning, with Al driving and Tammie on the floor in front ofTed, they started back toward the camp they had built. The lazy sun,reluctant to get out of bed, made a splash of gold only on the very
tipof Hawkbill. The rest of the wilderness was a deep-shadowed green, withovertones of gray. A doe danced across the road in front of them andstopped to look back over her shoulder at the passing pickup. They sawtwo more does, then a buck--and Al stepped suddenly on the gas.

  Spurting ahead, the old truck still missed by a wide margin a leancoyote that was running a scant twenty feet behind the buck. Tammie roseand bristled. Ted held him down. The collie was fast, but nothing excepta greyhound was fast enough to catch a coyote. Visible for only fleetingseconds, this one disappeared in the forest. Failing to run the coyotedown, Al stopped his truck.

  "Doggone! Of all times to be without a rifle!"

  "It looked to me as though he was chasing that buck," Ted observed.

  Al shook his head. "Just followin' it; one coyote couldn't kill a grownbuck. But he can and will do a lot of damage 'mongst the small game.I'll have to nail that critter's scalp to the wall soon's I can. Let'shave a look."

  They got out and examined the tracks in the dusty road. Al made carefulobservations of his own. He went a little ways into the forest and cameback to the truck.

  "Looks like he's been crossin' here quite a few times. I'll fetch therifle tomorrow mornin', on the chanst I'll nail him. If I don't, I'dbest string some traps. Can't have coyotes in the Mahela."

  "We sure can't."

  Without completely understanding his father's bitter lesson--seeing hisbeloved wilderness all but denuded of game by thoughtless or greedyhunters and built back through sound conversation--Ted knew only that Alhad an almost ferocious hatred for destructive elements wherever theywere found. Therefore, the coyote could not be tolerated. Ted's eyesroved up Hawkbill, and the cool wind felt good on his face. When theymounted a hill, he strove for and caught a glimpse of the burnedmountain behind Hawkbill. Al saw and interpreted his look.

  "They're there all right, and it's my bet they'll be there after deerseason ends."

  "Not both of 'em," Ted asserted. "I'm going to nail one or the other."

  "Which one you aim to get? Damon? Or Pythias?"

  "Either will satisfy. How do you tell 'em apart?"

  "I imagine there'd be some small differences if a man was close. But ona far look, I can't tell which is which. They're alike as two peas in apod. All I'm sure of is that I never saw bigger bucks."

  Ted said smugly, "Either should be as much advertising for theHarknesses as it could be for Crestwood."

  "Hadn't you ought to get it first?" Al asked wryly. "Well, here we areagain."

  To the vast delight and relief of a colony of chipmunks that were snuglyat home beneath it, the Harknesses had built their new camp on the siteof the old. However, they had done so to save hauling lumber and becausethe old foundation was so solid; any benefits accruing to the chipmunkswere merely incidental. The new camp was a one-story structure,twenty-six feet long by eighteen wide.

  The exterior, if less than magnificent, did promise comfort. The windowswere small, consisting of four panes each, and set well back in theircasings. Two tin chimneys, one for each stove, protruded well above theroof. The shingled walls and roof gave assurance that no cold windscould creep in and there was a covered porch. Probably not so much asone hunter would ever sit on it, but it did provide a place for storingwood and keeping it dry. The surrounding goldenrod had been crushed andscattered and the truck had made its own path in.

  Al drew up in front of the door and Tammie leaped out to sniff at thevarious cracks and crevices the chipmunks used in their comings andgoings. Al and Ted went inside.

  In the center of the one room, not too close to the heating stove, was along wooden table, with benches on either side. Convenient to it was abuilt-in cupboard, one end of which contained tableware and dishes.Running along the wall, the other half of the cupboard held skillets,pans and kettles. Nearby was the cooking stove, with cabinets for foodstorage and a sturdy table for the cook's use. At the other end of thebuilding, as far as possible from both stoves, were the bunks. Scatteredalong the walls were two secondhand davenports and five chairs that hadseen their best days but would still offer comfort to anyone who'd beenhiking the hills all day.

  Al surveyed the place critically. "Not much like Crestwood."

  Ted teased, "It is kind of ramshackle."

  "Ramshackle!" Al bristled. "Why you young whipper-snapper! This is asgood-built a camp as--"

  "There you are!" Ted grinned. "If you had a choice, would you stay hereor at Crestwood?"

  "Why here," Al grumbled. "I never did go for that fancy stuff."

  "And neither do a lot of other hunters. When they go out, they'd as soonbe in the woods. Besides, the prices here aren't much like Crestwood's,either. In deer season, Thornton's cheapest room is fifteen dollars aday. We could rent twenty camps like this if we had 'em."

  "And we won't even rent this'n 'thout we finish it. Now let's do somefiggerin'."

  At the kitchen end of the camp, they had built a wooden stand and in itplaced the tub from a large kitchen sink. There was an overflow pipethat led to a septic tank beneath the floor of the camp itself; thus itwouldn't freeze. Al scratched his head.

  "My figgerin's all done."

  "It is?"

  "Yup, and it figgers out the same's it always does. If we want water inhere, we'll have to work to put it in. Get your boots on."

  "Yes, boss."

  Ted donned rubber boots and they went out. Tammie, who had been havingan exciting time trying to catch a chipmunk that insisted on poking itsnose out of a crevice, wagged his tail and ran to join them. A doe thathad come to the apple trees stamped an apprehensive foot and driftedslowly into the forest. The two workers took a pick and shovel from thetruck, and Al led the way to a little knoll.

  On the very top of the knoll was a seepage of water that sent a trickletinto Tumbling Run. Green grass, rather than goldenrod, lined its lengthand at no place was the runlet more than four inches wide or two deep.Never in Al's memory had it been more or less; the spring provided aconstant flow. Even in coldest weather, the runlet never froze, and itsbanks were always free of snow. It was a favorite drinking place fordeer that found other water icebound.

  Al asked, "Can you think of any more excuses for deep thinkin'?"

  "Not even one."

  "Me neither," Al said mournfully, "so I guess we can start the workin'part. Do you want the pick or the shovel?"

  "Is there a choice?"

  "Could be, but here's the shovel and you might as well dig."

  Ted sunk his shovel point deep into the wet earth and scooped out achunk of soggy earth. Ice-cold, muddy water at once filled the hole andTed scooped again. He made a wry face.

  "This is like shoveling glue!"

  "Case you ever get a job in a glue factory, you'll know how to shovelit," Al soothed. "We got to get down anyway three feet."

  "I'll persevere, but I know now why you wanted the pick.

  "Who's the brains of this outfit?"

  "Obviously you are."

  "There ain't any real need for a pick." Al grinned. "Wet ground don'thave to be loosened. I'll go snake in some wood."

  Al left and Tammie frisked beside him. Both got into the truck, and Aldrove across the clearing into the woods. Then there came the sound ofhis ax ringing on dead wood.... An hour later he was back. The pickup'sbox was filled with wood and Al dragged a log that he had chained to thetruck. He left the wood beside the camp and, with Tammie sitting proudlyin Ted's accustomed place, drove back for another load.

  Ted continued to deepen the spring. It was cold, dirty work, but it wasa good idea and certainly it would make the camp more comfortable. Thespring must be made deep enough to form a pool. Then its presentoverflow would be plugged, diverted into some secondhand pipe they'dalready bought and led into the kitchen sink. Al thought there wassufficient fall so no pump would be necessary and the water would forceitself through the pipe. Thus the cabin would be assured of a continuousflow of fresh, pure water. In winter, when the camp would have nooccupants, it would be necessary on
ly to pull the pipe or plug it and sosend the overflow back into its original course.

  Al returned with a second load of wood, dumped it and came up to see howTed was doing. Tammie sniffed at the muddy pool, then promptly jumpedinto it. He climbed out, shook himself and sent a roily spray flying inall directions.

  Ted ducked and sputtered, "For Pete's sake, dog!"

  Al grinned. "He thinks you need a bath."

  Ted glanced down at his mud-spattered boots and clothing. "Maybe I do.Is this deep enough?"

  "Let's have the shovel."

  Ted stood aside while Al took the implement. An old hand at this sort ofthing, he probed expertly into corners that Ted had missed and liftedout shovelfuls of mud without splashing his clothes at all. Ten minuteslater he leaned on the shovel and inspected the spring, which in itspresent stage of construction was a muddy pool, four feet square by alittle more than three deep, with the overflow still going down itsnatural channel.

  "That'll do," Al decided. "Now for the plumbin'."

  He caught up a length of pipe, walked to the apple trees, inserted hispipe in a crotch and bent it into an 'L.' He bent it again, so that oneend formed a gooseneck, and carried his pipe into the cabin. Almaneuvered one end through an already drilled hole in the floor, hungthe gooseneck over the sink and used a metal clamp to fasten his pipe tothe wall.

  Ted marveled. His father had measured nothing, but the bent pipe fittedperfectly and the straight half of the 'L' lay flat on the groundbeneath the cabin.

  Ted asked,

  "What now?"

  "Let's eat."

  "Most sensible idea I've heard all day."

  They ate the sandwiches and drank the coffee they'd brought along whileTammie, sitting hopefully near, expertly caught and gobbled the cruststhey tossed him. Then the two went back to work.

  Taking a bit of soap from his pocket, Al soaped the threads on anotherlength of pipe; filling the threads, the soap would prevent leaks. Thetwo "plumbers" then fitted this section into the pipe that protrudedbeneath the cabin and continued with additional lengths until they werewithin five feet of the spring.

  Al cut that five-foot length off with a hack saw. He plugged the cut endwith a piece of wood, started at a point about a foot below the top ofthe knoll and used the flat of his ax to drive the plugged section ofpipe through so that it emerged a foot below the surface of the spring.He screwed the short length into the already laid pipe and straightened.

  "Now we're diggin' where there's taters!" he said cheerfully.

  Catching up the shovel, he closed the spring's outlet with dirt and mud.Then he rolled up his right sleeve, reached into the water and pulledthe wooden plug out. A second time he straightened, grinning. "If itdon't work, it's a sign we did it wrong. Let's go see."

  They re-entered the cabin and stood expectantly near the sink. For amoment nothing happened. Then a series of choking gurgles and a rush ofair came through the gooseneck. This was followed by a muddy tricklethat subsided to a few drops. Then there was a violent surge of waterthat leveled off to a steady flow. Al and Ted looked triumphantly ateach other.

  "It works!" Al said.

  "Running water yet!" Ted exulted, "Even if it is muddy!"

  "It'll clear itself in a few hours."

  "Don't you think we should have a faucet on this gooseneck?"

  Al shook his head. "Not in cold weather. It don't freeze 'cause it runsfast. Come spring, we may tie a faucet onto it."

  "What do we do now?"

  "Go home. It's quittin' time."

  Ted was surprised to find that long evening shadows were slanting acrossthe valleys. They had worked hard, and perhaps that had made the dayseem so short. Only when they climbed back into the pickup for the ridehome did he realize that he was very tired. He tickled Tammie's silkenears.

  "Tomorrow's another day," he murmured.

  "Yep," Al agreed somberly, "and another day brings more work. ReckonI'll take after that coyote. He's got to be caught. You want to sawwood?"

  "Sure thing."

  * * * * *

  Early the next morning, Al let Ted and Tammie off at the camp and turnedback, with traps and rifle, to get on the trail of the marauding coyote.While the collie renewed his acquaintance with the chipmunks, Ted laid achunk of wood in the sawbuck and sawed off a twelve-inch length. Hesawed another ... and worked until noon. After lunch, he startedsplitting the wood he had sawed. It was the right way to do things. Ifhunters cut their own wood, they might injure valuable trees.

  Evening shadows were long again when Al came to pick him up. "Get yourcoyote?" Ted greeted his father.

  "No, but I will. I found where he's runnin' and I put traps in the rightplaces. See you got a sizable pile of wood."

  "I haven't been loafing."

  "Not much anyhow."

  Ted said tiredly, "What a refreshing sense of humor my old pappy's got."

  They turned into the driveway of their own house, to see Loring Blade'spickup truck already there and the game warden waiting. With him wasJack Callahan, Sheriff of Mahela County.

  Al's voice was weighted with surprise as he welcomed them. "Hi, Lorin'.'Lo, Jack. Been waitin' long?"

  "Not very long," Loring Blade said. "We figured you'd be in about now.We have to ask you some questions, Al."

  "Well, come in and ask."

  They entered the house and Ted snapped on the lights in the living room.He started into the kitchen to prepare supper. Al swung to face theirguests.

  "Ask away," he invited them.

  "We came to find out," said Jack Callahan, "what you can tell us aboutthe shooting of Smoky Delbert."