"Great Caesar! More smoke!" groaned the Ranger. "If that's another fire started--!"

His words made us jump and gaze about. Yes, there was smoke, plenty of it, over where the forest fire we had fought was still alive. But he was looking in another direction, down along the top of the plateau.

"See it?" he asked.

Yes, we saw it. But--! And then our hearts gave a great leap.

"That's not a forest fire!" we cried. "That's a smoke signal!"

"A what?"

"A smoke signal! And--"

"Wait a second. We'll read it, if we can. Scouts must be over there," I exclaimed.

"More Scouts!" grunted the beaver man. "These here hills are plumb full of 'em."

The air was quiet, and the smoke rose straight up, with the sun tinting the top. It was a pretty sight, to us. Then we saw two puffs and a pause, and two puffs and a pause, and two puffs and a pause. It was our private Elk Patrol code, and it was beautiful. We cheered.

"It's from our partners, and it says 'Come to council,'" I reported.

"They're hunting for us. We'll have to go over there."

"Think they're in trouble?"

"They don't say so, but we ought to signal back and go right over."

"I'll go, too, for luck, and see you through, then," said the Ranger.

"Do I have to make that extra ride?" complained the beaver man, angry again.

"Sure," answered the Ranger. "That's only a mile or so and then it's only a few more miles to the cabin, and we aren't afraid of the dark."

They watched us curiously while we hustled and sc.r.a.ped a pile of dead sage and gra.s.s and rubbish, and set it to smoking and made the Elks' "O.

K." signal. The other Scouts must have been sweeping the horizon and hoping, for back came the "O. K." signal from them.

And traveling our fastest, with the beaver man grumbling, we all headed across the plateau for the place of the smoke. Sunday was turning out good, after all.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "IT WAS OUR PRIVATE ELK PATROL CODE."]

CHAPTER XV

GENERAL ASHLEY DROPS OUT

(JIM BRIDGER RESUMES THE TALE)

I tell you, we were glad to have that smoke of ours answered, and to see Major Henry and Kit Carson and Jed Smith coming, in the twilight, with the Ranger and the beaver man. We guessed that the three boys must be our three partners--and when they waved with the Elk Patrol sign we knew; but of course we didn't know who the two strangers were.

While they were approaching, Major Henry wigwagged: "All there?" with his cap; and Fitzpatrick wigwagged back: "Sure!" They arrived opposite us, and then headed by the man with the rifle, who was leading the horse, they obliqued up along the gulch as if they knew of a crossing; so we decided that one of the strangers must be acquainted with the country. They made a fine sight, against the horizon.

Pretty soon into the gulch they plunged, and after a few minutes out they scrambled, man and horse first, on our side, and came back toward us. And in a minute more we Elk Scouts were dancing and hugging each other, and calling each other by our regular ordinary names, "Fat" and "Sliver" and "Red" and all, and discipline didn't cut much figure. That was a joyful reunion. The Ranger and his prisoner, the beaver man, looked on.

Then when Major Henry hauled out the message packet, and saluting and grinning pa.s.sed it to the general, our cup was full. I was as glad as if I had pa.s.sed it, myself. "One for all, and all for one," is the way we Scouts work.

"If you hadn't trailed him (the beaver man) and headed him and fixed him so he couldn't travel fast, he'd have got away from the fire and wouldn't have run into _us_," claimed Major Henry.

"And if you fellows hadn't held that fire line you wouldn't have seen him and we might have been burnt or suffocated in the willows," I claimed back.

So what seems a failure or a bother, when you're trying your best, often is the most important thing of all, or helps make the chain complete.

But now we didn't take much time to explain to each other or to swap yarns; for the twilight was gone and the dark was closing in, and we weren't in the best of shape. The burro Apache was packed with bedding, mostly, which was a good thing, of course; the Red Fox Scouts had their outfit; but we Elks were short on grub. That piece of bacon and just the little other stuff carried by the Major Henry party were our provisions. Fitz and the poor general were making a hungry camp, when we had discovered them. And then there was the general, laid up.

"What's the matter with you, kid?" queried the Ranger.

"Sprained ankle, I think."

"That's sure bad," sympathized the Ranger.

And it sure was.

"Boys, I'll have to be traveling for that cabin of mine, to report about the fire and this man," said the Ranger, after listening to our talk for a minute. "If you're grub-shy, some of you had better come along and I'll send back enough to help you out."

That was mighty nice of him. And the general spoke up, weakly. "How far is the cabin, please?"

"About three miles, straight across."

"If I could make it, could I stay there a little while?"

"Stay a year, if you want to. We'll pack you over, if you'll go. Can you ride?"

"All right," said the general. "I'll do it. Now, you fellows, listen.

Major Henry, I turn the command and the message over to you. I'm no good; I can't travel and we've spent a lot of time already, and I'd be only a drag. So I'll drop out and go over to that cabin, and you other Scouts take the message."

Oh, we didn't want to do that! Leave the general? Never!

"No, sir, we'll take you along if we have to carry you on our backs," we said; and we started in, all to talk at once. But he made us quit.

"Say, do I have to sit here all night while you chew the rag?" grumbled the beaver man. But we didn't pay attention to _him_.

"It doesn't matter about me, whether I go or not, as long as we get that message through," answered the general, to us. "I can't travel, and I'd only hold you back and delay things. I'll quit, and the rest of you hustle and make up for lost time."

"I'll stay with you. This is Scout custom: two by two," spoke up little Jed Smith. He was the general's mate.

"n.o.body stays with me. You all go right on under Corporal Henry."