Boy Scouts on a Long Hike | Page 4

on the ground, he kept on
scrambling, hands and legs shooting out every-which-way; and to the
astonishment and dismay of his comrades, Noodles vanished over the
edge of the little precipice, close to which the scouts had made their
temporary halt while on the way home!
CHAPTER II
HELPING NOODLES
"Oh! he fell over!" shouted Eben, appalled by what had happened.
"Poor old Noodles! What if he's gone and broke his neck?" gasped
Jotham, turning a reproachful look upon Fritz.
"I didn't mean to go as far as that, fellows, give you my word for it!"
Fritz in turn was muttering, for he had been dreadfully alarmed when
he saw poor Noodles vanish from view in such a hasty fashion.
"Listen!" cried Andy.
"Hellup!" came a faint voice just then.
"It's Noodles!" exclaimed Fritz, scrambling over in the direction of the
spot where they had seen the last of their unfortunate chum.
"Oh! perhaps he's gone and fractured his leg, and our family doctor,
meaning Paul, ain't along!" groaned Eben.
All of them hastened to follow after the eager Fritz, and on hands and
knees made for the edge of the shelf of rock, from which in times past
they had sent many a flag signal to some scout mounted on the roof of
his house in town.
Fritz had more of an interest in discovering what had happened to the
vanished scout than any of his comrades. Possibly his uneasy

conscience reproached him for having thrust out his foot in the way he
did, and sending poor Noodles headlong to his fate.
At any rate he reached the brink of the descent before any of the rest.
They unconsciously kept their eyes on Fritz. He would serve as a
barometer, and from his actions they could tell pretty well the
conditions existing down below. If Fritz exhibited any symptoms of
horror, then it would afford them a chance to steel their nerves against
the sight, before they reached his side.
Fritz was observed to crane his neck, and peer over the edge of the
shelf. Further he leaned, as though hardly able to believe his eyes. Then,
when some of the rest were holding their breath in expectation of
seeing him turn a white face toward them, Fritz gave vent to a hoarse
laugh. It was as though the relief he felt just had to find a vent
somehow.
Astounded by this unexpected outcome of the near-tragedy the others
hastened to crawl forward still further, until they too were able to thrust
out their heads, and see for themselves what it was Fritz seemed to be
amused at.
Then they, too, chuckled and shook with amusement; nor could they be
blamed for giving way to this feeling, since the spectacle that met their
gaze was comical enough to excite laughter on the part of any one.
Noodles was there all right; indeed, he was pretty much in evidence, as
they could all see.
In falling it happened that he had become caught by the seat of his stout
khaki trousers; a friendly stump of a broken branch connected with a
stunted tree that grew out of the face of the little precipice had taken a
firm grip upon the loose cloth; and since the boy in struggling had
turned around several times, there was no such thing as his becoming
detached, unless the branch broke.
"Hellup! why don't you gif me a handt?" he was shouting as he clawed
at the unyielding face of the rock, while vainly endeavoring to keep his

head higher than his flying heels.
While it was very funny to the boys who peered over the edge of the
shelf, as Noodles would have an ugly tumble should things give way,
Andy and Seth quickly realized that they had better get busy without
any more delay, and do the gallant rescue act.
Had Paul been there he would have gone about it in a business-like way,
for he was quick to grapple with a problem, and solve it in short order.
As it was a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth, one boy
suggested a certain plan, only to have a second advanced as a better
method of getting Noodles out of his unpleasant predicament.
Meantime the poor fellow was kicking, and turning, and pleading with
them not to go back on an old chum, and leave him to such a terrible
fate.
"Der rope--get quick der rope, undt pull me oop!" he wailed.
"That's so, boys, Noodles has struck the right nail on the head!" cried
Seth. "Here, who's carrying that rope right now?"
"Noodles has got it himself, that's what!" exclaimed Eben.
"Did you ever hear of such rotten luck, now?" demanded Seth.
"Hold on!" interrupted Andy, "seems to me I remember seeing