Boy Scouts in the White Mountains: The Story of a Long HikeEaton, Walter Prichard
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Boy Scouts in the White Mountains: The Story of a Long Hike
Eaton, Walter Prichard
Boy Scouts -- Juvenile fiction; Hiking -- Juvenile fiction; White Mountains (N.H. and Me.) -- Juvenile fiction
“Jobildunk,” the man answered. “It is a big ravine discovered by
three men, named Joe, Bill and Duncan. So they made a portmanteau
word, and named it Jo-bil-dunc after all three. The ‘k’ got put on
later, I suppose. Come on out of this hot room, you chaps, and see my
playground.”
“I like him,” whispered Rob as they followed him through the door.
He was a small man, but they soon found he was tremendously active. In
front of the hotel was a road. The summit of Moosilauke is about a mile
long, nearly level, but highest on the north end, where the hotel is.
This road ran all the way along the summit, to the southern end, where
it vanished around the little south peak. It was a crushed stone road,
all right, for there was nothing but stones to make it of. It was just
a white ribbon, winding amid the gray boulders and mountain cranberry
plants. The man led the way rapidly down it, and the tired boys had
all they could do to keep up. Half a mile from the Summit House he
stopped, leaped on a boulder beside the road, and pointed back.
“Here’s my favorite view,” he said. “The little gray Summit House away
up there at the end of the white road, against the sky, the white road
running the other way down toward the valley world, and all off there
to the west, just space and sunset!”
It was pretty fine. The sun was now descending into the western cloud
bank, and turning the clouds to rose and gold. It looked hundreds of
miles away.
“Do those clouds mean rain?” asked Art.
“Nary a drop,” said the man. “Hello!--here’s an _Argynnis atlantis_!”
He made a mad dive with his hat, put it quickly over a low plant, and
drew from under a beautiful butterfly, all gold and silver, with a
black border around the wings.
“The small mountain fritillary,” he said. “Often comes up here, but
shouldn’t be here with the wind so strong. What I’m looking for really
is an _Oeneis semidea_, an arctic butterfly which they say is found
only on Mount Washington. He’s gray, like the rocks. Looks like a two
inch piece of lichen. Haven’t found one yet, though. You watch this
fritillary follow the road down the mountain, now.”
He let the butterfly go, and sure enough, it started down the road,
flying not more than three feet above the ground, and as long as the
boys could watch it, it was keeping to every turn and twist.
“He knows the way down!” laughed the man. “And he knows he has no
business up here when it’s so cold, with night coming on. He’ll get
down, though, at that rate.
“And now, boys,” continued this odd man, “you be as wise as the
butterfly! Back to the hotel, shoulder packs, and to your camp!”
He led the way again up the road. He walked so fast that the five boys
and Mr. Rogers were all panting. But he himself was not out of breath
in the least. He laughed at Peanut.
“Anyhow, I get my wind good in a month up here,” he said, “even if it
is ‘slow’ and I’m old enough to be your grandfather!”
“You’ve not walked nineteen miles to-day,” said Peanut.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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