(eBook PDF) Earth System History

Third Edition
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebooksecure.com/download/ebook-pdf-earth-system-history-third-edition/
This page intentionally left blank
 CONTENTS

PREFACE xvi Plate tectonics plays a role in the rock cycle 17

PART I MATERIALS, PROCESSES,
AND PRINCIPLES
CHAPTER 1 EA RTH AS A SYSTEM 1 Evolution reshapes life drastically and
Exploring the Earth System 2
Earth is special 2
The components of the system are
interrelated 2
The system is fragile 3
The Principle of Actualism 3
Catastrophism versus actualism in the
nineteenth century 4
The Nature and Origin of Rocks 5
Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks
can form from one another 5
Bodies of rock are classified into formal
units 8
Steno’s three principles concern sedimentary
rocks 8
The rock cycle relates all kinds of rocks to one
another 9
Global Dating of the Rock Record 10
Fossils and physical markers indicate relative
ages of rocks 10
Radioactive decay provides actual ages of
rocks 10
The geologic time scale divides Earth’s history
into formal units 11
Intervals of the geologic time scale are
distinctive 12
Imaging Earth Below 12
Earth’s density increases with depth 13
Solid plates of lithosphere move over the
slushlike asthenosphere 14
Plate Tectonics 14
Plates spread apart where they form, slide past
one another, and eventually sink 14
Heat from radioactive decay fires the engine of
plate tectonics 16
Plumes of magma rise into the crust from deep
within the mantle 17
The Water Cycle 18
Water moves between reservoirs 18
The water cycle and the rock cycle are
inseparable 19
Directional Change in Earth’s History 19
irreversibly 19
Physical and chemical features of Earth have
also changed 20
Life and environments have changed in
concert 20
Episodic Change in Earth’s History 20
Sedimentation occurs in pulses 21
Deposition can be catastrophic 21
Unconformities represent large breaks in the
rock record 22
Life on Earth has experienced pulses of
change 22
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 22
CHAPTER 2 R OCK-FOR MI NG
MI NER AL S AND R OCKS 25
Visual Overview Rocks and Their Origins 26
The Structure of Minerals 28
An element consists of a unique kind of
atom 28
Isotopes of an element have distinctive atomic
weights 28
Chemical reactions produce minerals 29
Chemical reactions create chemical bonds 29
Crystals have three-dimensional molecular
structures 31
Ions of an element can substitute for ions of
another element 31
The Properties of Minerals 32
Chemical bonds determine hardness 32
The weight and packing of atoms determine
density 33
Fracture patterns reflect crystal structure 33
Minerals and rocks form under particular
physicochemical conditions 33
A few families of minerals form most rocks 33
viii Contents
Types of Rocks 35
Igneous rocks form when molten rock cools 35
Sedimentary rocks form from particles that
settle through water or air 37
Metamorphic rocks form from other rocks at
high temperatures and pressures 44
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 46
CHAPTER 3 THE DIVERSITY
O F LI F E 47
Visual Overview The Six Kingdoms 48
Fossils and Chemical Remains of Ancient Life 50
Hard parts are the most commonly preserved
features of animals 50
Soft parts of animals are rarely preserved 50
Permineralization produces petrified wood 51
Molds and impressions are imprints 51
Trace fossils are records of movement 52
The quality of the fossil record is highly
variable 52
Biomarkers are useful indicators of life 53
Dead organisms decay to form fossil fuels 53
Taxonomic Groups 53
Identifying Clades and Their Relationships 55
Archaea and Bacteria: The Two Domains of
Prokaryotes 59
Archaea tolerate hostile environments 59
Bacteria include decomposers, causes of disease,
and polluters 59
The Protists: A Kingdom Consisting Mainly
of Single-Celled Organisms 60
The Fungi: A Kingdom of Decomposers 62
Plants: Multicellular Photosynthesizers
with Tissues 62
Seedless vascular plants came first 63
Seed plants invaded dry land 64
Animals 65
Sponges: a phylum of simple invertebrates 65
Cnidarians: a phylum that includes the
corals 65
Lophotrochozoans include most kinds of animals
that lack skeletons 66
Ecdysozoans 68
Deuterostomes include starfishes and their
relatives as well as vertebrates 68
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 73
CHAPTER 4 ENV I R ONMENTS
AND L I FE 7 5
Visual Overview The Distribution of Environments
and Life on Earth 76
Principles of Ecology 78
A species’ niche is its position in the
environment 78
A community of organisms and its environment
form an ecosystem 79
Biogeography concerns broad patterns of
occurrence 80
The Atmosphere 81
Nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide constitute
most of the atmosphere 81
Temperature variations and Earth’s rotation
govern circulation in the atmosphere 82
The Terrestrial Realm 84
Vegetation patterns parallel climatic zones 84
Climates change with elevation 87
Land and water influence seasonal temperature
change 88
Fossil plants reflect ancient climatic
conditions 89
The Marine Realm 90
Winds drive ocean currents 91
Marine life varies with water depth 92
Marine life floats, swims, or occupies the
seafloor 93
Water temperature influences biogeographic
patterns 95
Salinity is an important limiting factor near
shore 96
Freshwater Environments 97
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 97
CHAPTER 5 SEDI MENTARY
ENV I R ONMENTS 99
Visual Overview Depositional Environments
and Accumulation of Sediments 100
Nonmarine Environments 102
Ancient soils can point to past climatic
conditions 102
Freshwater lakes and glaciers leave clues to
ancient climates 103
Deserts and arid basins accumulate salt and
sand 106

Braided and meandering rivers deposit
sediment in moist regions 108
Marginal Marine and Open-Shelf
Environments 111
A delta forms where a river meets the sea 111
Lagoons lie behind barrier islands of sand 113
Open-shelf deposits include tempestites 114
Fossils serve as indicators of marine
environments 114
Organic reefs are bodies of carbonate rock 116
Carbonate platforms form in warm seas 118
Deep-Sea Environments 120
Turbidites flow down submarine slopes 120
Pelagic sediments are fine-grained and
accumulate slowly 122
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 123
CHAPTER 6 C O RRELATIO N A N D
DAT I NG OF THE RO C K
R E C OR D 125
Visual Overview Methods of Stratigraphic
Correlation 126
The Geologic Time Scale 128
Fossil succession reveals the relative ages of
rocks 128
Geologic systems were founded in the
nineteenth century 128
Stratigraphic Units 130
The rock record is divided into time-rock units
and geologic time into time units 130
Biostratigraphic units are based on fossil
occurrences 130
Magnetic stratigraphy identifies polarity time-
rock units 132
Rock units are defined by lithology, not age 132
Earth’s Absolute Age 136
Early geologists underestimated Earth’s
antiquity 136
Radioactive decay provides absolute ages of
rocks 137
Fossils often provide more accurate correlation
than isotopic dating 140
Changes in stable isotopes permit global
correlation 141
Event Stratigraphy 142
Marker beds allow correlation over wide
areas 143
Contents ix
Back-and-forth shifting of facies boundaries
creates marker beds 144
Unconformities can be detected by seismic
stratigraphy 145
Sequences record changes in sea level 146
Changes in Earth’s rotation create geologic
clocks 147
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 149
CHAPTER 7 EVOL UTI ON AND THE
FOSSI L R ECOR D 1 5 1
Visual Overview The Evolution of Life 152
Adaptations 154
Charles Darwin’s Contribution 155
The voyage of the Beagle provided geographic
evidence 155
Darwin’s anatomical evidence was broadly
based 157
Natural selection is the mechanism of
evolution 157
Genes, DNA, and Chromosomes 158
Regulatory Genes and Patterns of
Development 159
Populations, Species, and Speciation 159
Horizontal Gene Transfer 160
Rates of Origination 161
The Molecular Clock and Times of Origination 163
Evolutionary Convergence 164
Extinction 164
Rates of extinction vary greatly 165
A mass extinction is occurring today 166
Evolutionary Trends 167
Animals tend to evolve toward larger body
size 167
Evolutionary trends can be simple or
complex 169
Evolution is irreversible 172
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 173
CHAPTER 8 THE THEORY OF
P L ATE TECTONI CS 1 7 5
Visual Overview Elements of Plate
Tectonics 176
The History of Continental Drift Theory 178
x Contents
Some early observations were
misinterpreted 178
Alfred Wegener was a twentieth-century
pioneer 180
Alexander Du Toit focused on the Gondwana
sequence 180
Continental drift was widely rejected 182
Paleomagnetism showed puzzling patterns 183
The Rise of Plate Tectonics 184
Seafloor spreading explained many
phenomena 184
Paleomagnetism provided a definitive test 187
Faulting and Volcanism along Plate
Boundaries 187
Oceanic crust forms along mid-ocean
ridges 188
Transform faults offset mid-ocean ridges 189
Lithosphere is subducted along deep-sea
trenches 189
Plate Movements 190
Plates move for four reasons 190
Free slabs sink deep into the mantle 191
Plate movements are measurable 191
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 193
CHAPTER 9 C O N TIN EN TA L
T E C T ON I CS A N D M O UN TA IN
C H AI NS 19 5
Visual Overview Formation and Deformation
of Continental Margins 196
The Rifting of Continents 198
Hot spots give rise to three-armed rifts 198
Rift valleys form when continental breakup
begins 200
Rifting creates passive margins 200
Bending and Flowing of Rocks 202
Mountain Building 204
Continental collision produces orogenies 204
Orogenies can occur without continental
collision 205
Mountain belts have a characteristic
structure 205
Compressive forces cause deformation 206
The weight of a mountain belt creates a foreland
basin 206
The Andes exemplify mountain building without
continental collision 208
The Pyrenees exemplify mountain building by
continental collision 209
Suturing of Small Landmasses to Continents 211
Tectonics of Continental Interiors 211
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 213
CHAPTER 1 0 MAJOR CHEMI CAL
CYCL ES 21 5
Visual Overview Key Chemical Cycles
in Earth System History 216
Chemical Reservoirs 218
Fluxes are rates of movement between
reservoirs 218
Feedbacks affect fluxes 218
Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen, and Biological
Processes 219
Plants employ a photosynthesis-respiration
cycle 219
Photosynthesis produces tissue growth 220
Respiration releases energy 220
Decomposers employ respiration 220
Burial of plant debris alters atmospheric
chemistry 221
Marine cycles resemble terrestrial cycles 223
Use of Carbon Isotopes to Study Global Chemical
Cycles 223
Carbon isotopes record the cycling of organic
carbon 224
Isotope ratios in limestones and deep-sea
sediments record changes in rates of carbon
burial 224
Carbon and sulfur burial enlarges the
atmosphere’s oxygen reservoir 226
Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere
by weathering and ends up in limestone 226
Changes in rates of weathering affect the
atmospheric carbon reservoir 226
Phanerozoic Trends in Atmospheric CO2 228
Feedbacks in the Carbon Cycle 229
Release of frozen methane provides positive
feedback 230
Negative feedbacks hold CO2 levels in
check 230
Oxygen Isotopes, Climate, and the Water
Cycle 232
Oxygen isotope ratios in skeletons reflect
temperatures 232

Oxygen isotope ratios vary with salinity 232
Glaciers lock up oxygen 16 233
Water vapor as a greenhouse gas 234
Ocean Chemistry and Skeletal Mineralogy 235
Magnesium and calcium vary over time 235
Organisms remove silica from the ocean 237
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 237
PART II THE STORY OF EARTH
CHAPTER 1 1 THE HA DEA N A N D
AR C H E AN EO N S O F PREC A M B R I AN
T I ME 2 3 9
Visual Overview Major Events of the Hadean
and Archean Eons 242
The Ages of the Planets and the Universe 244
The Origin of the Solar System 245
The sun formed from a nebula 246
The planets formed from a rotating dust
cloud 246
The Hadean Eon 247
Early melting produced a layered Earth 248
The moon formed from a collision 248
The ocean’s water came from volcanoes and
comets, and its salts came from rocks 249
Earth’s early atmosphere mostly came from
within 249
Early Earth experienced many meteorite
impacts 249
Early Earth was hot, and its plates were
small 250
The Origin of Continental Crust 250
Felsic crust formed by melting of oceanic
lithosphere 250
Continental crust appeared early in Earth’s
history 251
The Archean Eon 251
Archean continents remained small because of
Earth’s hot interior 251
The total amount of continental crust increased
rapidly 252
Greenstone Belts 252
Earth System Shift 11-1 Large Cratons Appear
Near the End of Archean Time 254
Evidence of Archean Life 256
Contents xi
Life appeared on Earth after 4.5 billion years
ago 256
Chemical Evidence Bearing on the Origin of
Life 258
Amino acids formed easily 258
Perhaps there was an RNA world 258
Life may have originated along mid-ocean
ridges 259
Atmospheric Oxygen 261
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 261
CHAPTER 1 2 THE P R OTER OZOI C
EON OF P R ECAMBR I AN
TI ME 263
Visual Overview Major Events of the
Proterozoic and Mesoproterozoic 264
A Modern Style of Orogeny 266
Global Events of the Paleoproterozoic and
Mesoproterozoic 268
Glaciation was widespread early in Proterozoic
time 269
Cyanobacteria flourished in the oceans, and
eukaryotes joined them 269
The Beginnings of Animal Life 271
Animals burst on the scene 271
Worldwide glaciation during Proterozoic
time 275
A buildup of atmospheric oxygen favored
eukaryotes 275
Earth System Shift 12-1 Was There a Snowball
Earth? 276
Earth System Shift 12-2 Buildup of
Atmospheric Oxygen 278
Perhaps the diversification of animals
caused a major change in the evolution of
phytoplankton 280
The Expansion and Contraction of
Continents 280
The Assembly of North America 281
Continental accretion expanded Laurentia
during Proterozoic time 281
A rift formed in central and eastern North
America 282
The Grenville Orogeny built mountains in
eastern North America 284
xii Contents
The Assembly and Breakup of Neoproterozoic
Supercontinents 284
The supercontinent Rodinia was
assembled 284
Rodinia split apart to form the Pacific
Ocean 285
Did another Neoproterozoic supercontinent
form near the end of the Proterozoic? 285
The Paleozoic continents were born 285
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 286
CHAPTER 1 3 THE EA RLY PA LEO ZOI C
WOR LD 287
Visual Overview Major Events of the Early
Paleozoic 288
The Cambrian Explosion of Life 290
The base of the Cambrian is defined by burrows
of complex form 290
Many Early Cambrian groups evolved
skeletons 290
Earth System Shift 13-1 Skeletons Evolve in
Many Animal Groups 292
Early Cambrian animals had few modes of
life 294
Later Cambrian diversification produced
vertebrate animals 296
Ordovician Life 298
Among Early Ordovician animals were floaters
and swimmers 298
A great radiation of life occurred later in the
Ordovician 299
Animals caused stromatolites to decline 300
Extinction set back marine diversification 300
Did plants invade the land? 301
Paleogeography of the Cambrian World 301
Episodic Mass Extinctions of Trilobites 303
Ordovician Paleogeography 304
Glaciation and sea-level lowering occurred at the
end of the Ordovician 304
Late Ordovician climatic change caused a two-
step mass extinction 304
Regional Events of Early Paleozoic Time 305
The Taconic orogeny raised mountains in eastern
Laurentia 305
Earth System Shift 13-2 Glaciation Results
in Mass Extinction 308
A passive margin persisted in western
Laurentia 312
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 312
CHAPTER 1 4 THE MI DDL E PAL EOZO IC
WOR L D 3 1 5
Visual Overview Major Events of the Middle
Paleozoic 316
Renewed Diversification of Life 318
Life recovered and expanded in aquatic
habitats 318
Plants invaded the land 325
Animals moved ashore 327
Earth System Shift 14-1 Plants Alter
Landscapes and Open the Way for
Vertebrates to Conquer the Land 328
The Paleogeography of the Middle Paleozoic
World 331
Glaciation and a Great Mass Extinction 332
Regional Events of Middle Paleozoic Time 332
Eastern North America again became a passive
margin 332
Euramerica formed during the second
Appalachian orogeny 333
Earth System Shift 14-2 The Expansion of
Plants over the Land Causes Global Climatic
Change, Glaciation, and Mass Extinction 334
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 339
CHAPTER 1 5 THE L ATE PAL EOZOI C
WOR L D 3 41
Visual Overview Major Events of the Late
Paleozoic 342
Late Paleozoic Life 344
New forms of life emerged in Paleozoic seas 345
Aragonitic reef builders flourished in aragonite
seas 346
Trees grew in swamps 346
Upland floras expanded 348
Animals diversified on land and invaded
freshwater habitats 351
Earth System Shift 15-1 Weakened Greenhouse
Warming Results in a Great Ice Age 352
Paleogeography of the Late Paleozoic World 356

Warm, moist conditions were widespread in
Early Carboniferous time 356
In mid-Carboniferous time, continents collided
and a great ice age began 356
Dry habitats expanded in Permian time 356
Mass extinctions ended the Paleozoic Era 358
Earth System Shift 15-2 The Most Destructive
of All Mass Extinctions Ends the Paleozoic Era 359
Regional Events of Late Paleozoic Time 362
The Alleghenian orogeny formed the
Appalachian Mountains 362
Orogenies also occurred in the southwestern
United States 364
Coal deposits formed within cyclothems 365
Reefs formed in the Delaware Basin of western
Texas 367
The Sonoma orogeny expanded the North
American continent 370
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 371
CHAPTER 1 6 THE EA RLY M ESO ZOI C
ERA 373
Visual Overview Major Events of the Early
Mesozoic 374
Life in the Oceans: A New Biota 376
Benthic life recovered after the Permian
crisis 377
Pelagic life included new groups of
phytoplankton and numerous swimming
predators 378
Life on Land 380
Gymnosperms dominated the Mesozoic
flora 380
The Age of Dinosaurs began 382
Earth System Shift 16-1 The Rise of the
Dinosaurs: Why Were They So Successful? 386
The Paleogeography of the Early Mesozoic
Era 390
The size of Pangaea affected climates and
distributions of organisms 391
Pangaea began to fragment 392
Tropical and nontropical zones were evident,
even in Europe 393
Mass Extinctions 393
Earth System Shift 16-2 Volcanism and Mass
Extinction 394
Contents xiii
Tectonic Events in North America 394
Fault block basins formed in the east 395
North America grew westward 397
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 401
CHAPTER 1 7 THE CR ETACEOUS
WOR L D 403
Visual Overview Major Events of the
Cretaceous 404
Cretaceous Life 406
Pelagic life was modernized 406
Benthic life was also modernized 408
Modern marine predators proliferated 409
Flowering plants expanded on land 410
Dinosaurs dwarfed early mammals 411
Paleogeography of the Cretaceous World 414
Continents fragmented and narrow oceans
expanded 414
Sea level rose, the deep ocean stagnated, and
climates warmed 416
The Terminal Cretaceous Extinction 418
The terminal Cretaceous impact issued a
warning 419
Fossils disguised the timing of the
extinction 419
Opportunistic species flourished in the aftermath
of the extinction 419
Earth System Shift 17-1 Death from Outer
Space 420
North America in the Cretaceous World 423
Cordilleran mountain building continued 423
A seaway connected the Gulf of Mexico and
Arctic Ocean 424
The modern continental shelf formed in eastern
North America 425
The Chalk Seas of Europe 427
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 427
CHAPTER 1 8 THE PAL EOGENE
WOR L D 429
Visual Overview Major Events of the
Paleogene 430
Life of the Paleogene 432
Marine life recovered 432
Flowering plants rose to dominance 434
xiv Contents
Mammals radiated dramatically in the Paleocene
and Eocene 434
Early Paleogene birds were large 437
Modern groups of hoofed animals, carnivores,
and primates expanded in the Oligocene 438
Frogs and insects were modernized in Paleogene
time 439
Paleogene Climates 440
The Eocene began with a pulse of
warming 440
Warmth extended to high latitudes 441
Climatic change, glaciation, and a mass
extinction marked the Eocene-Oligocene
transition 443
Regional Events of Paleogene Time 443
Positions of land and sea changed near the
poles 443
Mountain building continued in western North
America 443
Earth System Shift 18-1 Global Cooling and
Drying Begins 444
A rift developed in the American
Southwest 448
Shallow subduction produced volcanism in the
Yellowstone region 448
Deposition continued along the Gulf
Coast 449
A meteorite created the site of the Chesapeake
Bay 450
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 452
CHAPTER 1 9 THE N EO G EN E
WOR LD 453
Visual Overview Major Events of the
Neogene 454
Worldwide Events of the Neogene Period 456
In the ocean, whales radiated and foraminifera
recovered 456
On land, species adapted to seasonally dry
habitats flourished 457
The Modern Ice Age of the Northern
Hemisphere 461
Early Pliocene climates were relatively
warm 461
Continental glaciers formed in the Northern
Hemisphere 461
The chronology of glaciation can be read in
isotope ratios 463
Climatic changes altered floras 465
Glaciers expanded and contracted many
times 465
Vegetation patterns changed during glacial
maxima 466
Changes in oceanic circulation may have
triggered the Ice Age 467
Earth System Shift 19-1 Shockingly Rapid
Climatic Shifts Occur during the Ice Age 468
Changes in Earth’s rotational movement may
have affected glacial cycles 470
Regional Events of Neogene Time 470
Mountains rose up throughout the American
West 471
The Appalachians bobbed up and shed sediment
eastward 478
The Caribbean Sea was born 479
North and South America exchanged
mammals 480
The Himalaya rose to become Earth’s highest
mountain range 480
The Tethys Seaway came to an end 482
Human Evolution 484
Early apes radiated in Africa and Asia 484
The earliest hominid lived about 6 million years
ago 484
The australopithecines resembled both apes and
humans 485
The human genus made a sudden
appearance 486
Homo erectus resembled us 488
Homo heidelbergensis resembled us even
more 489
The Neanderthals emerged in Eurasia 489
Earth System Shift 19-2 The Human
Genus Arises at a Time of Sudden Climatic
Change 490
Homo sapiens evolved in Africa and spread
north 492
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 493
CHAPTER 20 THE HOL OCENE 49 5
Visual Overview Major Events of the
Holocene 496
The Retreat of Glaciers 499
Abrupt Global Events of the Early Holocene 500
The Younger Dryas 501
The First Americans 502
 Contents xv

A Sudden Extinction of Large Mammals 503 Coastlines have shifted during the past
Earth System Shift 20-1 Evidence That a 7000 years 513
Comet Struck Earth, Causing the Younger Dryas The Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries:
Event, the Extinction of Large Mammals, and the The Impact of Humans 514
Disappearance of the Clovis Culture 504 Human activities cause greenhouse
warming 514
Climatic Fluctuations of the Last 10,000 Tundra can release methane, a powerful
Years 507 greenhouse gas 515
The hypsithermal interval was a brief period of Future climatic change will have serious
global warmth 508 consequences 515
Humans invented agriculture 508 Increased CO2 will affect plants 517
Glaciers, tree lines, and tree rings record Sea level will rise 517
climatic change 509 The power of positive feedbacks 518
Temperatures have fluctuated since the
Chapter Summary/Review Questions 519
hypsithermal interval 509
Severe droughts have occurred during Holocene
APPENDIX: STRATIGRAPHIC STAGES 521
time 511
Sea Level 512 GLOSSARY 525
Sea level rose rapidly in the early Holocene 512 INDEX 535
 PREFACE

T his edition, like those that preceded it, is founded on the basic principle that the
physical and biological history of Earth are so thoroughly intertwined that they must
be treated in an integrated fashion. Once again, Chapters 1–10 introduce the facts, pro-
cesses, and concepts that are required for comprehension of Chapters 11–20, which
present the narrative of changes in the Earth system since its inception.

New Science
Many exciting discoveries and fresh interpretations of events in our planet’s history have
emerged since the second edition of Earth System History went to press. It has been
uplifting to witness these new developments, and wherever appropriate, I have incorpo-
rated them into the third edition. Beginning with the Holocene and moving backward in
time, here are some of these important new topics:

• Evidence that the extinction of many large North American mammals 12,900 years
ago, as well as the simultaneous Younger Dryas climatic reversal, resulted from the
impact of a comet—and evidence that the Clovis culture, rather than being responsible
for the mammalian extinctions, actually died out with the large mammals (Earth
System Shift 20-1, pages 504–506)

Idaho
e
lat llio
n ye
ars
) Montana • Documentation of a trail of explosive volcanism
of n P mi

Oregon
nt ica er
me er s p
ve Am ter
Moorth lome
that traces the migration of the Yellowstone hot
N 2 ki
(2
2.0–0
6.6–4.4
spot relative to the North American craton (pages
474–475)
Wyoming

15.6–15.3 15.9–14.7
10.2–9.2
10.5–8.5

12.7–10.5
• Discovery of Indohyus, the
California

16.5–14.6
16.5–15.4 15.9–12.8

0 100 200
Nevada Utah
cloven-hoofed mammal that
Kilometers walked on the bottoms of streams
Explosive volcanism (ages in millions of years) and belonged to a taxon ancestral
Columbia River Basalt Snake River Basalt
to whales (pages 169 and 433)

• Analysis of annual bone layers of

Tyrannosaurus showing that the huge
animal grew more rapidly than other
dinosaurs (pages 388–389)

• New evidence concerning the cause

of the greatest of all mass extinctions,
which brought the Paleozoic Era to a
close (page 359)

• Discovery of tillites in eastern North America that document

midlatitude glaciation at the time of the Late Devonian mass extinction
(page 334–335) Early amphibian

• Discovery of the “missing link” Tiktaalik, the Late Devonian form

that employed fins for swimming but also possessed a flexible neck Tiktaalik

and flexible wrist bones and fingerlike bones in its front fins—features
that, in concert, would have permitted it to prop itself up to survey its
above-water surroundings (page 330) Lobe-finned fish

xvi
 Preface xvii

• New evidence of the history of cyanobacterial mats and the earliest burrowing
animals close to the Proterozoic-Phanerozoic transition (pages 273–274, 290–291,
and 294)
• Spectacular discovery of embryos of soft-bodied, bilaterally symmetrical animals in
the Neoproterozoic of China (pages 272–273)
• Discovery of the oldest known fossil cells: 3.5 million-year-old filamentous forms
that bored into glassy material on the surface of pillow basalts, just as strikingly similar
prokaryotes do today (page 257)

New Coverage
Also new to this edition are revised animal phylogenies produced by recent molecular
analyses (pages 48–49 and 64); an introduction to the new methods of cosmogenic, ther-
moluminescence, and optical dating (page 140), a discussion of the use of Milankovitch
cycles for correlation and dating of strata (pages 147–149); an explanation of the molecu-
lar clock as a tool for estimating times when taxa originated (page 163); description of two
Middle Ordovician volcanic ash beds of the eastern United States, each of which is larger
in total volume than any other known Phanerozoic ash bed (page 311); description of the
Rio Grande Rift, which divides New Mexico in half and is probably still tectonically active
(pages 448–449). The discussion of the controversial terms uniformitarianism and actual-
ism in Chapter 1 is entirely new, and I hope it will satisfy a majority of my colleagues.

More Student Study Support

It has always been my aim to provide students with the best tools to help them learn the
material. This edition continues that tradition and takes new steps forward.

• New to this edition: I consistently add references to scale in the figure captions to
give students context for what they’re looking at.
• Retained and updated from the previous editions: The popular Visual Overviews
provide students with vivid illustrations of the key themes and concepts of Chapters
2–20. These overviews are the basis for a new interactive study site, described later.

EB LIN
Visual Overview EARLY TRIASSIC
W

Major Events of the Late Paleozoic Deep sea

becomes well
oxygenated
again
Triassic

TWO MASS EXTINCTIONS PLANTS INSECTS VERTEBRATES Pangaea

No survivors Few survivors Gondwanaland

251
Major Deep sea
Permian

becomes
Late

extinctions
Late

increasingly
stagnant and
Therapsids depleted of
oxygen
Permian
Middle

LATE PERMIAN
Gymnosperms
Middle
PERMIAN

Brachiopods
Fusulinids

corals

corals

Bryozoans

Ammonoids
Rugose

Tabulate

Climates Appalachian
become mountains
drier:
widespread
Pelycosaurs dunes and
evaporites Pangaea
Early

Spore plants
and early Ice age ends
Foldable Pangaea forms.
seed plants
wings
299
APPEARANCE
OF ARAGONITE
Late (Pennsylvanian)
Time (million years ago)

REEF BUILDERS
Fixed
wings
EARLY CARBONIFEROUS
Coal
Algae Sponges Cyclothems
form
MASS EXTINCTION AS
GLACIERS EXPAND (Coal swamps) Giant
insects Early reptiles
318 Burial of Expansion Alleghenian Euramerica
carbon of glaciers orogeny in
reduces lowers eastern
atmospheric sea level North
CARBONIFEROUS

CO2 and America

increases Alleghenian
atmospheric orogeny
LIFE IN THE OCEAN O2 Gondwanaland

Gondwanaland
Spore plants is sutured to
Early (Mississippian)

and Amphibians
Euramerica.
seed ferns LIFE ON LAND ARAGONITE SEAS

CALCITE SEAS
EARLY DEVONIAN

Radiation
of crinoids

Euramerica

Renewed evolutionary Sea level

radiation in the ocean Rising Gondwanaland
Falling
359
xviii Preface

• Two new Earth System Shift boxes appear in this edition: 16-2, Volcanism and Mass
Extinction (pages 394–395); and 20-1, Evidence That a Comet Struck Earth, Causing
the Younger Dryas Event, the Exinction of Large Mammals, and the Disappearance
of the Clovis Culture (pages 504–506. The Earth System Shift boxes tell the story of
pivotal events of Earth’s history that were causally related. They epitomize the central
theme of the book, usually focusing on global change that entails both physical and
biological components of the Earth system.

A]npdOuopaiOdebp-.)- Was There a Snowball Earth?

D uring Neoproterozoic time, glaciers deposited

tillites and icebergs released dropstones through-
out the world, even near the equator. This extraordi-
prising that massive glaciers formed. The question is,
could the entire planet have frozen over?
Adding to the puzzle are massive carbonate rocks,
Isotopically heavier carbon

–10 –5
d13C 0/00
0 5 10

nary pattern has led some researchers to hypothesize
that a “snowball Earth” came into being—that the en-
tire planet was encrusted by ice—by glaciers on land
and by sea ice on the ocean. It has been suggested
that a snowball Earth existed at two times, once dur-
Cambrian
termed cap carbonates, that rest directly on top of
Sturtian, Marinoan, and Gaskers tillites. These cap
carbonates are formed by massive precipitation of cal- 550
cium carbonate, which happens only in tropical seas. Oldest
animal fossils
Thus, wherever they are found, climates must have

Time (million years ago)

ing the Sturtian ice age, about 750 million years ago, shifted abruptly from frigid to tropical. Growth of Gaskers

and again during the Marinoan ice age, about 635 mil-
lion years ago.
For glaciers to expand, some snow and ice formed
in winter must survive summer temperatures. How
might this have happened, even near the equator,
more than half a billion years ago? In Neoproterozoic
time the sun’s output of radiation was about 6 percent
lower than it is today (the sun has become progres-
sively warmer since it formed as conversion of hydro-
gen to helium and heavier elements has made its core
denser). In addition, Earth’s continents were clustered
into supercontinents at the time of the Sturtian and
Marinoan ice ages, and large areas of these supercon-
tinents were at high latitudes, where glaciers are likely
to originate. Furthermore, the expansion of glaciers
entails a positive feedback: when cool temperatures
allow glaciers to expand, the high albedo of the glacial
ice results in further cooling, which promotes further
glacial expansion. With a relatively cooler sun and
broad continental areas at high latitudes, it is not sur-
large aragonite crystals right on the seafloor as part of
the cap carbonates suggests that there was a high level
of bicarbonate in the ocean to contribute to the pre-
cipitation of CaCO3 (see Figure 10-11). This implies
that carbon dioxide was abundant in the atmosphere,
weathering rocks at a high rate to release large amounts
of bicarbonate, which moved through rivers to the sea.
Proponents of the snowball Earth hypothesis favor the
idea that this carbon dioxide was released by subma-
rine volcanoes, but remained trapped beneath a global
blanket of sea ice during the glacial interval. Eventu-
ally, the argument goes, the carbon dioxide escaped
and heated the atmosphere when cracks formed in the
sea ice.
Another possibility is that the carbon dioxide
was formed through oxidation of methane that was
released by frozen methane hydrates that accumu-
lated on continental slopes during the ice ages. The
origin of the carbon dioxide from methane hydrates
would explain another phenomenon: the shift of car-
FIGURE 3 Columnar crystals grew on the seafloor during
deposition of the cap carbonates that rest on Marinoan
glacial deposits in northwestern Canada. Originally
aragonite, these crystals have been altered to calcite.
Growth of stromatolites over the projecting surfaces of
some crystals shows that those crystals grew upward to
project above the surrounding seafloor. (Courtesy of N. P.
James, Queens University.)
bon isotopes to very light ratios in the cap carbonates.
Because it is formed by multiple steps of bacterial
metabolism, the methane of methane hydrates is iso-
topically light (p. 230).
Curiously, banded iron formations, which had
ceased to form in the ocean more than a billion years
before the Neoproterozoic glaciations, formed again at
the time of these glaciations. Proponents of the snow-
ball Earth hypothesis suggest that universal sea ice led
to low-oxygen conditions in the waters below.
A criticism of the snowball Earth scenario is that
it cannot seem to account for the fact that acritarchs
Neoproterozoic
600
Marinoan
650
Cap carbonate
700
Sturtian Tillite
FIGURE 4 Cap carbonates above Neoproterozoic glacial
deposits exhibit very light carbon isotopes.
survived in the ocean during the times of widespread
glaciation. The most direct challenge to the snowball
Earth hypothesis, however, comes from the Arabian
Peninsula, where a series of glacial units documents
pulses of Marinoan glaciation into a marine basin.
Multiple glacial expansions into such an area could not
have occurred if the entire world was frozen over. Al-
though Earth may never have been totally frozen over
during the Proterozoic Eon, it has never since experi-
enced glaciation on a scale comparable to that of the
Sturtian and Marinoan ice ages, when glaciers spread
widely over tropical regions.

Glacier

Marinoan
glacial Sturtian
deposits tillite
(>600 (>700
million million
years) Reconstructed graben years)
FIGURE 1 Neoproterozoic glacial deposits occur on all
modern continents. Dots depict the locations of these FIGURE 5 An ancient graben in the Arabian Peninsula contains a series of tillites.
glacial deposits. The exact ages of many are uncertain. The oldest of these tillites represents the Sturtian ice age. A series of glacial deposits
The geographic positions at which some of these deposits above this one, interbedded with marine strata, represent multiple glacial advances
formed are not well established, but several tillites are FIGURE 2 Cap carbonates, the light-colored rocks above during the Marinoan ice age. Some of the Marinoan deposits are tillites near the
known to have formed near the equator. (After D. A. D. the man’s hand, rest on top of bouldery Marinoan glacial basin margin that give way toward the basin center to marine strata with dropstones.
Evans, Amer. J. Sci. 300:347–433, 2000.) tillites in southwestern Africa. (Paul F. Hofmann.) (After J. Leather, P. A. Allen, M. D. Brasier, and A. Cozzi, Geology 30:891–894, 2002.)

• Timelines at the beginning of Chapters 11–20 help students maintain a temporal

perspective. New to this edition, they are color coded according to the palette
developed by the United States Geological Survey, making them beautiful and
linking them to the profession.

• To help capture student imaginations, a number of new artistic reconstructions

enhance the art program of this book (see Figures 15-18, 17-4, 17-10, 18-1, 18-6,
18-8, 18-9, 18-10, and 18-12).

• Second-level headings are in the form of complete sentences to provide students

with succinct summaries of the contents of substantial sections of the text.

• The chapter summaries are written in the form of questions and answers,
providing students with a powerful way to review the material.

Interactive Learning: New Online Study Center for Students

http://www.whfreeman.com/osc/esh3e
This robust resource helps students focus their study and exam prep time. Students
take a diagnostic test and then receive a targeted Study Plan with links to specific media
content to help them review the questions they got wrong. Students can use the Online
Study Center any time—24 hours a day, 7 days a week—for study, review, or exam prepa-
ration. What’s more, instructors have access to presentation resources, images, and an
online gradebook that allows them to track student progress.
 Preface xix

The Online Study Center includes the following features:

• Chapter-by-Chapter Self-Guided Study Plan with Diagnostic Tests. Once
students log in to the Online Study Center, they may take a Self-Test to assess their
current knowledge of a particular chapter. Students then view a Detailed Study Plan,
where they find all the interactive resources, learning objectives, and eBook content
organized by major sections of the book.
• Multiple Review Tools, organized by chapter. In addition to using the Study
Plan, students can search by topic or browse by chapter to access myriad interactive
exercises, flashcards, and animations.
• A Sophisticated Search Engine (similar to Google) that allows students to
quickly search for resources related to specific topics (not just by chapter).
• Interactive study tools. With the Online Study Center, students can add resources
to their Favorites and/or add Notes to specific resources.
• Interactive time line. This engaging time line covers six richly illustrated topics:
• Plant Life through Time
• Marine Life through Time
• Tectonics through Time
• Land Animals through Time
• Oceans, Climate, and Mass Extinctions through Time

The time line traces important aspects of Earth or its biota through its entire history and
demonstrates how these topics are interrelated, underscoring important connections.
Studying an individual topic “vertically” (through time) as well as “horizontally” (in rela-
tion to contemporaneous events) helps students acquire a comprehensive view of the
major features of Earth’s history.

Instructor Resources
Instructor Resource CD-ROM
ISBN 1-4292-1275-6
To help instructors create lecture presentations, Web sites, and other resources, this
CD-ROM contains the following:
• All text images in JPEG and PowerPoint formats
• Test Bank Questions in Word format
• Animations, interactive exercises, and lecture PowerPoint files

Overhead Transparency Set

ISBN 1-4292-1865-7
A full-color transparency program that includes key text illustrations is available to
qualified adopters.
xx Preface

Computerized Test Bank

ISBN 1-4292-1276-4
Hundreds of multiple-choice questions allow instructors to create tests easily. The easy-
to-use CD-ROM is compatible with both Windows and Mac, and it permits instructors
to add, edit, resequence, and print questions to suit their needs.

Expeditions in Geology DVDs

Accompany Dr. Jerry Magloughlin of Colorado State University as he flies around the
world filming extraordinary examples of Earth in action.
Volume 1, ISBN 0-7167-6149-1
1 Wasatch Fault: Active Fault in the Rockies
2 Dome in the Desert: Upheaval Dome
3 Cinder Cones of Northern Arizona: Sunset and SP Craters
4 Barringer Meteorite Crater: Impact Crater of Arizona
5 White Island, New Zealand: Stratovolcano in the Pacific
6 White Island, New Zealand: Hydrothermal Features
7 Jade: Turning Metamorphic Rocks into Art
8 Lava Flows and Features, Arizona
9 Original Horizontality, Superposition, and Sedimentary Structures
10 Sedimentary Bedding
11 Limestone
Volume 2, ISBN 1-4292-1780-4
1 The Alpine Fault: A Plate Boundary You Can Touch
2 Olivine: Igneous Rocks, Mantle Xenoliths, and Green Sand Beaches
3 Gneiss: The Lewisian Complex of Scotland
4 Mount Vesuvius and the Plinian Eruption of 79 a.d.
5 The Naples Metropolis: At Risk from Mount Vesuvius?
6 Mount Etna: Europe’s Largest Active Volcano
7 Crater Lake: Caldera in the Cascades
8 Spheroidal Weathering
9 Natural Arches and Bridges
10 Just Passing Through: A Rockfall in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
11 Geology and Warfare: The Battle of Monte Cassino
12 Landforms Produced by Continental Glaciation
13 Glacial Lakes and Wetlands
14 Glacial Deposits: Till, Outwash, Erratics, and Loess

Geology Image and Lecture Gallery

www.whfreeman.com/ilg/geology
The Image and Lecture Gallery allows instructors to browse and gather textbook
images from a variety of W. H. Freeman and Company geology textbooks. Images can
be organized and stored in a personal folder on Freeman’s server. Once images have
been downloaded, they can be customized according to the user’s specific needs or
used in PowerPoint or with other presentation software.

Online Courses
As a service for adopters, W. H. Freeman and Company will provide content files
in Blackboard and WebCT course formats, including the Instructor Resources and
Student Resources for this text. The files can be used as is, or they can be customized
to fit specific needs. Prebuilt student quizzes, activities, test bank questions, and an
array of other materials are included.

Acknowledgments
Many outstanding people at W. H. Freeman and Company have greatly improved this
new edition. Valerie Raymond, though primarily an acquisitions editor, once again
 Preface xxi

introduced great ideas during the creative process, and her assistant Whitney Clench
was always reliable and helpful. Georgia Lee Hadler, in this edition as in five earlier
endeavors of the same kind, kept me right on track in assembling the final product
and, simply by being there, sustained my faith that all would go well. Ted Szczepanski
was remarkably efficient at finding excellent photographs. Penny Hull did a wonderful
job of copy editing. Precision Graphics produced attractive and accurate new line art.
Susan Timmins, the Illustration Coordinator, kept the myriad figures under control, and
Susan Wein, as Production Coordinator, did the same for the entire project. Blake Logan
designed a beautiful book. Amy Thorne developed the new Web site and Scott Guile
provided creative and marketing advice all along the way.
Special thanks go to three people. Carl Buell was unbelievably generous in providing
beautiful new paintings of ancient beasts. My bright, sharp-eyed, and highly dedicated
assistant, Jenny Engels, served as an invaluable proofreader. John Luczaj, of the Univer-
sity of Green Bay, performed a final, detailed review of the manuscript. He brought to
this herculean task both an exceptional eye for detail and a remarkably comprehensive
knowledge of geology.
Reviewers who critiqued both the text and revised manuscript for this edition pro-
vided invaluable advice and deftly caught errors.
Rory D. Cottrell, University of Rochester Stephen J. Mojzsis, University of
James R. Ebert, SUNY College Colorado
at Oneonta B. L. Schmidt, Lamar University
John R. Groves, University of Eric C. Straffin, Edinboro University of
Northern Iowa Pennsylvania
Amanda Palmer Julson, Blinn College Mari Vice, University of Wisconsin-
John A. Luczaj, University of Platteville
Wisconsin-Green Bay Harry Williams, University of North Texas
Steve Macias, Olympic College Mark A. Wilson, The College of Wooster
I am also grateful to colleagues who reviewed material for previous editions: Beth
Nichols Boyd, Yavapai College; Barbara Brande, University of Montevallo; Lloyd Burckle,
Columbia University; Beth A. Christensen, Georgia State University; Fred Clark, Uni-
versity of Alberta; C. J. Collom, Mount Royal College; William C. Cornell, University
of Texas at El Paso; John W. Creasy, Bates College; R. A. Davis, College of Mount St.
Joseph; Louis Dellwig, University of Kansas; Steven R. Dent, Northern Kentucky Uni-
versity; Stanley C. Finney, California State University, Long Beach; William J. Frazier,
College of Charleston; Jay M. Gregg, Missouri University of Science and Technology;
David H. Griffing, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; John P. Grotzinger, Califor-
nia Institute of Technology; Bryce M. Hand, Syracuse University; Stephen T. Hasiotis,
University of Kansas; Leo J. Hickey, Yale University; Alisa K. Hylton, Central Piedmont
Community College; Calvin James; Markes E. Johnson, Williams College; James O.
Jones, University of Texas, San Antonio; David T. King, Jr., Auburn University; Andrew
H. Knoll, Harvard University; Karl J. Koenig, Texas A&M University; James Lamb,
Wake Technical Community College; David Liddell, Utah State University; Michael
T. May, Western Kentucky University; Robert Merrill, California State University,
Fresno; Cathryn R. Newton, Syracuse University; Anne Noland, University of Louis-
ville; Geoffrey Norris, University of Toronto; Joseph Pachut, Indiana University/Purdue
University, Indianapolis; Mark E. Patzkowsky, Pennsylvania State University; Michael
C. Pope, Washington State University; Lisa Pratt, University of Indiana, Bloomington;
Gregory J. Retallack, University of Oregon; Charles A. Ross, Western Washington Univer-
sity; Frederic J. Schwab, Washington and Lee University; Peter Sheehan, Milwaukee Pub-
lic Museum; Larry T. Spencer, Plymouth State University; Randall Spencer, Old Domin-
ion University; Ron Stieglitz, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; John F. Taylor, Indiana
University of Pennsylvania; Nicholas W. Taylor, Minneapolis Community and Technical
College; David K. Watkins, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Neil A. Wells, Kent State
University; Mark A. Wilson, The College of Wooster; Margaret M. Yaccobucci, Bowling
Green State University
This page intentionally left blank
 CHAPTER 1 EARTH AS A SYSTEM

An outpouring of lava from the Hawaiian volcano Kilauea reaching the sea. This volcano has
erupted 33 times since 1843. (Jim Kauahikaua/HVO/USGS.)
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 “Did he turn to and help when you landed, and found so much to do?”
asked Dick.
“Just what he did, as well as he could with his dainty ways. You see,
Dick, it’s got to be second nature with him to be eternally brushing himself
off. He hates the sight of dirt, which is just the opposite of some boys. But
then Humbert has been made a sissy by his uncle and his aunts. He should
have been called Geraldine or something like that. Still, I will say he did a
heap better than I ever thought he would.”
“Give him half a chance, Leslie,” urged Dick. “In spite of his superior
airs and high-flown language I think he’s a boy after all. What you saw was
a glimpse of the real nature showing under all the veneer they’ve plastered
on him. For years this thing of ‘cultuah’ as he calls it has been drilled into
the poor chap, so that he just can’t help it if he acts the way he does.”
“Well, I certainly hope he wakes up real soon then,” asserted Leslie;
“because some of the fellows say they won’t stand for his lofty ways much
longer. A ducking a day would wash some of it out of him, according to my
notion. My father says that true culture brings simplicity, and what
Humbert’s got is snobbery.”
The afternoon wore on, and much was accomplished. It is true the camp
did not present such a trim appearance as Mr. Bartlett intended should be
the case; but then they would have most of another day before Mr. Holwell
arrived.
Supper was prepared amidst much confusion, which would also have to
be remedied.
“‘Too many cooks spoil the broth,’” the camp leader quoted, “and I’ll
arrange it so that those who know something about the business of getting
up meals will have regular turns helping Jim at the job.”
“What about the greenhorns, sir?” asked Asa Gardner.
“For the moment they get off scot-free,” laughed Mr. Bartlett. “But they
will have to act as scullions and wood-bearers to the cook. That’s the
penalty for ignorance. The one who understands things always gets to the
top of the heap, and the one who doesn’t know beans, except when he tastes
them, has to do the drudgery in this world. So if you’re wise, Asa, hang
around when the meals are being prepared and pick up all the information
you can.”
“I certainly mean to, sir. And I want to say right now that I’ve eaten
twice as much supper as I would have done at home. It was just bully!”
“Oh! you’ve come by your camp appetite in a hurry it seems,” laughed
Dick.
They sat around for a long time afterwards, chatting, and singing some
of their school songs. For the first evening Mr. Bartlett meant to be easy
with the campers, he told them. The real discipline would begin in the
morning.
It was a novel experience for some of the lads who had never camped
out before. The fretting of the water along the shore; the mysterious
murmur of the soft wind through the tops of the pines and hemlocks; the
cries of certain night birds, such as an owl and a heron and a hawk, foraging
for food; gave them an excuse for looking half fearfully around at times,
and wondering if the darkness were peopled with all manner of strange
creatures. And the boys had not forgotten Mr. Nocker’s remarks about
watching out for a thief.
“What did he mean by looking out for a thief?” asked Leslie.
“I don’t know,” answered Peg. “Maybe we’ll find out some day.” And
they did—as we shall learn later.
Then came the moon, a little past her prime, peeping over the hills far to
the east, and looking down upon them, as though questioning in a mild way
their right to the occupancy of that island camp.
It was all very romantic, and even Asa Gardner confessed that he liked
it. The day, however, had been a strenuous one for all of them, and several
of the boys could already be detected slily yawning when they thought no
one was looking; so Mr. Bartlett concluded it would be wise for them to
think of taking to their blankets.
Before the order was given for retiring at nine o’clock, however, Mr.
Bartlett announced the programme for the early morning.
“At sunrise reveille will be sounded, when every boy is expected on the
campus, as we shall call this open space here. Mr. Rowland will put you
through the usual United States Army setting-up exercises. After that the
flag will be raised on the flagpole we’ve prepared, and will be saluted. Then
comes the morning bath and swim in which all are expected to join. After
breakfast we will have a brief chapel service in the big tent. At that time I
expect to announce the programme for the first day in camp. And now good
night to you all, boys. I hope every one of you will sleep well.”
After a little confusion, all sounds gradually died away, and only the
crackling of the fire could be heard, together with the wash of the waves
against the rocks. Camp Russabaga was asleep.
 CHAPTER IX
THE RULE OF ORDER AND DISCIPLINE

When the boys were talking of retiring Asa Gardner, who had been
hovering near, approached Mr. Bartlett and Dick.
The former, of course, knew more or less about the strange lad whose
past had been of a character to make him unhappy. Dick had managed to
explain to both the young men who were in charge of the camp how Asa
was fighting his battle manfully, and consequently they sympathized with
the boy.
“Do you want to ask me anything, Asa?” inquired Mr. Bartlett, kindly.
“Just a little favor, sir,” came the hesitating reply, for Asa was easily
confused, realizing as he did that people looked on him in a different way
from what they did ordinary lads.
“Then don’t hold back,” urged the young man, “for you’ll always find
that both Mr. Rowland and myself are willing to accommodate any of you
when it can be done without disturbing the ordinary routine of the camp too
much.”
“It was only this, sir,” continued Asa. “According to the programme
mapped out by Mr. Rowland, and which he read to us, I’m selected to sleep
to-night in the cabin along with three other fellows.”
“And what objection do you have to that, Asa? I think Mr. Rowland
picked out those who were to occupy the cabin with a purpose in view,” the
camp leader remarked, kindly.
“I’m sure he did, sir, for he said as much,” Asa admitted. “But you see
it’s this way with me. I’ve been feeling a heap better ever since I took to
sleeping on that porch they enclosed with wire netting. It’s been nearly a
year now since I started to try that sort of thing, and I’ve got so used to it
I’m afraid I’d feel awfully choky and queer if I tried to sleep in a room
again.”
 “I reckon there’s a whole lot in that, too, Asa,” said Dick, with a quick
glance at the camp leader, who nodded in approval. “I’ve heard people say
they couldn’t bear to go to bed inside four walls after sleeping outdoors for
a long time. They complain that it seems to smother them.”
“Just so,” added Mr. Bartlett, “and I suppose that’s why gypsies who
used to come to Cliffwood trading horses and telling fortunes said no
winter’s storm could ever drive them to seek shelter in a house-dweller’s
place. I’ll make arrangements to have you exchange places with one of the
boys in a tent, Asa. And I’m glad you spoke of it in time. Remember, both
Mr. Rowland and I will be pleased to oblige any of you boys when the
request is as reasonable as yours.”
“I don’t suppose there’ll be any danger out here on this big island, sir?”
remarked Asa, a little uneasily, Dick noticed, as he glanced around at the
moonlit vicinity, and shivered.
“Oh! there’s very small chance that the island holds any wild animals
larger than raccoons and squirrels,” replied the camp leader.
“Besides, Asa,” Dick added, “you must remember that even a wildcat is
afraid of fire, and as a rule shuns the presence of human beings. The
chances are we’ll not be disturbed in any way while camping on Bass
Island.”
And so it came about that Asa found a place in one of the tents, where
he could make himself comfortable near the entrance, and breathe all the
free night air he wished.
Dick slept close to the opening of the tent he occupied in company with
three other campers. Mr. Bartlett had constituted him a sort of assistant
campmaster, to take charge whenever both he and the physical instructor
were absent. Besides this, everybody knew that Dick was better acquainted
with certain matters connected with outdoor life than most of the other
boys, since he had long made woodcraft a study.
Once, during that first night on the island, on awakening from a sound
sleep, Dick crawled softly out of the tent and took a look around. It was a
beautiful night, such as filled his boyish heart with delight.
The moon, almost full, was climbing up close to the zenith, and sent
down a flood of bright light on the slumbering world below. The soft night
breeze continued to whisper among the tops of the tall pine trees. The
gentle waves washed the rocky shore of the big island with a soothing
murmur never to be forgotten.
Just as the sun began to peep above the eastern horizon a gun was fired
and a bugle reveille followed immediately afterward. Those of the boys
who were not already up came dashing out of the tents and the cabin,
prepared to enter upon the duties of this, the first full day in camp.
They found both Mr. Bartlett and the physical instructor ready for them,
while Sunny Jim, who was never seen without a broad grin on his face, had
begun to bustle around amidst his pots and pans as though making
arrangements for starting breakfast.
“Every one in camp with the exception of our cook will be expected to
join in the programme for the early morning!” called out Mr. Rowland, who
was a splendidly built young man, the possessor of several medals won in
athletic matches. “The first of these will be the setting-up exercises, to start
your blood into full action, after which we will have a dip in the lake.”
A number of the boys did not know the least thing about swimming, and
were more or less timid about entering the water. Mr. Rowland soon gave
them to understand there was nothing to be afraid of. He intended that there
should be no skylarking, no ducking, no horse-play among themselves.
“We expect to have swimming classes,” he told them as they gathered
around at the edge of the water, clad in their bathing trunks only. “A life
saving crew will be organized, and no boy will be allowed to go beyond
certain bounds on penalty of having his privileges curtailed, or even cut off
altogether. There will be no accidents in the water at Camp Russabaga if we
can prevent it. Now listen while I lay down the law, and then every one of
you must enter the water.”
Three of the boys looked glum at hearing this talk. As may be easily
understood they were Nat Silmore and his two cronies, Dit Hennesy and
Alonzo Crane. They had finally decided to accompany the campers in the
hope of finding numerous chances to enjoy a joke at the expense of their
fellows. It appeared now as though they had deceived themselves and had
made a great mistake, and this realization caused them to look “sour,” as
some of the boys expressed it, understanding what was the matter with the
trio of tricksters.
The flag was already flying in the morning breeze, and it really looked
as if the camp had been inaugurated after the customary manner. All over
our land similar camps organized by enthusiastic members of the numerous
Y. M. C. A. organizations are being conducted along the same lines. Some
of these are run during the entire summer, detachments of young fellows
coming and going from time to time, and all benefiting greatly through their
brief stay in the open, under strict and sanitary rules.
Sunny Jim had been bustling around preparing breakfast. With that
broad smile on his ebony face he looked as though he meant to do his part
toward making the camp a success. The boys knew him very well, since
Sunny Jim had been a character in Cliffwood for many years. They were
also aware of his reputation as a first-class cook, and anticipated being
treated to many a sumptuous feast while they were in camp.
Some of the boys dressed more rapidly than others, and among the
clever ones were Dick, Peg Fosdick and Dan Fenwick. Peg, having a notion
that he would like to learn all he could about camp cooking as practised by
an experienced man like Sunny Jim, hovered around the fire, watching and
offering to assist whenever he saw the chance.
Breakfast was almost ready, and some of the other boys could be seen
thrusting their heads out from the tents to sniff eagerly the delightful odors
that permeated the camp.
It was just at this time that Peg, who had been looking around and
asking hurried questions of the colored cook, was heard to call aloud
indignantly:
“Say, I just want to know who’s gone and hid away that new aluminum
frying-pan I brought along. I borrowed it from our cook at home just
because it was so big and nice and shiny, as well as light. I carefully put it
on this nail here, and Jim says he never once touched it, yet you can see it’s
gone. Did anybody glimpse a sign of it around?”
“Here, who’s started to playing tricks in this camp so early?” called Dan
Fenwick, indignantly. “My nickel watch was in my vest pocket when I
undressed, but it’s disappeared like smoke. Mr. Bartlett, make the fellow
own up who took it, won’t you please?”
 CHAPTER X
THINGS BEGIN TO VANISH

“Are you fellows joking, or is all you’re saying true?” demanded Phil
Harkness; while the others began to crane their necks and stare at Dan and
Peg.
“Honest Injun, the frying-pan has cleared out, and if it doesn’t turn up,
why Sunny Jim and I will have to do the best we can with these common
sheet iron ones,” Peg grumbled. “And that isn’t the worst of it, either,
because just think what’ll happen to me when I get home again.”
“And you can see for yourselves that my vest pocket doesn’t show a
sign of my little nickel watch,” added Dan, with a shrug of his shoulders
and a quick look around, as though a suspicion had suddenly clutched hold
of him.
“But Dan,” interrupted Elmer Jones, “seems to me that before we
crawled into our blankets I saw you hang your watch on to that nail driven
through the tent pole.”
“Well, come to think of it, that’s just what I did do,” admitted the
mourning Dan. “But you don’t see any watch on that nail right now, do
you?” and he rubbed his eyes vigorously as though trying to discover
whether they could be playing a trick on him.
Everybody agreed that the nail was destitute of any such appendage as a
dollar nickel watch. Mr. Bartlett looked serious, but allowed the boys to talk
it over.
“Well, there’s no use mourning for lost things when breakfast is nearly
ready,” declared good-natured Fred Bonnicastle. “Mebbe the watch is just
having a little joke of its own, and will turn up later in some pocket of your
clothes, Dan.”
“I’m as hungry as a wolf!” called out Clint Babbett.
“Huh! I could eat my weight, and then not half try,” ventured Nat
Silmore.
 If the truth were told, Nat spoke up in this boyish way simply because
he fancied some of the others were commencing to cast queer looks in his
direction.
Dan did not say anything more but he did much thinking. Dick Horner
was bothered. At first he concluded that it must be some boyish prank, and
that presently the culprit would confess his guilt with shamefaced looks,
realizing that after all it did not pay to play silly jokes, especially in a camp
where strict discipline was to be maintained.
The more Dick thought it over, however, the less inclined he was to
view it in such a simple light. So far as the vanishing watch was concerned
that might pass current, for every one knew how much Dan thought of the
present from his father on his last birthday; but when the disappearance of
the cooking pan was considered, what boy would be silly enough to hide
that?
That the subject was in the minds of most of the campers was evident,
for while they were enjoying breakfast the thing came up again. It was Peg
who introduced it by saying:
“Seems to me Mr. Nocker knew what he was saying when he warned us
to beware of that thief up here on Bass Island. Looks as if we ought to chain
things down good and tight every time we go to sleep, because they do
seem to have a queer way of walking off.”
Humbert Loft was seen to curl his lip, and those close to him heard him
give a scornful sniff while he observed in his drawling, affected way:
“It’s simply shocking, that’s what I think. Why, right now every
individual in this camp is really under suspicion of being a vulgar thief! I
never dreamed that I should find myself amidst such dreadful surroundings.
I imagine some of my ancestors would turn in their graves with horror if
they knew a Loft had the finger of suspicion pointed at him.”
He looked as though his appetite had been taken away by the thought.
The boys, however, being no respecters of persons, only laughed.
“The walking’s good between here and the station, Humbert!” remarked
one.
 “And there’s sure to be a train for Cliffwood before night, you know,”
another told him in a mocking tone.
Humbert turned red, but for all that there was a glint of defiance in his
eyes, Dick noticed, when he flung back his answer.
“Oh! I suppose we’re all in one boat, boys, and if you can stand it I
ought to be able to do so. On the whole, I’ll reconsider your offer of some
of that bacon, Eddie. Perhaps it may start my sluggish appetite, who
knows?”
“But who can it be, hanging around here and stealing everything he can
lay his hands on?” persisted Phil Harkness.
“Might be some lunatic that’s escaped from the asylum and is hiding in
the woods and brush on the island!” intimated Peg.
The suggestion met with some favor, several of the boys agreeing that
there might be a grain of truth in such a thing.
The two camp leaders were amused, as well as puzzled, by all this talk,
and waited to see what would come of it.
“I’ve read a lot about the queer things people out of their minds keep on
doing,” Andy Hale asserted. “But it seems to me if a crazy man were
hanging around up here our grub would be the first thing he’d tackle.”
“Well,” Clint observed, sagaciously, “he might have done that if we
hadn’t been wise enough to stack about all of the grub in the other cabin,
and fasten the door.”
Dick said nothing, but did considerable thinking. For once he was ready
to admit that the mystery of the night gave birth to unusually puzzling
questions that would have to be solved if they hoped to enjoy their outing
on Bass Island, and he resolved to talk the matter over with Mr. Bartlett and
Mr. Rowland as soon as he had an opportunity.
“We might set some sort of trap for the rascal, and make him a
prisoner,” suggested Andy Hale, thoughtfully. “Now I reckon I could
manage to fix up a deadfall such as they trap bears with in the Maine
woods.”
 “But that’d be apt to hurt the poor fellow, or even kill him,” protested
Clint Babbett.
“With a rope and a bent sapling I can show you how they trap alligators
in some countries,” spoke up another boy eagerly. “I was reading about it
only last week, and actually tried it on our dog. Why, when the sapling was
released the noose in the rope tightened around both his hind legs, and the
first thing I knew there was poor old Carlo hanging head down, and yelping
to beat the band. I had to cut the rope in a big hurry because he acted like a
wild thing.”
“How would that sort of thing go, Dick?” asked Leslie, with a wink at
his chum.
“Well,” replied the other, with one of his smiles and a glance toward Mr.
Bartlett, “I hardly think any of us would want to be so cruel as to hang a
human being up by the legs, with his head down; and especially if, as we
suspect, he should be one who was out of his mind and not responsible for
what he did.”
Somehow in all the talk that flew around concerning the important
subject Dick could not but notice that there were two of the boys who
seemed to be tongue-tied.
These were Dan Fenwick and Asa Gardner.
Dick could easily comprehend why Dan should keep silent, because, as
the loser of the watch that had so strangely vanished, Dan was feeling more
or less morose. And then again, when Dick considered what the past
reputation of Asa Gardner had been he felt that there was some reason why
the new boy should not seek to draw attention to himself.
Asa certainly looked troubled. He listened to all that was said, turning
his eyes from speaker to speaker, but uttering not a word himself. When any
one addressed him, merely asking him if he would have another cup of
coffee or a little more bacon, Asa always gave a violent start and drew in
his breath with a sigh before replying one way or the other.
Breakfast was finally finished and the boys hung around waiting for Mr.
Bartlett to read the programme for the day.
 He and Mr. Rowland were busy with the details of that programme, and
Dick had not yet found the opportune moment for speaking to the camp
leader. Dan came over to Dick’s side the first favorable chance he had.
“I want to speak to you about something queer, Dick,” he remarked, as
he threw himself down and looked carefully around, as though to make sure
some one he had in mind was far enough away not to overhear what he
expected to say.
“All right,” Dick told him, “fire away. I can be keeping up my work on
this home-made broom of twigs which we’ll have to use to sweep with. Is it
about your watch?”
“Just what it is, Dick,” the other went on to say, gloomily. “In a nutshell
then, I happened to wake up in the night, and saw some one walking
between me and the fire. And Dick, it was Asa Gardner!”
 CHAPTER XI
MR. HOLWELL GETS THE WELCOMING CHEER

Dick heard the other make this accusation with a sinking heart. Could it
be possible after all Asa Gardner was guilty of taking the things that had
disappeared?
“Why, when you stop to think of it, Dan,” he told his informant, “while
a boy given to pilfering might carry off a watch if sorely tempted, what
earthly use would he have for Peg’s new aluminum frying-pan?”
This seemed to be a poser, and Dan shrugged his shoulders and made a
whimsical face. A new idea came to him, however, and almost immediately
he spoke up again.
“Well it’s just this way, Dick. My mother always said that taking things
as some people do becomes a disease with them. I’ve read of wealthy
women who steal things in stores. They call them kleptomaniacs. That
means they take all sorts of things when they see a good chance, even if
they haven’t the least bit of use for the same.”
“Then your mother thinks Asa was influenced that way when some
people called him light-fingered, and some of them said he was a common
thief?” continued Dick.
“Yes, that’s what she thought,” replied Dan. “You know I’ve got the
dearest mother of any fellow in all Cliffwood, and she hates to think badly
of any boy.”
“And we mustn’t forget that Asa hasn’t any mother—now,” added Dick
softly, as he cast a pitying look across to where the object of their
conversation was helping Sunny Jim gather together the breakfast dishes
and pans, and acting as though he really liked the work.
“I hate myself for suspecting him, Dick,” honest Dan went on to say.
“And so far as my losing that watch goes I don’t mean to push the thing any
further. Whoever took it is welcome to his booty, for all of me.”
 “On my part,” said Dick, firmly, “I feel different about it. We can’t go
on this way, losing things, and even suspecting each other. The mystery
must be cleared up sooner or later. I’ll step over and get to talking with Asa.
Perhaps I can ask him if he happened to be up during the night. I’d like it if
we could go to Mr. Bartlett and tell him the whole thing was straightened
out.”
“Oh, what’s the use of going to Asa?” objected Dan. “He’s sure to deny
it. I wonder now,” he added, after a pause, “if there could be such a thing as
Asa, or any other fellow here, for that matter, being a sleep walker?”
Dick gave a little whistle of surprise at hearing such a startling
suggestion.
“You certainly do have the most original ideas of any fellow going,
Dan,” he remarked. “Such a thing might happen, of course, but there’d be
small chance of it up here, with twenty boys in camp.”
“Except for my waking up at the time I did,” urged the other, “nobody’d
have known about Asa’s being on his feet in the dead of night. But after
you’ve had your little talk with him tell me what comes of it, will you?”
“I certainly will,” promised Dick.
Shortly afterwards he joined Asa, and entered into conversation with the
boy. A little later on Dick came sauntering back to where Dan was sitting,
waiting for the summons to gather on the “campus” which had not yet been
given.
“Well, did he deny being abroad in the night, Dick?” eagerly asked the
other, taking care to speak in a low voice.
“Not a bit,” Dick told him. “I never even had to ask him. We were
talking about whether it would pay to keep the fire going at night when Asa
of his own accord remarked that it was still blazing feebly when he felt so
thirsty that he had to crawl out and go over to where we keep the bucket of
spring water with the dipper. And he added that while he was not quite sure,
because he had not got fully used to reading the time of night by the stars,
he thought it must have been somewhere in the neighborhood of one
o’clock.”
Dan looked thoughtful on hearing that.
 “Tell you what, Dick,” he said presently. “I’m going to try to forget all
about my watch. Let it go at that. So Asa is trying to be a real woodsman, is
he? Well, I wish him luck then.”
With that he walked away, and Dick, looking after him, said to himself
that Dan Fenwick had a heart in his breast several sizes too big for him.
Dick later on often found himself watching Asa Gardner when he
fancied the other was not noticing. He could see that the boy was not
wholly at ease for some reason. Still Dick would not allow himself to
believe that Asa was guilty.
“I can’t forget that day I saw him lying there on his mother’s grave and
promising her never to break his word if it killed him fighting off the old
temptation,” Dick kept telling himself again and again. “No, Asa can’t be
guilty, but all the same I’ll feel a heap happier when we do find out who the
thief is.”
Presently the boys were summoned into the big tent where Mr. Bartlett
carried out the usual short chapel service, for every camp of the Y. M. C. A.
is conducted on a religious basis.
“I am ready now,” announced the camp director, “to give you a part of
the duties of the day. At noon I shall have formed my plans for the rest of
the time, and by to-morrow we shall have gotten things to running
smoothly. In the first place this camp is going to be no place for idlers.
Every boy will have a share in the work and be expected to do his level best
in keeping the camp tidy, doing the chores, and, in fact, whatever is given
into his charge.
“Mr. Rowland, who will have entire charge of the athletic proceedings,
has arranged a splendid series of events that he expects will create a healthy
rivalry among many of the boys who are now with us. Prizes will be given
to those who excel in nature study, photography, swimming, diving, rowing,
life-saving feats, woodcraft, and a number of other things along the same
lines. And now if you listen I will read the programme for this morning, so
that every one may know just what he is expected to do.”
The boys showed a keen interest in what the camp director was saying,
although Nat and his two cronies still looked disappointed, because they did
not fancy the idea of being bound down to iron-clad rules and regulations
when they had expected to loaf and to have a roaring good time.
The vicinity of the camp soon took on a bustling atmosphere. Some
planks had been brought from the station on one of the wagons. These some
of the boys, who aspired to be amateur carpenters, managed to fashion into
a very good table, large enough to allow them all to be seated at the same
time, to replace the rougher one thrown together when they first landed.
This could be moved at will, so that in case of bad weather they would
be able to take their meals under the shelter of the big tent. Ordinarily,
however, they preferred dining in the open, for the charm of the thing
appealed to the campers.
A number of rude benches had also been put together, so that things
would look quite comfortable by the time another meal was ready to be
served.
Being appealed to by several ardent fishermen, the camp director had
given them permission to make good use of the handy little minnow seine
made of mosquito netting. The bait thus secured could be kept alive in a
basin constructed near the edge of the lake, into which water from a spring
trickled.
Having taken all the bait they needed with a few hauls, the boys were
given the privilege of going out in one of the boats to try the fishing.
Certain localities were selected that appealed to their instinct as places
where the wary bass would be apt to stay during these hot summer days.
When later on the fishermen returned it was discovered that they had
met with great success. Quite enough prizes had been taken to provide a
fish course for the entire party.
“Some of them are whoppers in the bargain,” remarked Peg Fosdick,
proudly, for he had been a member of the angling party. “Why, that big
fellow must weigh all of three pounds! And how he did jump and pull! I
thought he’d break my rod or line several times. I never before took such a
dandy bass.”
“This island is well named then, it seems,” observed Dick, with
something of satisfaction in his voice as he looked at the splendid strings of
fish. Dick himself dearly loved to spend an hour with hook and line, and
feel the thrill that always raced through his system when a gamy fish had
been secured, fighting frantically for freedom.
“Who’s going to meet Mr. Holwell this afternoon, sir?” asked Fred
Bonnicastle, as they sat around the new table that noon with one of the
camp heads at either end and eagerly devoured the lunch that Sunny Jim,
assisted by a couple of the boys, had prepared for them.
Harry Bartlett had been a boy himself only a few years back, and he
could easily understand what unasked question lay back of that remark.
“You may go, for one, Fred,” he told the other. “Take Asa along with
you. He seems to have taken a fancy to rowing, and has entered in that class
for a prize. The exercise will do him good in the bargain. I have other duties
I want the rest of you to attend to, there is so much to be done before Camp
Russabaga assumes the complete aspect we all want it to wear when Mr.
Holwell arrives this evening.”
Asa shot the leader a look of sincere gratitude, though he did not say
anything. As a rule Asa was not a talkative boy, and some of them noticed
that of late he had seemed to be brooding more than usual.
During the earlier part of the afternoon many things were accomplished,
for under the direction of the physical instructor the boys worked like
beavers.
“About time you were starting across to the landing, Fred and Asa,”
announced Mr. Bartlett, finally, as he consulted his watch.
The pair went off, heading for the mainland. Mr. Holwell had promised
to arrive on the train that reached the little station at four o’clock. He would
take a team to bring him to the camp, and hoped to be on hand long before
sundown.
It lacked a few minutes of five now, and dinner was being gotten ready,
though the fish would not be put on the fire or the coffee started until just as
the minister should arrive at the landing on the main shore.
Asa persisted in doing the rowing across, and even asked Fred to let him
handle the oars on the return trip.
“You see I need all this outdoor exercise I can get,” he explained, and
the request was so unusual that Fred, of course, obligingly granted him
permission.
“I ought to be satisfied to act as the skipper of the craft, and take my
ease, Asa,” he went on to say, laughingly, as he lay in the stern, and
stretched his long legs out comfortably; “so just please yourself. I’m always
ready to oblige a willing worker.”
After a while those on the island heard a series of loud shouts, and they
managed to make out a team that had arrived at the landing. Mr. Holwell
then had not failed them, and every one in the camp felt pleased at the idea
of having him with them. When a man loves boys from the bottom of his
heart it invariably happens that they regard him with something of the same
sort of affection.
“There, he’s getting into the boat now!” called out Clint Babbett, whose
keen eyes were able to keep track of passing events across that mile of
water better than most of the others. “And say! it looks as if he’s brought a
heap of packages along with him.”
“Sure thing,” laughed Peg Fosdick, rubbing his stomach vigorously.
“Mr. Holwell was a boy himself once on a time, and he’s never forgotten
that a fellow gets as hungry as a cannibal every little while. I reckon now he
concluded that we’d underestimated our holding capacity, and that we’d
nearly starve unless he brought along a new lot of supplies.”
“There they start,” said Mr. Bartlett, presently. “When the boat draws in
near our landing be ready to give our honored guest the glad welcome
cheer.”
Closer it drew, under the steady strokes of Asa Gardner. Finally, there
arose a roar of voices, accompanied by the violent waving of hats and
handkerchiefs, that made the minister’s heart beat a little faster than its
wont with pleasure.
 CHAPTER XII
HAPPENINGS OF THE SECOND NIGHT

When Mr. Holwell stepped ashore to shake hands heartily all around he
looked very happy indeed.
“I’m delighted to be with you, boys,” he told them again and again, in
his sincere way that always drew young people to him.
“The feeling is mutual then, sir,” spoke up Peg Fosdick, bluntly;
“because we’re just tickled half to death to see you up here at Camp
Russabaga. And now, you assistant cooks, suppose you get busy with
dinner. Mr. Holwell will be awfully hungry after his journey, and Sunny Jim
can’t do it all by himself.”
The camp director, accompanied by Dick as his assistant, took the
newcomer around to show him what had been accomplished. As Mr.
Holwell had never set eyes on the big lake before he was greatly impressed
with the picture he saw in the dying sunlight.
“Wait until sunset, sir,” said Dick, eagerly, “and if it’s anything like we
had last evening, with the whole sky painted in colors, you’ll surely say you
never saw the equal of it.”
“I want to remark right now, Mr. Bartlett, that your boys have done
exceedingly well to get this camp in the condition it is. I’ve been in camps
before now, and, as a rule, the campers are a happy-go-lucky set, willing to
shirk work so as to have what they call a good time. But here everything
seems to have a place, and to be where it belongs. Order is a fine thing for
any boy to learn; and cleanliness comes next to godliness.”
The minister watched the preparations for the meal with kindling eyes.
His memory took him back a good many years to the times when he was a
boy himself; and he could appreciate the enthusiasm with which Sunny Jim
and his helpers went at their pleasing task of getting the good things to eat
ready for the table.
And then that dinner—what a royal one it turned out to be! After the
simple and earnest grace the meal was served. Mr. Holwell showered
unstinted praise on everything that came before him. The fish were broiled
to a turn, the coffee was real ambrosia fit for the gods, the potatoes had
been baked just right, the succotash made him constantly feel like asking
for more. And, winding up with a dish of rice and milk and sugar, he
declared it to be better than any pudding he had tasted for years.
“I think Mr. Holwell is getting his camp appetite in order right away,”
suggested Peg, who, of course, was delighted to have the culinary efforts
praised in this fashion.
“To tell the truth,” admitted the minister, frankly, “I consider that I
showed most wonderful sagacity in fetching along additional supplies with
me, because if I stir up any more appetite than I seem to have to-night
there’ll be a terrible drain on your stock of provisions.”
“Oh! we know where there’s a farm only two miles away,” said Phil,
“and to-morrow half a dozen of us have been detailed by Mr. Bartlett to
tramp over there and get all the eggs and fresh butter and such things we
can lug back with us.”
“And as long as those dandy bass are willing to take our minnows,”
added Peg, “we ought to keep the wolf from the door, somehow or other.”
After the meal they piled high the campfire, and when the dishes had
been looked after every one sat around in various attitudes, either taking
part in the brisk conversation or listening to what Mr. Holwell and the camp
leaders said in the way of congratulation and advice.
Finally, several were discovered surreptitiously yawning, and Dick
realized that the bed hour had arrived. So interesting had the talk been that
none of them had paid any attention to the flight of time.
“Where am I going to sleep?” asked Mr. Holwell, when Harry Bartlett
explained that nine o’clock was the hour set in the camp for retiring.
Moreover, they had put in a strenuous day from before sunrise, and
consequently all the boys were tired.
“We have provided a cot in the tent we occupy, Mr. Holwell,” explained
the physical director. “Some of the boys have made us a small table for our
few toilet articles, shaving things, and such. Besides, we have a couple of
folding chairs. Only for a shortage of tents we should have been glad to
give you one to yourself, sir.”
 The minister shook his head vigorously at that.
“I am glad you didn’t,” he told them, smilingly. “I am no tenderfoot
when it comes to camping, you will find; for in days that are past I
wandered over many parts of the world, and even faced many perils. I have
slept in the igloo of an Esquimau, as well as under the haircloth tent of a
desert Bedouin. I would never stand for being given accommodations that
differed in any degree from those of the boys.”
When they heard him say that, some of the campers felt like shouting
their appreciation, only this early in the outing they had come to understand
that boisterous ways must be kept under control.
Somehow or other, there had been so much to talk about while they sat
around the bright crackling fire after supper that no one had thought to
mention the little mystery of the first night of their stay on Bass Island.
Dick remembered about it when he was undressing, and was half
tempted to break rules by crossing over to the tent where the three
gentlemen were to sleep, with the intention of speaking to Mr. Holwell.
“What’s the use?” he asked himself on second thought. “It would only
bother him more or less, and perhaps make him have a sleepless night;
because I’m sure he’d begin to think something about poor Asa. In the
morning I’ll watch my chance and tell him about it.”
Accordingly, Dick held his peace. His tent mates were Leslie Capes,
Peg and Andy Hale, all congenial companions, and Dick expected
considerable enjoyment during the nights they would be together.
Talking aloud was prohibited after half-past nine, so that if any fellows
like Nat and his cronies, who had their quarters together, wished to
converse they would have to do it in whispers.
Mr. Bartlett had laid down strict rules, and the penalties for breaking
these would fall heavily on the heads of the offenders. Curtailing all
privileges might cause the guilty ones to repent of having been so rash.
For once in their lives Nat, Dit and Alonzo found it necessary to do as
they were told; and they were already regretting their step in deciding to
accompany the campers on the outing.
 Dick had purposely chosen a particular spot near the exit when
arranging his blanket. He did this for several reasons. In the first place he
liked the idea of attending to the fire in case he happened to wake up during
the night, just as all old woodsmen and hunters were in the habit of doing,
Dick understood. Then again, if there came any sort of alarm, and he
wished to get out in a hurry, it would be more convenient for him than if he
had to stumble over several boys who were beginning to sit up and get in
the way.
Truth to tell, about this time the mysterious events of the preceding
night began to take hold of his mind. Much to his chagrin, for some little
time Dick could not banish them, try as he would.
“Here, this will never do,” he finally told himself after he had turned
over as many as four different times, his thoughts busy all the while. “Just
forget everything but the one fact that you’re sleepy, and it’s getting pretty
late.”
Resolutely holding his mind in check after that, the boy finally
succeeded in falling asleep though it required considerable force of
character to control his feverish thoughts.
Several hours must have crept by when Dick chanced to awaken. One of
his arms felt numb from the weight of his body which had been resting on
it.
“I suppose I might as well throw a log on the fire while I’m about it,” he
told himself, as, yawning, he commenced to push aside his blanket and
crawl forth. “And a few swallows of that cool water wouldn’t go bad either,
for I’m thirsty after all that salty ham I ate.”
The moon was well up in the heavens when he crept forth from the
shelter of the tent and was shining just as brilliantly as on the preceding
night. Without making any sort of noise calculated to disturb even a light
sleeper Dick crossed over to where the flickering fire lay.
As he did so something caused him to glance beyond, and he felt a thrill
as he believed he caught a glimpse of a crouching moving figure over by
the bushes.
 CHAPTER XIII
THE MYSTERY GROWS DEEPER

“Why, it’s gone!” muttered Dick, immediately afterwards, for the object
that he had seen so dimly had now vanished.
He stepped over to the red ashes and threw on some small stuff that,
taking fire immediately, blazed up brightly and allowed him to see much
better.
“I wonder if it slipped into those bushes, or went around another way?”
he asked himself.
Was it one of the campers he had seen slipping along in a bent-over
attitude, or could it have been a shadow moving? Dick’s heart was
thumping against his ribs, for he was more or less excited over the
occurrence, especially after what had happened on the preceding night.
“WHY, IT’S GONE!” MUTTERED DICK.
 “I’d like to see if anybody is missing from his blanket,” he continued to
mutter, “but to do that I’d have to wake the whole bunch up, and there
would be the mischief to pay. Perhaps I fooled myself after all, and just
imagined I was seeing things.”
So concluding to let the matter rest until morning came, Dick proceeded
to toss a couple of big pine-knots, that would burn for several hours, on the
fire. Then he glanced dubiously around him once more, after which he
returned to his blanket.
But not to sleep immediately, for his brain was too excited for that.
Indeed, the boy lay there, turning from side to side, until the morning star
had arisen above the horizon and shone in upon him, which fact announced
that it was three o’clock.
After that his tired brain allowed him to forget his troubles for a time;
and when he opened his eyes again the first peep of dawn had come.
Dick crawled softly out and proceeded to get into some clothes. There
was no need of arousing everybody in the camp at such an early hour, and
he knew very well that if he chanced to awaken some of the noisy ones
there would be no further peace until the last sleeper had been dislodged.
He was building up the fire a little later when Leslie appeared in his
pajamas, stretching himself, having evidently just awakened.
“Always the first to be on deck, Dick; there’s no getting ahead of you,”
he said. And then he added: “But why are you looking over our cooking
outfit that way? Peg made sure to hide the aluminum kettle he brought
along, if that’s what you miss. He said it was bad enough to lose his frying-
pan without having the kettle follow it.”
“I had forgotten,” remarked Dick, relieved, and it was evident that he
had feared the unknown thief had paid the camp another of his nocturnal
visits.
“Looks as if we might have another good day,” continued Leslie, as he
began to change from his pajamas to his “work clothes,” as he called the old
suit he had been wise enough to wear on this outing.
“I certainly hope we shall have a bright day,” Dick observed, “because
Mr. Rowland has a programme laid out that fills in the whole of it for
everybody.”
“I can see that they mean the boys sha’n’t rust out while we’re up here
on Bass Island,” chuckled Leslie. “They believe with the ant that every
shining hour ought to be improved, because there’s always lots to do.”
“Oh! it isn’t that alone,” he was told, calmly. “As Mr. Holwell says,
boys have just got to be doing something all the time or they’ll think up
mischief; so it’s policy to chain that restlessness to good works. Most of us
seem to like it first-rate in the bargain.”
“Haven’t heard the first whine so far,” admitted Leslie. “Those boys
from the mill are certainly doing great stunts. They never had a chance
before really to camp out decently, with plenty to eat along. And then
there’s Nat and his cronies behaving like human beings for once, though I
shouldn’t be surprised if they did manage to break out before we get home
again.”
“Let’s hope not,” said Dick.
Several other boys now made their appearance. They were not in the
habit of getting out of bed at such an early hour at home; but in camp the
surroundings were so entirely different that they could not get to sleep
again, once they opened their eyes at daybreak and heard whispering going
on outside. Besides, they expected the bugle to sound at any minute now.
Then again with some of them it was a case of hunger, for those terrible
appetites had taken complete possession of them, and hardly had they
disposed of one meal than they began to talk of what they would like to
have for the next one.
Eddie Grant and Ban Jansen, being the assistant cooks for the morning,
were soon helping Sunny Jim. Peg hovered near them, having first of all
hastened to where he had secreted his aluminum kettle which he brought
back to the kitchen department with considerable satisfaction, if the grin on
his face meant anything.
“Gave us the go-by last night, it seems, Dick,” he observed, as he
flourished the shiny article in which their rice had been cooked on the
preceding night.
 “I hope we won’t be troubled any more by having our things disappear,”
was all Dick remarked, for somehow he did not feel altogether certain that
the crisis had passed by.
Just then the loud notes of the bugle sounded, for Harry Bartlett had
practised the various army calls and had them down to perfection, from the
“reveille” to the “assembly” and “taps.”
Once again the boys went through the customary manual drill, while
Mr. Holwell, ready for his morning bath, stood and watched the display
with considerable interest.
“I can see that you mean your boys shall get the full benefit of their
outing up here, Mr. Rowland,” he told the athletic trainer as all started down
to the brim of the lake to enjoy a brief plunge. “I can easily understand now
what wonderful benefit any lad is sure to get from a few weeks spent in one
of the many Y. M. C. A. camps spread all over this broad land, especially if
they are being conducted on the same principles you and Mr. Bartlett have
instituted here.”
“Oh! this is only a very small edition, sir,” laughed the other, who had
had considerable experience in Y. M. C. A. camps. “I’ve been in camps
where there were as many as a hundred and fifty boys and young fellows
coming and going all summer.”
“When you have time,” said the minister, eagerly, “I wish you would
tell me more about how these wonderful camps are conducted. As you say
our attempt is only a small beginning, but if all goes well next season we
can have this camp running for two months. Mr. Nocker has become greatly
interested in the matter, and offers to erect a few buildings up here, such as
an ice-house, a dining hall, and the like, though tents would still be used for
sleeping purposes.”
“I am delighted to hear that, sir,” said the athletic instructor, warmly.
“From what I have seen I believe this to be one of the finest movements
ever started to give boys the right kind of outdoor life under clean and
religious surroundings. They can have all the fun necessary, and at the same
time build up both their bodies and their minds in a healthy fashion. Now if
you will watch I can show you some of the work of our life-saving corps.
You will see that with such well-trained helpers there will be no danger of
even the most timid or awkward bather incurring any risk of losing his life.”
Mr. Holwell was deeply interested.
“Tell me more about the life-saving crew, and what requirements they
must be able to meet before they are fully qualified to serve as members in
good standing,” he asked the athletic director, as they stood, after coming
out of the water themselves, watching all that went on.
“I shall do so with pleasure,” replied the other, his eyes sparkling. Truth
to tell, that was the very thing he took the keenest interest in. “You see the
crew in one of the big Y. M. C. A. camps is really an auxiliary branch of the
United States Volunteer Life-saving Corps. To become a member a boy
must pass through a stiff test. This consists of swimming one hundred
yards, using three different strokes; swimming on the back without the use
of his hands; swimming one hundred yards, starting with his clothes on, and
removing them while doing it; diving into water about eight feet deep for a
ten-pound rock, and bringing it to shore; knowing how to handle a boat, and
being familiar with its different parts, as well as tying various sailor knots.”
Mr. Holwell looked surprised.
“Quite an education in itself, I should say,” he remarked.
“Oh! that is only a beginning,” continued the other. “The candidate must
show himself capable of rescuing a drowning person, and must actually
carry him to safety. He must be able to break a ‘death-grip’ so as to be in a
position to keep himself from being dragged down by a frantic victim of
cramps. He must also know the best way to resuscitate a person who has
apparently been drowned. When a young fellow can pass this strict
examination with flying colors he receives a certificate from headquarters,
and is entitled to wear the official badge.”
“And that whistle which you have just given three times, calling the
boys up out of the water—does that stand for anything in particular?” asked
the minister, as the entire party hurried to their tents to rub down and dress.
“Yes, indeed, sir,” he was told. “That is the emergency whistle when we
are in camp. Whenever it is sounded every life-saver runs for the shore,
ready for business. It is on this account that scores of big camps are held