en, slipping the hobbles
back on his legs, sent Rocky off to forage for himself.

"We must get these things put back before we have breakfast; for it is
going to rain, and it will never do to let the bedding get wet," she
said decidedly, and, hungry though they were, they came to the task
without a murmur, only Ducky remained stationary at the fire, carefully
stirring the mush, which was slowly cooking there.

But although everyone worked their hardest, the rain was coming down
steadily before they had done, and they were all rather damp when they
climbed into the wagon, carefully carrying the pot of mush, which was
all that could be mustered for breakfast, owing to their stock of
provisions having run out.

"Now, Rumple, let us hear your adventures?" said Nealie, who was
reclining at ease on a rolled-up mattress at the back of the wagon,
while Rupert acted as master of the ceremonies and served out the mush
in such fragments of basins as were not too smashed up in the disaster
of the night, and on tin plates, his own portion being eaten from the
inverted lid of the one saucepan contained in the wagon outfit.

They all made a great deal of fun of that saucepan lid, and the
favourite diversion of Sylvia and Rumple was continually to ask Rupert
to pass them something, because it was so funny to see him have to
balance his awkward plate carefully on the top of the saucepan before he
could do what was required of him.

Then Nealie came to the rescue with her question about Rumple's
adventures, and at once the hero rose to the occasion, puffing out his
chest with such an air of unconscious importance that Sylvia at once
called him a pouter pigeon, to his great disgust; for he said it always
made him feel sick to look at those conceited birds.

"Never mind the pigeons, they will keep; tell us what you did while you
were away," said Rupert, eating in a great hurry, so as to get done
before anyone required anything more at his hands.

"I was precious careful when I rose the hill to lie along Rocky's neck,
so that anyone who noticed us would only think that it was a horse out
on the feed," said Rumple. "But I put the old horse along when we went
down the next slope, only I kept on the grass, for I could hear the men
ahead of me, and I did not want them to know that I was following. Then
there came a long hill and I could see them ever so far ahead of me, as
it was beginning to get light. Luckily they disappeared over the