with a stout staff, and Jack
having his camera dangling over his shoulder by the strap.

He stood there watching them plunge into the depths of the woods. Every
time one of them glanced back Steve would wave his hat to show that he
still watched. There was a trace of regret in his manner, though he had
bravely tried to hide it from Jack's observing eye. Of course Steve
hated to see them go away to stay so long; it would be mighty lonely in
camp all by himself; and the coming of night could not be expected to
give him a great amount of cheer.

But then Steve was a sensible chap, capable of making the best of a bad
bargain. He would find plenty to do to amuse himself; and as a last
resort he had that entertaining volume, only one-quarter read up to now,
upon which he could depend to make the time pass. So after they had
vanished from his vision Steve turned around and proceeded to clean up
the breakfast things for a starter.

CHAPTER XVIII

INSIDE THE ENEMY'S LINES

Jack and Toby pushed on through the woods. Having been over the course
much of the way before, going and returning, they would find it much
easier than if everything was strange to them.

"No use trying to see our trail, is there, Jack?" the other had remarked
after they were fairly started on their way.

"Well, it would have to be a pretty deep lot of tracks that would not be
washed out in all that downpour of steady rain," Jack advised him. "But
then there are scores of other things by means of which we'll be able to
know we are going over about the same route as before. For instance, you
remember seeing that stone yonder, that seems to be so neatly balanced
on another larger one, just as if human hands had placed it there?"

"Why, of course I do, and we even stopped to look at it closer," replied
Toby. "I called it Saddle Rock, because the top does resemble a saddle a
whole lot. Yes, and I shall be on the lookout for that remarkable
looking tree that made us think of a camel's hump, it was so curved. It
wasn't a great way beyond these same rocks, if I'm not off my bearings."

"We'll run across it before ten minutes more," commented Jack; and sure
enough that was just what they did.

So, thanks to the habit of observing things all the time, they were
enabled to follow their former course just as unerringly as though they
had been picking up a well-beaten trail.

Of course they talked of many things as they trudged along, for as yet
there