" Jack told him; for it was always a hard
thing to crush the spirit of the boy who could write such glowing
accounts of trips and things for the readers of his father's big paper.

"Since we've rested up, suppose we make a fresh start," proposed Ned.

"We ought to soon come to where we followed that creek up and reached
the tent colony about the mine opening," Jack was saying, as they
started walking again.

"Unless I'm mighty much mistaken," Ned remarked, "we'll run across the
same when we get to the bottom of this rise. I think I remember seeing
this place before as we came along."

It turned out that Ned was right, for ere much more time had passed, the
little expedition stood on the bank of the creek.

"Broader than you thought, ain't it, Ned?" questioned Frank, as he eyed
the stretch of water dubiously.

"Oh! we wouldn't expect to bridge it over here," was the answer the
patrol leader made. "By following it up for a little ways, we'll find
that it narrows considerably; and that's where we want to look sharp for
a log that'll come in handy."

"Yes, I remember now that it wasn't over ten or twenty feet across at
most, where we struck it last time," Teddy piped up, for he was keeping
an accurate account of all that occurred, and hence had the figures down
pat.

As soon as they found that the creek bed had come down to respectable
proportions, the scouts began to scurry around, hunting for a fallen
tree that might be made to answer for a bridge. This was soon found and
carried to the spot selected, as the most suitable for their purpose.

There was only one way in which they could drop the bridge over and find
an anchorage on the other shore. This was by raising it to a
perpendicular position on the near bank and, then giving it a shove,
have it fall on the other.

It required the combined strength of the scouts, backed up by the more
powerful guides, to accomplish this feat in bridge building. Ned had
figured to a fraction, it seemed, for when the log fell it rested at
least a foot on either bank.

After that it was easy for them to cross over, though Teddy had to get
down and crawl, he being addicted to dizzy spells when at any height,
and not in the humor for taking a dip in the cold water of the creek.

The boys were for starting on immediately; first of all, Ned had them
shove the friendly log from its mooring ashore, so that it floated on
the surface of the creek.

"You see," he went on to explain