bushes to be cut, worth sleeping on."

"Hey, would you see how fine a fire-tender that Giraffe is; it's gone
clean out, that's what?" cried Step Hen, just then.

"Well, would you blame him, when he was listening to such an interesting
story as the one I had to tell?" asked Thad. "Get busy, Number Six, and
have a blaze going in quick time."

"Ay, ay, sir," sang out Giraffe, who had wisely laid aside a surplus
supply of fine stuff when making the fire, which now came in very handy.

And when the coffee was finally done, and they gathered around, sitting
on rocks, logs, or even cross-legged, tailor-fashion, on the ground, the
eight scouts made a very fine picture in their uniforms.

Apparently their appetites had been sharpened by that afternoon jaunt,
judging from the way they pitched in. And perhaps, after all, Reuben
Sparks had been a wise as well as prudent man when he failed to invite
this squad of lads to stop over with him; for they would have made a sad
inroad on the contents of his larder; and food costs money.

"Where's Bob?" demanded Bumpus, suddenly, after they had been about half
an hour trying to lighten their supplies, and with wonderfully good
success. "He was sitting over yonder only three minutes ago; and now
he's gone. Reckon that bad spirit of yours is sneakin' around again,
Step Hen, and must a took Bob by mistake; though I pity his eyes if he'd
ever think so good lookin' a feller as Bob could be you!"

"Bob's gone to keep his appointment," remarked Thad, quietly.

And the boys said nothing more about it, knowing that the Southern lad
laid considerable store upon this meeting with his little cousin Bertha;
whom he expected to coax in to helping him try and see whether sly old
Reuben Sparks might not have forgotten to destroy all evidence of fraud,
in connection with his dealings with her father, the uncle of Bob.

So the conversation drifted to other topics; and soon they were laughing
over some of the queer happenings in the past history of the Silver Fox
Patrol.

CHAPTER XI.

WHAT WAS UNDER THE HAT.

THE flames crackled merrily, and the seven boys who lounged there in as
comfortable attitudes as they could strike, were fully enjoying
themselves. This sort of outdoor life seemed to appeal very strongly to
all of them, though of course to some more than others.

It had always been a passion with Thad, for instance; and Allan could
look back to scores of occasions when he sat by a