scare him!"

And Aleck pressed his arm, to let the scoutmaster know that he
understood; even though the means to be employed might as yet be a
mystery to him.

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE CROW BOY'S HONOR.

Just as the prospector had started to draw the curtain of vines back,
there came a most dreadful growl that made Aleck jump, under the belief
that the she wolf he had been dragging after him, might have come back
to life, and was about to pounce on the destroyers of her lair.

Then all at once it struck him that Thad must have been the cause of
this savage growl; that was no doubt what he meant when he spoke so
confidently of knowing a way to frighten the man off.

Indeed, Waffles did spring back instantly, uttering a cry of terror.
He fully expected to see the beast that had uttered that ferocious
growl come flying through the vine screen, leaping at his throat.

"What is it?" shouted Kracker, himself scrambling to his feet
clumsily, owing to the girth of his waist.

He seemed to be dragging something out of a rear pocket, and no doubt
this was the single weapon which the Boy Scouts had allowed the men to
carry off with them, at the time Kracker and his companions found it
necessary to confess themselves beaten in the game of wits.

"A wolf is layin' behind them vines; didn't you hear her give tongue
like sixty? Ketch me aliftin' anything thar, I tell you. Ugh! I ain't
lost no wolf. Chances are it's the mother of that cub, too; an' she'll
be that mad when she knows we killed it, nawthin' won't stop her
rushin' the camp. Let's clear out of here?"

"But we got our fire started, an' all of us feel dead tired, too,"
complained Dickey Bird, who was evidently struggling between two
opinions, and did not know which was the lesser evil--remain where
they were, with that savage beast hovering around; or once more pursue
their weary way elsewhere.

Kracker had approached close to the vines, and Thad thought it a good
time to give another growls which he did with new emphasis. And Aleck,
not wanting to be left out of the game entirely, tried his hand also.

"Look out, Kunnel, thar's two of the critters!" shouted Waffles,
turning and edging further away from the rock wall.

"A hull den of 'em, I reckons!" added Dickey Bird, who no longer cared
to stay in such a dangerous vicinity.

Thad reached out his hand, and shook the vines violently. This action
completed the demoralization of the three prospectors. Almost