eat, Giraffe," suggested Davy Jones; "he can give you some
valuable pointers on how to stow the grub away. You see, his neck ain't
like yours, and it takes less time to navigate the channel."

"Huh! I only hope it gives him a cramp, and doubles him up," grunted
the other, in more or less disgust.

"Now you're getting one off on me, you think," remarked Davy; for he had
been subject to cramps a long time, and never knew when one would attack
him, making him perfectly helpless for the time being; and the boys were
beginning to notice how accommodating the said "cramps" seemed to be,
visiting Davy just when some hard work loomed up in which the victim was
supposed to have a part.

"And now what?" demanded Step-hen, yawning, and stretching his long
figure.

"Do we go back to our downy couch again, fellows; or is it so near
morning that we'd better stay awake?" asked Davy Jones.

"Do you know what time it is?" asked Thad, who had been inside to
consult the little nickel watch he carried: "just ten minutes after
two!"

"Wow! me to get seven more winks!" exclaimed Giraffe; "and please don't
wake me so suddenly again, boys. My eyelids popped open with a bang. If
they hadn't been fastened on as tight as they were, I'd have lost one,
sure."

"That's the way you wake up, eh?" remarked Step-hen. "Remember the
Irishman who heard the cannon fired when the flag went down, and asked
what it was. When they told him it meant sunset he said----"

"'Sure, the sun niver goes down in ould Ireland wid a bang loike thot!'"
called out Giraffe from the interior of the tent, spoiling the telling
of Step-hen's little story, which no doubt every one of the boys knew.

Soon the camp was wrapped in silence again, even the contented bear
lying down, better satisfied than ever with his new friends. And that
wish of Giraffe's could not have borne fruit, for there was nothing
heard to indicate that the bear suffered the least bit of indigestion
from devouring the whole heavy cake that would have lain like lead in
even a boy's strong stomach.

The rising moon sailed higher in the heavens, and looked down upon the
peaceful camp of the Silver Fox Patrol. The little wavelets washed up on
the shore with a sweet musical tinkle that must have been like a lullaby
to the boys, seeing that even Thad failed to awaken again, while night
lasted; and the smouldering camp-fire had to take care of itself from
the time of that second alarm.

Some of them w