They continued to crouch--there was small possibility of any one discovering them--and watched all that was going on in the busy camp beyond.
Not once did any of the soldiers wander away. It was plainly evident that they were being given no liberties. Rob only hoped that the order would come for this corps to get on the move, and head to the southwest; for he did not doubt but they were meaning to go to Ghent, or to some other place toward the coast.
Several times Tubby was observed to crane his neck and look up toward the heavens anxiously. The others did not need to be told what those signs indicated. They knew very well that the fat chum had not become suddenly interested in astronomy, or expected an eclipse of the sun to happen. He was merely noting how far along his morning journey the sky king had traveled, because he could not forget how Rob had set a time limit on their remaining there.
Two hours he had mentioned as the sum total of their stay; when that boundary had been reached Rob was going to make some sort of pleasing proposition. Tubby hoped it would have to do with the procuring of a certain nourishment, of which all of them certainly stood in great need.
At last Rob gave signs of making a move.
"Now, if you fellows will come back along the road a little ways with me," he announced with a smile, "I"ve got something to propose. I only hope you fall in with my views, for then there"s a chance that we"ll have something to eat."
"Oh! you can count on me agreeing with you, Rob!" said Tubby cheerfully. "No matter whether it"s fur, fin, or feather, I think I could do justice to nearly anything that grows."
"As it happens, it"s something that doesn"t fly or walk that I have in my mind," Rob declared rather mysteriously. "The fact is, it hops!"
"Now you have got me worse balled up than ever," protested Tubby, his brow wrinkled with his endeavor to guess the answer.
"I think I know," volunteered Merritt, grinning amicably.
"What does he mean, then? Please hurry and tell me," pleaded Tubby.
"Frogs, isn"t it, Rob?" demanded the other.
"Oh! gingersnaps and popguns! Do I have to come down to choosing between eating jumpers and starving to death?" complained the fat boy, looking distressed.
"Well, wait till you get your first taste, that"s all," Rob told him.
"If you don"t say it beats anything you ever took between your teeth, I"m mistaken, and that"s all there is about it. Why, they"re reckoned one of the fanciest dishes in all the high-cla.s.s clubs in America, along with diamond-back terrapin, canvas-back duck, and such things. The only thing I"m afraid about is that after you get your first taste you"ll want to hog the whole supply."
"But how shall we catch the frogs, and then cook them?" asked Merritt.
"The first ought to be easy," replied Rob, "seeing how plentiful they are, and how big and tame. I see a dandy piece of wood that would make a good bow with a piece of stout cord I"ve got in my pocket. Merritt, get some of those straight little canes, growing on the edge of the water.
We can make them do for arrows, and, even without feathers, I think I can hit a big frog with one at ten paces away. It"ll be fun as well as a profitable business. Frog-hunters, get busy now."
"Here"s a long pole, Rob. Shall I take it and steal up close enough to whack a few of the jumpers on the head?" asked Tubby, now entering into the spirit of the game.
Being given permission, and warned not to make too big a noise, lest he frighten all the frogs into jumping, he set about his task. After several failures he finally brought one monstrous greenback frog to where the others were still working.
"I"ll show you how to cut off the saddle, and skin the hind legs," said Rob.
Tubby did not altogether like this job. The slimy feeling of the frog rather went against his stomach. Still, after the large hind legs had been duly skinned, they presented so much the appearance of the white meat of a spring chicken that Tubby felt encouraged enough to set forth again.
He had four victims by the time Rob and Merritt p.r.o.nounced the bow and arrow part of the business in readiness for work.
They kept at it steadily for an hour and more. Rob found considerable excitement and profit in his archery. His arrows could not be wholly depended on, for they were not properly balanced; but the distance was so short that he made numerous fatal shots.
Merritt, too, had secured another long pole, and joined Tubby in his share of the frog hunt. It was exciting enough, and with more or less delicious little thrills connected with it. No doubt the frogs must have enjoyed it immensely; but then, no one bothered asking what they thought of such tactics. A boy"s hunger _must_ be allayed, and, if there were only frogs handy, why so much the worse for the "hoppers."
"Whew! Don"t you think we"ve got enough, Rob?" asked Tubby, unable to stand it any longer.
"What"s the score?" asked the archer, as he tossed still another great big victim toward the spot where the fat scout had been counting the pile.
"Twenty-one, all told," replied Tubby. "That would mean seven for each.
But how in the world can we cook them? I hope now you don"t mean to tackle them raw? I love raw oysters, but I"d draw the line at frogs. I"m no cannibal."
"Well, let"s find a place deeper in the woods, where we can make a fire out of selected dry wood that will make so little smoke it can"t be noticed. That"s an old Indian trick, you know. Hunters used to practice it away back in the time of Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton. When they were in a hostile country they had to be mighty careful about making a smoke. I"ve tried it before, and believe I can pick out the right kind of fuel to use."
While the others were finishing the not very pleasant work of skinning the numerous frog saddles, Rob busied himself with making the fire in a secluded neck of the woods. In the midst of jutting stones he soon had a blaze going. It could not be seen twenty feet away, on account of the obstructions; and, as the proper kind of wood had been selected, there was no smoke to mention.
The boys would have given something for their well-remembered frying pan, just at that time, and some pieces of salt pork with which to sweeten the dainty morsels which were to const.i.tute their luncheon. They were true scouts, however, and could make the best of a bad bargain.
"All hunters do not have skillets when they"re in the woods," said Rob, as he took a long splinter he had prepared, thrust it into one of the saddles, and then, poking the other end into the ground close to the fire, allowed the meat to get the benefit of the heat. "We must do what we can in this old-fashioned way. The best sauce, after all, is hunger; and, from the look on Tubby"s face, I reckon he"s fairly wild to set his teeth in the first of the feast."
Pretty soon it was a lively scene, with all those forks having to be attended to. A tempting odor also began to rise up that made Tubby"s mouth fairly water. He heaved many a sigh, as he waited for Rob to tell him that the first of his allotment was sufficiently browned to be devoured.
"Now, let"s begin," said Rob finally. "Only look out not to burn your lips. And, Tubby, take my word for it, you"re going to get the treat of your life!"
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE ARMORED CAR.
"Honest, Rob, I never knew what I was missing when I said toasted frogs"
legs would do for Frenchmen, but none for Merritt Crawford," and, while making this abject confession, the speaker allowed a look of sublime content to possess his features, such as would remove any lingering doubt concerning his sincerity.
"How about you, Tubby?" asked the master of ceremonies.
Tubby had been savagely tearing at his first helping. His eyes were glued on the various sticks under his charge, at the ends of which the rear portions of as many frogs were dangling, and turning a delicious brown under the influence of the heat.
Then Tubby was seen to heave a sigh.
"To think that there are only _six_ more apiece!" he said in a most solemn tone. But the others laughed softly, because they knew any loud merriment, under such peculiar conditions, was hardly safe.
"That settles one thing," remarked Rob. "There"s going to be a marked reduction in the profits of this particular frog-raiser this season, if Tubby has to stay here long."
Tubby was already commencing on his second batch. He could not waste time in talking when his appet.i.te had been excited to a feverish pitch by the first bite of tender and succulent meat.
"Only thing I kick about," he presently mumbled, throwing away the slender bones which he had picked clean, "is that they go so quick. Why, you hardly get started before you"re at the end."
"That"s the way with nearly all good things," Merritt informed him.
"Just as soon as they become so numerous that you can have all you want, somehow it seems as if the craving leaves you."
"Yes, I guess that"s about it," admitted Tubby, talking only because the next batch of provender was not quite ready for disposal. "Anyhow, I"ve seen my mother just dote on a horrible little cuc.u.mber that dad brought home in January, paying about twenty cents for the same, and, when we have bushels of splendid ones in our own garden, why, n.o.body cares to eat them."
The little feast continued until everybody had cleaned up their mess.
Tubby was disconsolate because the supply was so limited and the demand so great.