While Jack and Pepper were getting the fish ready, Rand brought the stove from the boat, set it up and had it burning, and the pan hot by the time Pepper came with the first installment of fish.
"Gee! that smells good," called Jack a little later when the frying fish, under Rand"s skillful manipulation, began to send forth savory odors. "You can sure cook, Rand."
"Ah done reckon dat am a fac", foh shuah," said Rand.
"Hurry up, Rand," broke in Pepper. "I can"t wait much longer."
"All ready, sah," called Rand. "Dem fishes am prognosticated to ah turn."
Something pa.s.sing on the river attracted attention, and the boys all walked a few paces toward the water.
At this instant, as their backs were turned, a boy ran swiftly from a nearby clump of bushes, s.n.a.t.c.hed the pan from the stove, overturning the latter as he did so, and silently dashed back into the woods.
It was done so quickly and adroitly that Pepper, who was the first to catch sight of him, had scarcely time to shout:
"There goes Monkey Rae, and he has got our fish."
"What is it?" asked Rand in bewilderment.
"Monkey Rae," cried Pepper; "he"s stolen our fish! Come on, boys.
After him!"
"Well, of all things!" exclaimed Rand, "that takes the cake."
"I t-t-think it takes t-t-the fish," amended Pepper, as he dashed away.
The boys set out at once in pursuit of the thief, but he had too long a start, and perhaps, some knowledge of the locality, and after a vain hunt they straggled back to the boat without having found any trace of him.
"Well, that"s the meanest thing yet," grumbled Pepper, looking at the overturned stove. "The oil has all run out and we can"t cook any more," he went on, with so gloomy an expression that, in spite of their anger against Monkey Rae, the others could not help laughing.
CHAPTER VII
THE COLONEL
"What"s the matter, boys?" said a cheery voice behind them, and they turned quickly to meet the smiling glance of a man who was sitting on a rock at the edge of the glade.
He was tall, erect, and of military bearing. Quick and alert, in spite of his snow-white hair and mustache.
"Why, Colonel Snow!" cried Jack in astonishment; "where did you come from?"
"Oh, I saw you some time ago as you were coming ash.o.r.e," replied the colonel, "and I walked down to meet you. What"s the trouble, the enemy been making an attack?"
"Looks that way," answered Rand. "Monkey Rae made a raid on the commissary and carried off the fish we had cooked."
"That"s nothing to be concerned over," continued the colonel. "Why don"t you cook some more?"
"Can"t," replied Pepper, "he upset the stove and spilled all the oil we had."
"Stove!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the colonel in scorn. "What do you want with a stove?"
"Why, you can"t cook without a stove," replied Pepper, "and, besides, he stole our pan."
"Pan!" exclaimed the colonel, "and plates, too. When you are out on a tramp all you need is a knife, a tincup and a match. Anybody got a match?"
"Yes, sir," replied Jack, "lots of them."
"We only need one," answered the colonel. "A good scout doesn"t use more than one match to light a fire. Why, when I was out in Arizona we would make one match do for a whole company."
"Crickets!" exclaimed Pepper, "that was going some."
"Suppose you let me show you how to cook without a stove. Jack, see if you can"t find some dry leaves and small twigs. Rand, you can get some bigger pieces, plenty of them. That"s the kind. And, Pepper, you and Don bring up a lot of that clay from down there by the water. That"s the stuff. Now wrap your fish up in a coat of clay. Never mind the scales. Coat them all over and pile them up here as fast as you get them ready. If we only had some flour we"d have a dinner in the real scout style."
"I don"t see how you are going to cook them in that clay," put in Jack.
"We are going to bake them," replied the colonel. "Build a good, hot fire on top of them."
"Like they do with a clam bake?" inquired Rand.
"That"s the idea," said the colonel, who, while talking, had been packing the fish in two layers on a flat rock. "Now put your leaves on--not too many--lay on your pieces, Rand, pile them up so as to leave a draught. That"s it; now, Jack, touch it off."
Jack struck a match which flickered for a minute and went out.
"Tut! Tut!" cried the colonel, "that won"t do!"
"Oh, it doesn"t matter," said Jack, "I"ve plenty more."
"No," corrected the colonel, "you should rely on only one. Now, suppose we are out on the plains and this is your last match. Let me show you how to do it."
Stooping down, the colonel waited a moment until there was a lull in the wind, when he struck the match, shielding it with his hand until it blazed up, and then touched it to the leaves, which, catching the fire, were soon blazing fiercely.
"Now, then," went on the colonel, "we don"t want the enemy swooping down on us again. Don"t you think it would be a good plan to throw out a picket to keep guard?"
"I think it would," replied Rand, "although I don"t think that he will come back."
"You mustn"t depend upon that," cautioned the colonel. "Always think he will do the most unlikely thing. A good scout is always on the alert, especially in the enemy"s country."
"We didn"t know we were in the enemy"s country," said Rand, "but I guess it is the enemy"s country, wherever Monkey is. I"ll take the first turn," going off and circling about the place. "I guess he"s gone," he said to himself, but no harm looking!"
"Now," said the colonel, after a time, "I think our fish must be pretty nearly cooked. Rake one of them out, Don, and try it, but don"t disturb the others until you find out. How is it?"
"Fine!" cried Pepper, who had a.s.sisted in the operation. "Couldn"t be better. Hadn"t we better put on some more?"
"You will have to build another fire," replied the colonel. "Now, see how well you can do it. Do it just as I did and light it from this fire. We had only one match, you know."