n't brought us a mite of anything
to eat. You've moved everything but the provisions, and you've forgotten
them entirely."

Master Tom admitted the grievousness of his fault and returned at once
to the drift cavern after the forgotten provision pack. The bread, as
they all knew, was long ago exhausted, but plenty of meat remained, and
this Tom presently brought. When he opened the pack a disagreeable odor
spread itself at once over the little room.

"Phew! what's that?" said Tom, and putting his nose to the meat, he
looked up in blank consternation, saying:

"The meat is spoiled, Sam! What on earth shall we do?"

The case was an alarming one certainly. They were hungry, and Sam, whose
returning health had brought with it a ravenous appetite, was
particularly so. He needed wholesome, nourishing food now more than
anything else, as he knew.

"Well," he said, after thinking the matter over, "it can't be helped.
There's nothing for it but to fall back on sweet potatoes till I get
strong enough to go hunting. You must go to the potato field Tom, and
bring some."

There had been but one field of corn in the neighborhood at first, and
the various parties of Indians who had camped in its vicinity had long
ago carried away the last ear of corn from that, as the boys knew very
well. The river was altogether too high now for mussels to be got, and
so the sweet potatoes in a field half a mile away, were their only
resource.

Tom set out at once in quest of them, carefully looking out for lurking
savages. He was gone more than an hour, and just as Sam was growing
really uneasy on his account, he returned, _empty handed_!

"There isn't a potato in the field," he said as he sat down in utter
dejection. "The Indians have dug every one of them."

This announcement was indeed an alarming one to the whole party. They
were without an ounce of food of any sort within their utmost reach, and
it was plain that they must starve, unless they could hit upon some new
device, by which to get a supply.

"I must go hunting, sick or well," said Sam rising; but he had no sooner
got upon his feet, than he felt the utter impossibility of doing
anything of the kind.

"It's of no use," he said sadly. "I can't make my legs carry me, Tom,
and so we must depend upon you. Go into the woods there by the creek,
and sit down or stand still till you see something in the way of game,
and then take good aim before you shoot, for we mustn't waste any o