ire is the hub, and each scout a spoke, that's right, suh," Chatz
agreed.

Landy acted as though he would never get enough of the fragrant browse.
Long after the others had stopped gathering it, he continued. When
they joked him about being greedy when there was no price to pay, he
had an answer ready.

"I'm a whole lot heavier than anybody else, don't you know?" he told
them. "And on that account I ought to have a higher pile under me.
Besides, I always did like to gather things in."

"We'll remember that, Landy," threatened Lil Artha, "the next time we
need a big supply of firewood. You've fixed it up good and tight, and
you'll find us the most obliging lot of scouts east of the Rockies."

After considerable fussing and joshing, they managed finally to get
"fixed." As none of them had slept too soundly on the preceding night,
owing to their strange environment, and the wild alarm that sounded
when Johnny's chicken-thief trap was sprung, the boys were both weary
and drowsy.

Elmer was really the last to drop off, and he smiled as he raised his
head to glance around at the stretched-out figures of his six chums.
Some were breathing pretty loud, but Elmer could forgive that, and so
he also gave himself up to indulging in refreshing slumber.

He was awakened by a horrible crash that made him instantly sit up.
Other figures were bobbing up all around the smouldering camp fire.
From the condition of this latter, Elmer knew that he must have been
asleep much more than an hour.

"What happened?" gasped Landy the first thing, for he was digging his
fat knuckles into his heavy eyes as though trying to rout the last atom
of drowsiness from them.

"It was me," replied Lil Artha, promptly; "I fired my gun!"

"What at?" demanded Elmer, thrilled in spite of himself.

"A creeping man!" came the astounding answer.

"Wow! what's all that, Lil Artha?" Toby exclaimed; "you must have been
dreaming, and did it in your sleep. It's a good thing none of us
happened to be in range of your old Marlin scatter-gun, that's all."

"Rats! I tell you I was wide awake, and sitting up when I fired,"
insisted the tall scout.

Of course, by this time all were on their feet, for the excitement had
gripped hold of them. Elmer realized that Lil Artha was speaking
earnestly, and showing no symptoms of having played a practical joke.

"Now tell us all about it, Lil Artha," he commanded.

"Why, it was about thisaway," said the other, o