ng so mysteriously. Perhaps we'll know what it
is before we get away from here."

Jimmy and Teddy, the pair of doubters, seemed to feel somewhat better
after this little heart-to-heart talk with Ned. The leader of the Wolf
Patrol had a happy faculty for inspiring others with some of his own
confidence, which is one of the finest qualities a scout can possess.

There was a watch being kept to guard against any unexpected happening.
As was to be expected, the two guides took it upon themselves to look
after this part of the business. One of them was on duty at a time, and
it could be so arranged that the sentry did not necessarily have to
expose himself to the inclemency of the weather, in order to stand
guard.

Nothing came to pass, and the long, dreary day gradually neared its end.

"Never knew such a terribly monotonous time in all me life," Jimmy
grumbled; for he would not have been happy unless he could find an
occasional chance to "let off steam," as Teddy called it.

"Well," said Jack, "it's nearly night now, and let me tell you a great
secret."

"Go on!" exclaimed the other, looking interested.

"The rain's stopped!" Jack explained.

"Well, I declare, if that isn't true for you, Jack!" cried Jimmy; "and
to think that after me waiting for hours to be the first to tell the
joyful tidings, I had to get thinking so deeply about our affairs that I
clean forgot all about it. But it may not last. Sometimes there's a
break, and then the old storm comes back again, worse nor ever."

"Clouds zey be break right now, over zere," and Francois, who had just
come in from the sheltered nook where watch was kept, pointed as he
spoke toward the southwest, where the storm had been coming from.

"Oh! if that's the case," added Jimmy, thinking it best to cheer up,
"I'll take back what I said. And let's hope a lot of this water'll soak
away before we have to put our best foot forward again in the morning."

"I suppose we'll have to eat again," remarked Frank.

"Please don't force yourself," Jimmy told him. "It's a bad plan to eat
when you don't feel like it. And, by the same token, your loss will be
our gain."

It was a good thing that the scouts could joke among themselves, even
when facing desperate conditions. They had enough of gloom around them
without allowing it to seize upon their spirits.

By this time their stock of food was getting down to such a low ebb that
there was little choice when it came to preparing