Come on!' yelled Dick; and the two scouts threw aside their blankets,
bounded to their feet, and dashed at the monster in the dusk beyond the
fire. Chippy was nearer, and his patrol staff dealt the first blow.
Down it came with a thundering whack on something; then Dick sailed in
with the tomahawk. But he had no chance to put in his blow, for the
creature was off and away, with a thud of galloping hoofs, and a
terrific snort of surprise and alarm. Twenty yards away it paused, and
made the river-bank resound again--'Hee-haw! hee-haw! hee-haw!'

'Why, it's a confounded old jackass!' roared Dick; and then the two
boys burst into a peal of laughter almost as loud as the brays of the
assaulted donkey.

'Well, I'm blest!' said Chippy, 'if that ain't a good un. The least I
thought on wor' some tramps comin' to pinch all we'd got.'

'But what made that frightful noise?' asked Dick, as they went back to
the fire and began to pile fresh logs on from a heap which had been
stacked away.

'I dunno,' replied his comrade; 'it wor' pretty rum. No jackass as
ever lived 'ud mek' a row like that.'

They sat for a while by the fire, which soon burned up cheerfully, and
made the camp seem home-like at once. Suddenly the wild cry broke out
again, this time straight over their heads. The boys looked up
quickly, and saw a bird flitting silently across the light of the merry
blaze.

'Theer it is!' cried Chippy--'theer it is! A scritch-owl--naught else.'

'Is that a screech-owl?' said Dick. 'I've heard of a screech-owl many
a time, but never heard its call. It's a jolly horrid sound.'

'Ain't it?' rejoined Chippy. 'Wot between wakin' up sudden, and
hearin' 'im 'oot, an' th' ole jackass a-cavortin' round, I was wellnigh
frit out o' my senses.'

Dick laughed and poked the fire with a stick. The logs flared up, and
the pleasant blaze was warm and comforting. He looked at his watch.

'It's just half-past two,' he said. 'Fancy, Chippy, half-past two in
the morning, and we're sitting by a camp fire.'

'It's great,' said Chippy; then he gave a tremendous yawn.

'Feeling sleepy?' said Dick.

'We'd better turn in again, I reckon,' said Chippy, 'or we won't be fit
to goo on our tramp again to-morrow.'

Dick nodded in agreement, and the boys added a few fresh pieces of wood
to the fire, and rolled themselves up once more in their blankets. In
a few moments they were soundly off to sleep again, and when they were
wakened next