f this excellent dodge, when suddenly he
stopped, caught up the wooden spade, and, with a single grunt of
'Brekfus ahoy!' was gone.

His eye, ever on the alert, had marked a small figure scuttling along
in the undergrowth of the coppice, and he was in hot pursuit. In two
minutes he was back with a fat hedgehog.

'Ye've tasted this afore,' he said. 'How about another try?'

'Good for you, Chippy!' cried Dick; 'it was first-rate. Will you cook
it the same way?'

'There ain't none better,' replied the Raven, and set to work at once
to prepare and cook the prey of his spade. In the end the scouts made
an excellent breakfast. They enjoyed hedgehog done to a turn--or,
rather, to a moment, as there was no turning in the matter--the remains
of Mrs. Hardy's sandwiches, and a billy of water drawn from their own
well. The well and the breakfast took some time, and their start was
much later than they had intended that it should be. But, on the other
hand, there were the blankets to dry, and between the sun and the fire
the latter were quite dry enough to pack away in the haversacks when
the scouts were ready to move.

Dick's foot had become quite easy during the night's rest, but after a
couple of miles the cut began to let him know that it was there. By
the time they had covered four miles it was very painful, and he was
limping a little. Then they struck a canal on the side opposite to the
towpath, and they sat down beside it on a grassy bank and cooled off a
little before they stripped for a good swim in the clear water.

When Dick took off his shoe and stocking, the Raven whistled and looked
uneasy. The flesh all round the cut looked red and angry, and the heel
was sore to the touch.

'Isn't it a nuisance,' groaned Dick, 'for a jolly awkward cut like that
to come in and make the going bad for me? But I'll stick it out,
Chippy. It's the last day, and I'll hobble through somehow and finish
the tramp.'

'We'll pass a little town 'bout a mile again, accordin' to the map,'
said the Raven, 'an' there we'll get some vaseline.'

'Good plan,' said Dick; 'that's splendid stuff for a cut.'

They had their dip, dressed, and pushed forward. At the little town
they called at a chemist's and bought a penny box of vaseline. As soon
as they reached quiet parts again, Dick took off his shoe and stocking,
and rubbed the wound well with the healing ointment, then covered the
bandage with a good layer, and tied it over th