ng doing," observed another lame one, as he
limped heroically along in the midst of the trailing band, and tried to
forget the sore feeling in his feet.

"Well," quoth William, with one of his famous grins, "it wouldn't be the
first time we'd been stung; and I guess it won't be the last. But don't
holler before you're hurt, fellows; because there's water ahead I
reckon, if the signs don't lie."

"How d'ye know, old wiseacre?" demanded Bob Tice, of the second patrol;
for at the time they were marching without the least semblance of order.

William struck one of his amusing attitudes, and slapped himself on the
chest, as much as to say: "Look at me, and take pattern, because I'm the
one who knows this game from Alpha to Omega, the beginning and the end!"

"Hark! and I'll give you a pointer, fellows. A true scout must always
keep his eyes wide open. No sleepy fellow can ever make a howling
success of this business. I leave it to Paul here, if that ain't the
truth?" and William turned to the other, who was smiling as though he
suspected what had happened to meet the eyes of the speaker.

"That," said Paul, "is one of our beliefs, sure enough. A scout must
always be on the alert, or else he may miss many things that would give
him valuable information. William, suppose you go on and spin your yarn
in your own way. I saw what you did; but I'm glad I didn't cut in.
Strike up, now, and then we'll move on again, for Dobbin is coming
yonder."

"Yes," remarked the party addressed, "and if you notice the old duffer
you can see that he's showing more animation than he's exhibited this
hour back. It ain't that Curley's been using the whip either, for that
don't hurt Dobbin any, his hide is so thick. He smells water in the air,
fellows, that's what!"

"Was that what you noticed?" demanded Tom Betts, who seemed to have
fully recovered from his accident of the morning.

"Not much. It's only what my dad would call corroborative evidence, or
proof," remarked William; whose father, although a blacksmith, was
considered one of the best read men in Stanhope, and able to argue with
Judge Holt on legal matters.

"What did you see, then? Don't bait us so, William. Did you get a squint
of the pond through the trees? Funny nobody else saw it then," grumbled
Jud.

"Y-y-yes, for g-g-goodness sake t-t-tell us before we d-d-drop dead!"
cried Bluff, who always stuttered worse when excited.

"I just happened to be looking up over the tops