of the impetuous Josh.

"In the first place they were apt to hurry off," said Tom. "Then they
might even try to blind their trail, though I don't believe any of them
know much of the Indian way of doing that. But the sun will soon set,
and it grows dark early along the northeast side of Big Bear Mountain
you know."

"Yes," added George, always ready with an objection, "and some of us
feel a little tired after all we've gone through with to-day."

"We'd better leave that until Mr. Witherspoon joins us in the morning,"
concluded Tom. "Of course that wouldn't prevent a couple of scouts
following the trail a bit while breakfast was cooking, and saving us
that much trouble later on."

"The next thing for us to see about is how under the sun will we cook
all these delicious bass Billy's got ready?" remarked Felix.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you they missed one frying-pan," remarked Billy,
exultantly; "it chanced to be hanging from a nail I drove in a tree,
and they couldn't have seen it. By making relays we can do our cooking
in that."

"Besides, we're two shy of our original number," added Horace.

"What would we have done without any skillet at all, Tom?" asked Billy.

"Oh! there are ways of doing it by heating a flat stone, and cooking
the fish on that," replied Tom. "Then some old hunters who won't bother
to carry a frying-pan into the woods with them manage by toasting the
meat or fish at the end of a long sliver of wood. Given the fish and a
hot fire, the fellow who couldn't invent some way of cooking would
deserve to go hungry."

"That's right," agreed Josh. "And everybody notice that it's going to
take more than a little thing like this to stall the scouts who are up
to their business."

Indeed, there did seem to be an unusual spirit of animation among the
boys that evening. Every fellow was anxious to assist in getting supper
ready, so that after all it began to look at one time like a case of
"too many cooks spoiling the broth."

When the first batch of fish had been browned they were kept hot on a
clean stone close to the fire while the other lot was cooked. As their
supply of coffee had gone together with numerous other things, the boys
had to drink cold water for supper. Loud were the lamentations over
this.

"The smell of coffee, bacon, or fried onions is what always makes it
seem like camping out," declared Josh, sadly; "and now we haven't got a
single one of those lovely things left. Our breakfast