o that Steve could see better.

"Ginger!"

"Oh! then you recognize it, do you, Steve?"

"Why, yes, I seem to, Max," admitted the other, staring first at the
section of ham and then upwards toward the tree from which it had
apparently descended, aimed so as to strike him; "but what's _our_ ham
doing away off here, tell me that, will you? We didn't fasten it to this
tree, but the one close to our tent; so we'd know if anything came
nosing, around."

"All right, Steve; it looks as if something did come nosing around,
without any one of us being the wiser. And that creature, whatever it
may have been, was carrying the ham away when it thought you must be
following below; so what does it do but let out a screech of fury, and
whang, the ham straight down at you."

"Gee! ain't I glad though he didn't happen to be the pitcher of his
nine, because he might have made a better shot; and if that seven pound
piece of smoked pork had taken me on the coco I'd have seen more stars
than there are up above us now."

"Yes, Steve, it's sometimes better to be born lucky than rich," Max told
him; "but there the other boys are calling to us, and wanting to know
what it's all about. As you're beginning to shiver you'd better turn
around and trot back to where you left your blanket, don't you think?"

Steve had a terribly stubborn streak in his composition. He proved it
right then and there.

"I'm shivering, all right," he remarked, with chattering teeth, "but I
reckon it's more because of the excitement than that I'm cold. Anyway,
if I had the good sense to make my way out here in my sleep just because
I was thirsty, why, seems like it'd be too bad to get disappointed; so
I'm going to have a drink, no matter what happens."

With which he deliberately passed on a dozen paces, reached the spring,
and taking the tin cup they kept there proceeded to slake his thirst.
Max could not help admiring his grit, even though believing that Steve
would be wiser if he forgot his thirst and hurried to the shelter of his
blanket.

"Course you mean to carry the ham back with you, Max?" he inquired, as
he once more joined the other.

"I should say so," Max told him; "and after this we'll have to be more
careful about our smoked meat, unless we want to feed every animal up
here. They're smart enough to get on to that racket of hanging it from a
limb. We'll keep it inside the tent, and they can only get it by
creeping over us as we sleep, which would