by planting their staves against some convenient
stump, or the butt of a tree, anywhere but in the oozy mud.

"Wait up for me!" Noodles would call out every little while, when he
fell behind, for he seemed to have a horror lest he might slip into that
horrible bed of mud, and be sucked down before his chums could reach
him. "It iss nodt fair to leave me so far behindt der rest. How wouldt
you feel if you rescued der argonaut, and lose your chump; dell me dot?
Give eferypody a chance, and--mine gootness, I mighty near proke my pack
dot time," for he had come down with a tremendous thump, when his feet
slipped out from under him.

But as a rule boys are not apt to give a clumsy comrade much sympathy,
and hence only rude laughter greeted this fresh mishap on the part of
Noodles.

"Nature looked out for you when she saw what an awkward chap you were
going to be, Noodles," called back Fritz. "You're safely padded all
right, and don't need to feel worried when you sit down, sudden-like. If
it was me, now, there might be some talking, because I'm built more on
the jack-knife plan."

"Oh! what is that?" cried Eben, as a strange, blood-curdling sound came
from a point ahead of them; just as though some unlucky fellow was being
sucked down in the embrace of that slimy mud, and was giving his last
shriek for help.

As the other scouts had of course heard the same thing, all of the
detachment came to a sudden halt, and looking rather apprehensively at
one another, they waited to learn if the weird gurgling sound would be
repeated, but all was deathly still.

CHAPTER XII

WHERE NO FOOT HAS EVER TROD

"Now whatever do you suppose made that racket?" demanded Seth.

"Sounded just like a feller getting drowned, and with his mouth half
full of water. But I don't believe it could have been a human being, do
you, Paul?" and Eben turned to the one in command of the troop.

"No, I don't," returned the scoutmaster, promptly. "More than likely it
was some sort of a bird."

"A bird make a screechy sound like that?" echoed the doubting Eben.

"Some sort of heron or crane. They make queer noises when they fight, or
carry on in a sort of dance. I've read lots of things about cranes that
are hard to believe, yet the naturalists stand for the truth of the
accounts."

Paul started off again, as though not dismayed in the slightest by the
strange squawk, half human in its way. And his example spurred the
others on to follow in