“Besides,” added Thad, who did not like the way the tall scout talked, “nobody but the judge really knows a thing about our chase of that hobo who got the old army coat from Mrs. Whittaker; and if we fail to recover the same he isn’t the one to give it away. So we can say we had a great hike, got caught in a flood, and let it go at that. But all the same I don’t give up hopes of finding this Wandering George yet.”
“Which I’m glad to hear you say, suh,” Bob White admitted. “There’s nothing like a sticker in my estimation; and I can well remember plenty of times when holding out to the bitter end brought victory along.”
“Oh! we’ve all got a touch of that in our makeup, Bob,” Giraffe told him; “even Bumpus here can be as obstinate as a mule when he chooses. Just yesterday I was trying to coax him to give me that fine new waterproof match safe he carries, and d’ye know he actually refused me three separate times.”
“Oh! yes,” commented Bumpus, hearing this, “you make me think of the Irishman on the jury who, when they were discharged for failing to agree, upon being asked how it happened, said there were eleven of the most pig-headed obstinate men on that jury he ever saw, and that try as hard as he could they refused to come around to his way of thinking. If the shoe fits, Giraffe, put it on.”
Giraffe laughed just as loud as any of them, for he could at least enjoy a joke that was aimed at himself, which was one of his best qualities.
The ground did seem to rise more or less the further they got away from the northern end of the island, just as Thad had told Bumpus when the latter member of the marooned patrol was expressing his fears of being overwhelmed in the advancing flood.
Now and then they had glimpses of the river, and somehow they felt an irresistible temptation to gaze out over the wind-swept water whenever the opportunity arose.
“Just look at that squall coming across, would you?” ejaculated Bumpus; “why, it is scooping the water up, and throwing it around like mist. Ain’t I glad we’re on solid ground right now? And wait till it strikes the shore. Let me tell you it’s a good thing this island’s firmly anchored, or it’d be blown away. Hold tight to your hats, fellows, I warn you!”
There was a sudden swoop, and a mighty roar, as the squall broke among the trees around them. When there came a startling crash the scouts huddled together and stared in the direction of the sound, being just in time to see one of the tallest trees come toppling over, with a roar that seemed to shake the ground beneath their very feet.