It was rather difficult to accomplish anything while on such a narrow footing, because in the first place they could not bunch together; and then again there was always a chance that one of the other scouts might also lose his footing, and slide into that soft bed; for the muck was no respector of persons, neither did Bumpus have a monopoly of the same, because there was plenty of room for others.
But by dint of judicious handling, and a sort of swinging pull they managed to start the heavy scout coming.
“Get a move on, and help yourself, can’t you?” fretted Giraffe, upon seeing how Bumpus was just content to let himself be hauled out by main strength.
“Shall I, Bob?” asked the object of all this solicitude, as though recognizing the Southern boy as the one in command, because it had been in his charge he had submitted his case when the prospects looked dubious.
“Yes, it would help some, I take it, suh, if you did make motions like you-all might be a frog swimming in there,” the one appealed to made answer.
And so Bumpus, who had doubtless often watched a frog swimming so gracefully in the water, started to give them his conception of what it was like. Giraffe nearly doubled up with silent laughter, and only for the proximity of Allan might have made more or less of a noise; but he succeeded in restraining his exuberant spirits, and even did some hauling on the faithful cord that did not fail Bumpus in this great emergency.
They got him out presently, and while Bumpus was a sight, with all that black mud clinging to his legs, so that the rest had to keep away from him, Davy had the temerity, instead of giving thanks over the successful rescue of his chum, to go and mutter something that sounded like:
“Anyway, now, he’ll just have to throw away that old suit, and the rest of us’ll be able to breathe easy again. Blessings lots of times come along in disguise, my ma says, and this must be one of ’em. And so I’m real glad we had to creep along this slippery ridge after all, because it’s going to make a change in things when we get back to our duffel.”
“Keep quiet, can’t you, Davy!” warned Giraffe, who all the time was chuckling to himself as though he really enjoyed every word he heard the other scout say, because Davy was voicing his own sentiments exactly.
When that suspicious “plunk” had warned them all that some one was in the mire, Thad and the guide had come to a full stop, to wait until the rescue had been effected. While they were strung out in that wavering line, what was the interest of one concerned them all; and there would be little use in a few of them getting safely over the bog if the main body were held up out there; because none of those in the rear could pass by until Bumpus had been saved.