"Hold on," remarked Giraffe, looking up, hungrily; "perhaps everybody ain't through yet; and Bob, I think those flapjacks you made are simply delicious."
"Thanks, suh!" returned the cook of his mess, with a pretended bow; "but I beg to diffah with you; and by the orders of the scout-master I am handing the balance over to Smithy, from the other mess, who will proceed to feed it to the prisoner. Our scout-master is afraid that if you did get sick so early in the outing, he might have to exhaust the medicine chest befo' your appetite returned."
"Oh! all right, Bob, just as you say; and perhaps I have devoured as many as I had ought to; but they were good, I don't care what you say. Come again, Bob."
"Hey! anybody seen my head—" began Step-hen; when Davy interrupted him to bawl:
"Anybody seen Step's head; he's done gone and lost that, now. Always said he would have done it long ago, only Nature had it fastened on tight. But the catastrophe has arrived at last. Step's lost his head, fellows; not that it matters much. A liberal reward is hereby offered to the finder. Apply to Step-hen Bingham."
"Think you're smart, don't you?" jeered the lean one, as he kept on overturning all manner of things. "I was only going to ask if any one had taken my head gear, otherwise known as my campaign hat? Of course I know what the answer'll be—nobody's seen a thing of it. It does beat the Dutch how my things are always going, the funniest way ever. Now I could declare I hung that hat up on the broken branch of this tree."
"Well, you've been sitting on it all the time you were eating breakfast; and there it lies, as flat as any pancake that was ever cooked. Now perhaps you'll learn sometimes just to put things where you c'n find 'em," said Bumpus.
Step-hen turned to shoot an accusing stare at the speaker that made the fat boy writhe, for he knew what was passing in the mind of the other.
"Didn't, so there!" he snapped, as he turned away; and Step-hen, looking after him, wagged his head as he muttered:
"Honest Injun now, I really believe he did take it, and the joke's gone so far he just hates to own up. Oh! all right, Bumpus, I'll get on to your game sooner or later; and then the laugh will be with you, just wait and see."