With these parting words Thad stepped softly into camp, glanced at the various forms of the scouts stretched in favorite positions, some even lying on their backs; and then with a smile the patrol leader lay down upon the rude bed he had made for himself, out of such material as offered.
In five minutes he was asleep, and forgetful of all the strange events that had marked their strenuous hike into the mountains of the Old North State.
CHAPTER XVI.
CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN.
"Hey! what's all this mean; morning, and nobody woke me up, to let me stand my trick at the wheel! I don't think you're treatin' me fair, that's what, fellers!" and Bumpus Hawtree sat up, rubbing his eyes as he looked around him in wonder.
The fact of the matter was it had been decided that they could get on very well without calling on the fat boy to stand sentry duty. Most of them knew how unreliable Bumpus was when it came to such things, no matter how sincere his desire to please might be; and Thad had secretly arranged to leave him out.
And so Bumpus had not known a single thing of what was going on until, smelling the delightful fumes of boiling coffee, he had opened his eyes to find most of his comrades moving about, and breakfast well on the way, under the supervision of Giraffe and Allan.
"The whole blessed night gone, and me a sleepin' for all get-out," complained the stout member of the patrol, as he climbed to his feet, and stretched. "Well, it looks good, anyway. Nothin' happened, after all. Nobody ain't been kidnapped by the moonshiners, have they, because I can count—what, there don't seem to be only seven here! Somebody's gone, and yet I don't miss any familiar face."
"Oh! you only forgot to count yourself, Bumpus," laughed Thad.