Bob White, with his usual promptness, when any one was in need of help, volunteered to assist Allan. Between them they succeeded in dragging the scout who was trapped in the quicksand, out of his unpleasant predicament; and while about it all of them crossed to the other side of the creek, where they were speedily joined by the balance of the patrol; though every boy took advantage of the fence rails that lay scattered through the shallow water, in order to prevent any possibility of a repetition of the disaster that had overtaken their comrade.
A halt was called, to enable Giraffe to wipe some of the mud from the lower portions of his uniform. And of course all sorts of talk passed back and forth, as might be expected among a parcel of lively boys out for a good time. Even the one so lately in dire danger had apparently gotten well over his nervous shock, for he laughed with the rest at the ludicrous nature of the event.
"Say, what kind of natives do you have down here, Bob White?" asked Bumpus.
"The same kind, I reckon, suh, that they raise in all mountain regions," came the ready reply of the sensitive Southern boy. "Some are pretty tough; but then again, I give you my word, suh, that there are others you can't beat for being the clear quill. But may I ask why you put that question to me, Bumpus?"
"Sure. There was a feller perched up on that rock stickin' out above us," declared the fat boy, pointing his finger upward along the rugged and rocky face of the mountain side; "I called to him to come and help get poor old Giraffe out; but he never made a move; just sat there, and grinned. He had a gun along with him, and I s'pose he was a specimen of the Blue Ridge mountaineer. Gee! you ought to a seen the long white beard the old feller sported!"
"Oh!" exclaimed Bob White, looking excited, a fact that aroused the keen interest of all his comrades at once.
"Do you know who he was?" demanded the indignant Bumpus.
"I'm sorry to say, suh, that I think I do," replied the Southern boy, slowly. "If your description is correct, and believe me, I have no reason to doubt it, that man you saw must have been no other than Phin Dady!"
"Phew! ain't that the moonshiner we heard so much about over in Asheville?" asked Step Hen.
"The same man," answered Bob White, glancing a little nervously up toward the rock indicated by his comrade, and which, jutting out from the steep face of the mountain; offered a splendid outlook for any one who wished to see who might be coming along the winding road.