And as the trail ran about that way, in a general direction, of course they were perfectly safe in believing that some, or all, of those they had been so persistently following, would be found alongside that fire.
The very thought gave them a delicious thrill. By another hour then, perhaps in even less time than that, they would likely know the worst. And if, as several of them secretly feared, those two ugly brutes of timber cruisers had dared lay so much as the weight of their heavy hands in anger on Bumpus, or ventured to kick him around as though he were a slave—well, something unpleasant was going to happen to them, that was positive.
“It’s a fire, all right,” announced Thad; and Giraffe breathed easier, for he had been entertaining a slight fear lest some of his laurels be snatched away.
“And all of a mile from here,” Allan remarked. “I wonder however you discovered it, Giraffe, with all these big trees around. There must be just a little opening ahead, and you hit on that avenue.”
“Oh!” said Giraffe, as if carelessly, though he was undoubtedly secretly pleased with such words of commendation from one who had had such long experience in the art of woodcraft as the Maine boy; “what’s the good of having eyes unless you use ’em? That was just dead easy—for me, you know.”
“Now, the question is, what do we want to do—what would seem to be our best course?” Thad went on to say.
“I calculate you are referring to the torch business?” Allan remarked.
“Yes, that’s it,” replied the scoutmaster, “we’ve got to decide right now whether to keep on using it for a while longer, or stamp on the same, and make our way ahead the best way possible.”
“But why not keep on with the light?” asked Step Hen, who was wondering whether in the darkness he might not be so dreadfully unfortunate as to step on another of those “fighting snakes,” and have his left leg put out of commission also, which would be a dreadful catastrophe indeed.
“Because there’s always a chance one of those sharp timber cruisers would see it bobbin’ along, and that would put them on their guard. We had one experience in that line, you know, fellers, when they heard us coming, and got all ready to receive us. I don’t like ever to stamp out a fire, but if you say the word, Thad, out it goes.”