The two timber cruisers were evidently taking their ease, stretched out at full length, smoking their pipes. Something about the very air of the men would have told an observer that they were enjoying the novelty of being waited on. It was not often that Hank and Pierre knew the luxury of having a “slave” along, to humor their every little whim; and they were apparently bent on making the most out of the opportunity.
Evidently Bumpus was aware of the fact that he might look upon himself as a servant, for the time being. His dejected manner, as he sat there, gnawing at some bones they had evidently allowed him to have, after he had cooked supper, and waited on his captors, seemed to tell this only too plainly.
Even as the four scouts lay there and looked, they heard Hank call out gruffly:
“Come here, younker!”
Bumpus pretended not to hear at first. Evidently he dreaded to get too close to the men, for some reason or other.
At that Hank burst out into a string of profanity that was enough to make any respectable scout shudder. And when he ordered Bumpus again to come over to him, the fat boy evidently dared no longer pretend deafness.
He approached the spot where the two men half sat; and Thad could see from the wary manner in which Bumpus did this that he expected rough treatment.
“Git me a coal outen the fire, you fat fool; my pipe’s gone out again!”
Hank said this in the ugliest way possible. Indeed, to judge from his manner, one might even imagine it was the fault of poor Bumpus that his pipe had ceased to burn, instead of his own laziness.
Bumpus forthwith stepped over to the near-by fire. As he bent over, he looked cautiously behind him once or twice, just as though the poor fellow half expected to have one of his tormentors kick him, and he did not want to have such a thing happen so that he would plunge in among the burning wood.