The other two were already astir. Giraffe was busying himself, as usual, in getting a little fire underway; for Thad had given it as his opinion that after playing such a dastardly mean trick, Hank and Pierre, the lawless timber cruisers would not feel like venturing over in this quarter again, lest they be greeted with a warm fire from the guns of the boys.
All of the scouts felt more or less chilled, as the early morning air was pretty cool, and consequently the fire proved acceptable.
As they munched their breakfast Thad announced that he had found the trail of Bumpus again. This meant that when they were ready to start out, there would be little delay.
Of course, pretty much all the talk was about the event of the preceding night, and the fortunes of their lost comrade.
“When I shut my eyes,” said Giraffe, “I c’n just see that blessed innocent awalkin’ through these here woods, awhistlin’ for his bear to come out and be shot.”
“And I’m wonderin’,” remarked Step Hen, “whether Bumpus, if he does run across a cinnamon bear, just through the luck greenhorns seem to have, would climb his tree first, and then begin shooting; or just bang away, like he did before, and make for a tree afterwards.”
“Oh! well, I guess Bumpus learned his little lesson that time, all right,” declared Giraffe, with the superior air of one who had already gotten his bear, and could afford to look down on those not so fortunate.
“He was scared, good and hard,” Step Hen went on. “Why, his face looked like pie paste, and his goggle eyes fairly stood out of his head when he couldn’t get up in that tree, with the old grizzly a comin’ for him, growlin’, and champin’ his teeth.”
Thad only smiled as he heard these remarks that had an undercurrent vein of condescending pity for the tenderfoot chum. If he remembered correctly, Bumpus was not the only frightened scout about the time that wounded grizzly charged the camp. He had plenty of company.
When they had finished eating, the fire was put out; and after that they made for the spot where Thad had found the trail of the lost scout.