“Of course we’ll have cornmeal and buckwheat in our pancake mixture,” said Norris.
“Bully! But why not take part rye flour too, and part oatmeal to mix in? It bakes fine and flaky. And there’s oatmeal cookies mixed with peanut butter and sweetened!”
“Good!” Norris pronounced.
“Y’r all right, kid!” Ace thumped affectionately on his thin shoulder blade, “y’r all right,” but at the threatened repetition of the bearlike caress, Ted dodged.
“Another idea,” Pedro broke in. “Why eat bread all the time anyway? Why not macaroni and cheese, and spaghetti and tomato paste?”
“And garlic?” teased Ace.
“Surest thing you know! And vermicelli, and noodles, and all those things. They’re all made of flour, and they’re different.”
“A little bulky,” protested Norris.
“Oh, well, for the start of the trip, then. They’re not so heavy, parked up on top of a burro’s regular pack.”
“Good!” agreed the leader of the expedition. “We may come to cattle ranches where we can get beef and mutton occasionally, though not after we get into the higher altitudes. And we can start off with a few fresh eggs, for compactness and safety broken a dozen at a time into glass jars. After that—I don’t know whether you fellows would like scrambled eggs or not, made of egg powder. Personally I don’t. Nor the famous erbswurst.”