“No,” replied William Perry, “I’m working for a lumber company, and I’m on my way from one camp to another. I had to spend last night in the woods. But what are you doing here?”
“We’ve been out in the woods all night, too,” said Frank. “We’re camping, but we lost our way,” and he quickly explained the circumstances.
“Where’s your camp?” asked William, who, as my readers will remember, was the son of the widow in whose house the chums found shelter during a blizzard that overtook them when they were on a hunting trip, as told in the second volume of this series entitled “The Darewell Chums in the City.” Later they found William in New York. He had gone to become a sailor, but had deserted because of a brutal captain, and went into hiding. He was found half frozen in a snowbank, from which the chums rescued him, and sent him back home.
“Our camp?” repeated Bart, in answer to William’s questions, “I only wish we knew where it was.”
“I mean what’s it near?” went on William.
“Oh, the mud volcano,” replied Frank, “if you know where that is.”
William did, and quickly said so.
“I’ve been working for this lumber concern for about six months,” he went on, “and I know these woods pretty well. But I always go prepared to spend a night in them, as I had to last night.”
“And can you show us the way to our camp?” asked Ned.
“Sure. You’re not more than five miles from it. I guess you’ve been going around in a circle. Come on, I’ll show you,” and with the confidence of experience William Perry led the way through the woods. He had appeared in the nick of time.