The little temporary camp was soon a busy place. Fenn had a fire going in the stove in short order as he found plenty of dry wood, and Ned, going up stream, to a quiet spot, in a little while had caught several fish. They were soon cleaned and put on to fry with the bacon. An appetizing odor filled the little glade in the woods and the boys began to sniff hungrily.
“When will they be done?” asked Frank, as Bart bent over the pan.
“About ten minutes. You can make the coffee if you want to. Ned, you open a can of condensed milk and Fenn, you get out the salt and pepper.”
“Everything but the salt,” announced Fenn a few moments later. “Here’s the box but there’s none in it.”
The others looked surprised and disappointed.
“By Jimminites: I forgot to put it in,” he added “I bought all the other things but I left the salt to the last and it slipped my mind.”
“That’s pleasant,” observed Bart grimly. “How are we going to eat fresh fish without salt? Fenn, you’re a dandy, you are. Thinking too much of the girls, that’s what ails you.”
“Anybody might forget,” said Stumpy in extenuation.
“Well, there’s no help for it, I suppose,” remarked Ned.