“The first thing necessary,” said Mr. Bartlett, who was serving as camp leader, “is to get a good fire going.”
“We were smart enough to have a lot of fine dry wood thrown into one of the two shanties, Dick,” announced Leslie with a vein of pride in his voice.
“That was clever of you, I must say,” remarked Dick. “Let’s make a number of fires, for we’re all pretty well soaked, and it’s going to be some job, believe me, drying everything after that ducking. Sha’n’t we have several, Mr. Bartlett?”
Presently the first blaze began to crackle. Then others took hold, and in ten minutes there were four good fires burning merrily.
“Now strip off those wet clothes, boys,” ordered Mr. Rowland. “Here are your bags, and if you carried out the directions I gave you the other day, you both have dry stuff in plenty for a complete change, and shoes as well. Keep near the fire, and exercise your arms all you can.”
Asa was looking blue about the lips, and shivering just as you have seen a hungry and cold dog do when begging to be let in at the door on a wintry day. It was evident that only his will power was keeping him up.
As Dick was stronger and was, as well, hardened to such things, he could stand it and not suffer.
Mr. Rowland had Sunny Jim get one of the several coffeepots, and soon had some water heating on a fire in order to make some hot coffee.
“Nothing to beat hot coffee when you’ve been ducked and feel shivery,” Dick said to Asa, after they had got their wet garments off and, under the directions of Mr. Rowland, were rubbing themselves briskly all over with coarse huck towels before starting to dress again in dry clothes.
Already the pinched blue look was leaving Asa’s lips, and a touch of color had appeared in his pale cheeks. His eyes had a sparkle, too, as though the excitement of his recent adventure still possessed him.