Of course, Lil Artha was only having a little fun, because there was no thought of leaving anybody behind to stand guard over the two abandoned skiffs; and least of all would Elmer have dreamed of appointing the fat and timid scout for such a duty.
When deciding on such a radical change in their plans, Elmer did not forget that it might also be well for them to conceal the two boats. Should the man they were hunting chance to come upon the skiffs he might think it good policy to smash in the planks to such an extent that they would be useless for further voyaging; and possibly the scouts would be glad to get out of the swamp by the same means they had taken when entering.
"First of all, let's hide the boats somewhere," he suggested. "They're pretty heavy, of course, but seven of us ought to be able to carry them, one at a time."
"It needn't be for far either," Lil Artha assured them, "because here's a jimdandy place close by. Everybody on the job, and see what you can lift."
After all it was nothing to speak of, for the two skiffs were easily handled, and nicely concealed from view. When the boys had removed all traces of their passage, anyone might walk by within five feet of the patch of bushes and never suspect what lay there so neatly hidden.
"There, that job's done," said Elmer; "now finish packing, and we'll be off."
Landy hurried now. He had a lingering fear that there might be more in that obscure threat made by Lil Artha of desertion on their part than appeared on the surface. The more he considered being left alone in that dreary swamp the faster Landy's fingers flew. He also kept a wary eye on the tall scout, and had Lil Artha shown any intention of hurrying off he would have surely found Landy tagging at his heels, whether he had his pack or not.
Meanwhile, Elmer, having quickly arranged his possessions, because of long familiarity in the packing line, had gone over once more to the bush patch where on the preceding night Lil Artha had seen that suspicious lurker.
Of course, it was Elmer's intention to examine the tracks left by the mysterious visitor, and see whether it would be possible for them to pick up the trail.
He was, of course, taking it for granted that the party must have been the same man they had been hunting ever since reaching the swamp. So far as Elmer could say, his footprints resembled those they had seen with Hen's, although there was really nothing remarkable about them to distinguish the indentations above all others.