“My lantern is going out! Guess all the oil is burned up.”
With a flutter his light went out, leaving them with but one good lantern among them. For a moment they were at a loss, for the mountains were very dark and slippery and if the last light went out their case would not be a happy one.
“Well, we still have one left and there must be a little oil in the other lanterns,” said Ted. “We’ll push along with the one light and if that goes out we’ll refill my lantern with the oil from the others.”
They continued on their way for some time, moving in the general direction of the camp. The ground was indeed muddy and treacherous and they were compelled to watch every footstep. As they rounded a point on the mountain Buck paused and pointed to a light below them.
“Hello, we have certainly wandered off of our course, all right! There is the cabin of that unsociable fellow that the farmer told us about.”
They looked down into the slight valley to the cabin before them, noting with some envy the lighted windows, speculating on the warmth and cheer which was inside. The light in the cabin was a good one and the square panes of glass released broad floods of yellow illumination. As they looked the door opened and a tall man came to the door looking out.
“Duck the lantern!” whispered Buck, and Ted dropped it behind a bunch of bushes.
The man looked up at the sky, apparently wishing to see if the storm had passed over. He was much as the farmer had described him and he was dressed in an odd costume for a backwoods cabin, for he had on a soft white shirt and white flannel trousers.
“My, my, what a nice looking pioneer he is!” muttered Buck as the man retired.
“Buck, do you know what I think?” asked Ted, slowly.