"If we only had a rope, Skinny," said Benny, "you could creep up behind and lasso them, the same as you did the robber out near Starved Rock."
"Bet your life I could," he replied, "but we haven't got one. Fellers, don't you ever go out again without a rope. You can't ever tell when you will need it."
"Great snakes!" said Bill, thinking of the chicken Skinny had been going to give him. "I'm starving to death. Let's heave some rocks at 'em, anyhow, and then run."
He picked up a big stone as he spoke and was going to throw it, when Hank caught his arm.
"Wait," said he. "I know a trick worth two of that. I'm going to shoot 'em."
"Shoot them?" I gasped in surprise. "What with?"
"With my camera. You fellows stay here out of sight and caw like a crow if they make any move before I am ready for them. If I can only get behind that clump of bushes back of them without their seeing me, I'll take their picture."
"Aw, cut it out," said Bill.
But Hank was gone, and after a little we could see him running through a field out of sight of the men, so as to come into the ravine from the other end. Pretty soon we saw him crawling in, creeping from bush to bush, in sight only for a second at a time.
There was not a sound except the voices of the men, who were talking about something, and the ground might have opened and swallowed Hank for all we could see of him.