“Probably he is, but he doesn’t know it,” suggested Bob. “Very likely he’s chasing after a red, white and blue ant.”
“I’ll go after him,” volunteered Jerry. “You fellows go on eating. Don’t wait for me.”
He started off in the direction taken by the professor while Bob, too hungry to stand on ceremony, began to do ample justice to the food. Ned joined him, and they were nearly finished before the scientist and Jerry appeared coming through the grove of palm trees.
“What’s Jerry got in his arms?” asked Ned.
“I don’t know. The professor is laden down with the same thing, evidently.”
“They’re oranges!” cried Bob, as he caught sight of the yellow objects. “They’ve found a grove of orange trees! I wish I’d gone along!”
“Here are some of the specimens the professor captured,” remarked Jerry with a laugh, and he placed his fruit on the grass.
“Where do they grow?” asked Bob eagerly, beginning to extract the juice from a large orange.
“About half a mile back,” Mr. Snodgrass replied. “I met the owner of the grove and he invited me to take as many as I wanted.”