“Someone sneaked up here during the night and went off with the stuff!” Jack said angrily.
The loss of so much food was a serious matter. Carefully, the Scouts searched every building in the old ghost town. They came upon no one. However, as they went from cabin to cabin, they experienced a strange, uneasy feeling.
“I feel as if someone is watching us,” Jack muttered, expressing the thoughts of the others.
Back at camp, Warner rounded up everyone for a conference.
“Loss of our food is serious,” he said. “We have some left, but not enough to go on.”
The Scouts regarded him with sober faces. Until this moment, they had not realized how much it meant to them to attain their goal—Headless Hollow.
“What’s the verdict?” Jack asked, after a long silence.
“I hate to say this, boys,” the rancher replied. “But we’re up against it. There’s nothing we can do but turn back.”
Jack poked at the rocks with a stick, thinking over the rancher’s decision. He knew it was a wise one. So did all the Scouts.
“It’s like this,” Warner said. “I’ve made a fast check of our supplies. If we don’t have any further bad luck, there’s barely enough food to get us to Headless Valley, with nothing for the return trip.”