“I’d rather have a picture of you and Dave building one of those big bridges you spoke about,” answered the other youth. “Then we could have a couple of copies framed and shipped to Jessie and Laura;” and at this dig Ben had to dodge, for both Dave and Roger picked up bits of rock to shy at him.
“Let’s walk across the summit of this mountain and see what it looks like on the other side,” suggested Shadow. “I suppose we’ve got time enough, haven’t we?”
“We’ve got all the time there is, Shadow,” answered Dave. “It won’t make any difference how late it is when we get back to camp.”
One after another they trudged along through the underbrush and among the loose stones on the mountain summit, which was a hundred yards or more in diameter. In some places they had to pick their way with care, for there were numerous cracks and hollows.
“A fellow doesn’t want to go down into one of those cracks,” remarked Phil, after leaping over an opening which was several feet wide and probably fifteen or twenty feet in depth.
“He’d get a nasty tumble if he did,” answered Roger.
“And he’d have a fine time of it getting out if he chanced to be alone!” broke in our hero.
With the sun shining brightly and not a cloud obscuring the sky, the five chums presently reached the other side of the mountain. Looking down, they saw a heavy wilderness of trees sloping gently down to the hollow below them and then up on the side of the mountain beyond.
“Isn’t that perfectly grand!” murmured Ben. “Just think of the thousands upon thousands of feet of timber in that patch!”
“Yes. And think of all the masts for ships!” added Phil, with a little laugh.