"And some good cheese. Say, boys, they must be living pretty well, eh?"
So the talk ran on, while the Ham Spink crowd ate whatever they desired. As the meal progressed, they grew reckless and began to throw things around, so that more than a quarter of the stores were literally wasted.
After the meal was over the boys set to work to hide what remained of the stores, in the brushwood back of the camp. They carried everything out of the cabin, even to the blankets and extra clothing. Some clothing was thrown high into a tree and some shoes were placed under a flat rock.
It was not until four in the afternoon that Ham Spink and his cronies began to think of getting back to their own camp. They were all in rare good humor, thinking they had accomplished something wonderfully smart.
"We must watch for the return of Snap Dodge and his chums," said Ham.
"To be sure," put in Dick Bush. "Won't their eyes open when they see this! I just guess!"
"Finest trick I ever played in my life, don't you know," drawled one of the dudish boys.
The fire was kicked out and they took themselves to their boat. A strong wind was coming up, ruffling the surface of Firefly Lake.
"Wish we didn't have to row in the wind," said Ham Spink.
"We can take our time," said another.