“But I would like to have a shy at a bear or something.”
“Better leave bears alone,” put in Cottle with a shudder. “I went after one once and it nearly cost me my life.”
By the time the meal was finished the sun had set, and then it grew dark rapidly; while the dew became so heavy that Oliver wrapped a blanket about him to keep out the cold, and they all gathered together under a big tree.
Cottle arranged a temporary tent by throwing a double blanket over one of the lower boughs of the tree. He said this would be ample shelter so long as it did not rain. Then some dry boughs were strewn upon the ground, and he invited all hands to turn in as soon as it pleased them to do so.
It may well be imagined that Oliver slept but little that night. The novelty of the situation, as well as the strange sounds around him, kept him awake until far into the small hours of the morning. He was the first up, and by the time Cottle and the others had their eyes open, he had the fire started and the water in place.
“I’m as stiff as a starched collar,” groaned Gus as he arose; “if it’s all the same, I’ll sleep in a bed to-night.”
“You won’t see a bed for several weeks I’m afraid,” laughed Mr. Whyland; “that is, unless you want to turn back.”
“Turn back? Not much! I think this is a jolly good lark!” And that was the end of Gus’s grumbling.
They were soon on their way. As Cottle had said, the road now became little more than a wagon-track, crossed and recrossed in many places.