“Oh, stop!” he yelled. “I—ker-chew! Oh! Oh!”
He threw one of the pillows at Link. It struck Joe instead, and Joe sent it at Fred. Then the stout lad hurled it into the crowd. But it sailed too high, struck the fire, and the pillow burst open.
“Hi! hi!” called out Joel Runnell. “Take that out of the fire!”
“Can’t—it’s bursted,” answered Joe. He bent forward over the blaze. “Oh, what a smell! Ker-chew!”
The pepper was now burning, and the smell speedily became so strong that everybody had to sneeze and rush for the doorway. Into the open tumbled the boys, one on top of the other.
“Watch out; the shelter may get on fire!” said Fred.
“Oh, don’t say that,” groaned Teddy, becoming frightened on the spot. “Sure an’ I didn’t mane to carry the joke so far.”
“Then you did do it after all?” murmured Fred. “Well, it was a good joke all right enough.”
From the doorway Joel Runnell watched the progress of the fire. The pine needles soon died out, and the camp-fire became as before. But it was some time before they could stand the smell of the burnt pepper. The unburnt pillow was thrown out into the snow.
“It was only to git square for the Indian trick,” said Teddy. “Won’t you call it off now?”