“Or so stiff that we’ll have to set each other up against the fire to thaw out,” laughed Boxy. “My! but it’s cold, eh?”
“With so much snow it ought to get warmer,” grumbled Andy.
“It will be warmer by to-morrow, I think,” said Jack. “We can thank our stars that we have such a comfortable shelter.”
With a last look at the fire, Pickles retired to his corner of the hut. Soon the colored youth was snoring peacefully, and the sound made all of the others sleepy. One by one they lay down and rolled themselves in their blankets, Jack being the last to retire.
How long he slept he never knew. He awakened with a sneeze and a cough, which did not come from the cold. He sat up and rubbed his eyes in a dazed way. What was the matter?
Suddenly a puff of smoke nearly strangled him. The smoke was followed from the outside by a streak of flame! Then he realized what was the matter. The campfire had set fire to the hut!
CHAPTER XXVIII.
FIGHTING THE FLAMES.
The instant that Jack realized that the hut was on fire he let out a cry that brought all of his companions to their feet at a bound.
“What’s the matter?”
“Where does all this smoke come from?”