Tad considered the matter briefly.
"I think we had better wait a little while," he decided.
"I think you are right. I hope we don't have to. We have enough food in our pockets to keep us going until night and—"
"Don't we get anything to eat until night?" wailed Chunky.
"Not unless you can browse," retorted Ned. "There's plenty of green stuff hereabouts."
"You can eat with the mules if you wish to. I don't."
"Might as well keep the fire up," decided Tad, gathering up a fresh supply of green stuff which he dumped on the graying ashes. "The smoke will help the Professor to find us quickly when he comes back."
"What if he shouldn't come back?" asked Walter, with sudden apprehension.
"Oh, he will. Don't worry about that. You can't lose the Professor."
The boys laughed, then settled down to make the best of their situation, whiling away the time with jest and stories.