"I believe I should like to try my hand at it, too," added the Professor. "Do you know, young gentlemen, I have not been on a hunting trip since I hunted wild boar in the Black Forest with General von Moltke! You may talk about the savagery of your native bear. But, for real brutality, I recommend the wild boar."
"Yes, but wait a minute," objected Ned Rector, his face sobering.
"How are we going to hunt? We have no guns to hunt with.
Mr. Thomas has the only rifle in the party."
"That's so," agreed Tad. "I hadn't thought of that. I should have brought my old rifle with me."
The guide smiled good-naturedly and motioned to Jose.
"Do you know where that long package marked 'hard tack' is, Jose?" he asked.
The cook said he did.
"Bring it to me," directed Lige so low that the others did not catch his words.
The package was placed on the ground at Lige's side a moment later.
"What is it?" asked Chunky, stretching his neck so he could look over the table.
"Your curiosity will be the death of you some day if you don't correct the habit," warned Ned. "If you'll use your eyes you will observe that the package contains hard tack, and——"