Jed had formerly been something of a bully and the boys had not liked him at all. But there had been a great change in him lately, and he seemed to be trying to do the right thing. Ever since he had risked his life in trying to save one of the smaller boys when it was thought that the school was on fire, Frank and his chums had felt very friendly toward him.
"I wish you were, Jed," responded Sammy, warmly.
"So do I," came from Frank and Bob.
"We'll tell you boys all about it when we get back anyway," continued Sammy. "That is if we get back at all."
He folded his arms in a gloomy manner that spoke volumes of the possible danger of the trip, and the other boys felt rather shivery. In imagination they could see the bones of the young adventurers bleaching on the western plains.
"If we do get back," went on Sammy, when he had let this sink in far enough, "we'll bring you fellows something that we've picked up out there. Maybe it'll be the rattles of a snake——"
"Or the teeth of a grizzly bear," put in Bob, hopefully.
"I'd rather have a scalp," put in Hank Blair.
"The claws of a panther would be good enough for me," said Jim Eaton.
The boys began to feel that with all these commissions they were getting into deep water. Still they kept a stiff upper lip and promised vaguely that they would do their best, and with this their admiring audience was forced to be content.