"Not so bad, is it, Jimmy?" Teddy wanted to know, as they tried to make themselves as comfortable as possible, by hunting up all sorts of things capable of being turned into rough seats.
Of course, these were of no value whatever, for in frequent raids on the part of wreckers, whoever they may have been, everything worth taking had long since been carried away. Indeed, Frank declared he was puzzled to know why they had overlooked the broken stove; and all of them agreed it must have been by mistake.
"Well, I should say not," was the reply, on the part of the freckled-face lad, as he sighed and looked around him. "D'ye know I was just thinking how happy we could be in this palace if only we had those lovely blankets along; yes, and all that good stuff to eat. I think I'd be apt to pick up some weight here, if we had a cinch like that. But now every meal we enjoy means we're that much closer to the end. Mebbe we'll have to do what shipwrecked sailors do, draw lots for a sacrifice. I see my finish, if ever it comes to that, because I always get the wrong end of the deal or the stick."
"I pity the one who has to take a bite out of such a tough case as you," Teddy frankly told him; and somehow Jimmy seemed to consider that he had been given a bouquet, for he bowed and smiled and looked pleased.
"Tell the rest that," he whispered to Teddy "and I'll be safe."
The rain kept coming down steadily as the hours wore on.
"Tell me about your tropical showers," Jimmy remarked, as noon came and found no change in the conditions, "right up here on the border of the Arctic regions, when it takes a notion to rain, it does make up for lost time. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if it kept the plug out of the rain barrel for a week now."
"It's bound to make the going worse for us," Frank grumbled.
"Why, all the marshes will be flooded, and we'll have a high old time trying to navigate through the same. What do you think, Ned?" Teddy wanted to know.
The patrol leader looked at them, and smiled.