And after that there was no holding the eager scouts in. It seemed as though they could themselves scent the water, just as the wise old Dobbin had; for helter-skelter the entire troop started to make a wild dash ahead.
Even the cripples forgot to limp, and stifled their groans; for they surprised themselves by their ability to sprint with the rest.
The first to round the clump of rocks and scrub gave a shout that echoed from the adjacent mountain side; while, he waved his hat above his head to indicate his delight.
As the others skirted the obstruction they too gave way to enthusiasm, and the cheers that rolled forth must have startled the hawks, and wearers
of fur in this remote region, since they could never before have heard a genuine boyish whoop.
There was a lake before them, as wild looking a body of clear water as any one could ever expect to find, even in the Adirondacks. Indeed, Paul, and several others, who had been around more or less, declared that they had never before looked on so desolate a picture.
Nowhere was there the slightest sign of human habitation. And upon the lonely sheet of water not a solitary craft of any description could be discovered. So far as they could see the Banner Boy Scouts owned the whole region!
"Alabama! here we rest!" chorused the whole troop, gleefully, as they started on a run for the near shore of the lake.
"Don't go far away, any fellow," warned Paul, knowing the weakness of boys when new and novel scenes beckon them on.
He had good reason to speak in this manner; for judging from the appearance of the country by which the lake was surrounded, any fellow who was unlucky enough to get lost, before he secured his bearings, might have a serious time of it.