Paul thought it time to beat a silent retreat in the direction of the ashcan he had selected as his cover. When settling down he managed to give
the signal that the other three would recognize as denoting caution, and that they must remain on the alert every second of the time.
Now Bud was coming. Paul could hear him stumbling along, grumbling when he banged into the open door, simply because his sense of observation had not been so highly developed as had that of the young scout leader.
But by striking another match Bud managed to locate the cause of his trouble. He was glimpsed by Paul, spying around the edge of his screen, and seemed to be rubbing his forehead vigorously, as though he might have raised a lump there in his contact with the door.
Some one pounded from without.
"Hi! there, Bud, what's keeping you?" demanded Ted, gruffly, unable to control his impatience.
"All right, I'm here. But you'll have to wait a little, fellers," said Bud, who had struck a third match in order to size up the situation around the neighborhood of the exit.
It was rather strange that in looking about him he failed to discover some sign of the presence of those four forms cowering behind as many tall ashcans; but perhaps this was because they managed to keep well out of sight.
"What's the matter in there? Why don't you
open up?" called Ted, again rapping his knuckles on the wooden barrier.