He raised his voice, calling the boys and Dick and Art to him. Then he explained how matters stood.
“As soon as we finish breakfast,” he said, “we’ll start, and you must all be very careful not to shoot Lupo, if it comes to a battle.”
As they ate breakfast, Bob who seldom spoke but always to the point, raised a question which had been puzzling him.
“Mr. Hampton, what will we do with all our outfit?” he asked. “And with our radio transmitter, especially? Shall we dismount it? Must we take all our outfit along?”
“It would be too bad to dismount the radio, after our trouble in getting it erected,” said Mr. Hampton. “And to take all our outfit with us would be to hamper our movements. On the other hand, we can’t very well leave everything here, for some of Lupo’s men might slip away from the main body, in fact, they may already have done so, and they would put us in a terrible plight if they raided the camp, in our absence.”
There was silence for a minute or two, then MacDonald spoke.
“We can certainly travel faster without your outfit to hold us back,” he said, “especially if Lupo tries to run away. For then we could gain on him at the portages, by traveling light. Look here, Mr. Hampton, this island is easily defended. We’ve been going to the shore to keep watch on the mainland against surprise. But just a little ways through the trees is a little rise, a knoll, from which you can see the waters all around the island. One man alone could keep guard here.”
“But one man couldn’t keep off an attack in numbers,” objected Mr. Hampton.
“I don’t know,” said MacDonald. “With them high-powered rifles of yours, it might be done. They carry far, farther than any guns Lupo’s Indians and breeds will have. Anyway, two men certainly could manage to hold this place against all comers.”
“And three,” added Farnum, with a significant look at Mr. Hampton, “could do it even better.”