"They're off in another world," smiled Dick, as he listened to the deep breathing of his chums; then he slipped away from his cot.
From under a box in one corner of the tent he took out a large cup of coffee that he had hidden some time earlier. It was still warm and he drank it with relish, though his main purpose in using the beverage was to make sure of keeping himself awake.
His next move was to extinguish the lantern. Now he made his way to the bucket of water and basin. Dashing the cold water into his face, and wetting his eyes well with it, Prescott took a few deep breaths. He now felt equal to keeping awake for some time.
Outside, by this time, all was darkness, save where a few embers of the recent camp fire glowed dully.
Dick threw himself down, resting his head on his elbows, in the doorway of the tent.
"Now, don't you dare go to sleep!" he ordered himself, repeating the command frequently as a means of aiding himself to keep his eyelids from closing.
"You keep awake!" he half snorted, as he felt drowsiness getting nearer. He pinched himself, inflicting more than a little pain.
At last, however, the young leader of Dick & Co. found that his drowsiness had passed for the time being, like the sentinel in war time.
"Now, I think I can keep awake until daylight, if I have to," muttered young Prescott to himself. "At daylight it won't be so very mean to wake one of the other fellows and let him take my place."
Yet, after an hour had passed, Dick was almost doomed to discover that nature had some rights and knew how to assert them.