“Cook it now!” urged Alex, his hand on his stomach.
“Right now!” Jule joined in the hungry request.
“Earn your suppers!” grinned Clay. “Go and kill a jaguar.”
“But don’t get far from the river,” warned Frank, “and don’t get lost in the jungle back there.”
“Any bears back there?” asked Jule, with a wink at Alex.
“There’s worse—snakes a rod long.”
“That’s my snake!” shouted Jule, and off he went, not stopping to permit Alex to come up with him.
“That kid has steam enough for a Central Lines locomotive,” Clay said, as the boy disappeared. “Do you remember how ill he was that night on the South Branch?” he added, turning to Frank.
“He looked like death had him,” was the reply.
“And look at him now,” Clay exclaimed, proudly, “look at him now! There isn’t a healthier lad in nine states! Hear him yell, in there! Not much like tuberculosis, eh?”