Suddenly the scouts raised a cheer. Above a grove of limes a short distance ahead, a church steeple sprang into sight.
'Half-way!' cried Dick. 'We've done half the journey, Chippy. Here's Little Eston steeple.'
The Raven nodded. 'We'll halt t'other side,' he said.
In the village they bought a small loaf and a quarter of a pound of cheese, and those were put into Chippy's haversack. At a cottage beyond the hamlet they lent a hand to a woman who was drawing water from her well, and filled their billy with drinking-water at the same time. They made another three hundred yards, then settled on a shady bank under a tall hawthorn-hedge for their midday halt.
'How's yer foot, Dick?' queried the Raven anxiously.
'A bit stiff,' replied Dick; 'but that vaseline has done it a lot of good. I'll peg it out all right yet, Chippy, my son. Now for bread and cheese. It will taste jolly good after our tramp, I know.'
It did taste very good, and the scouts made a hearty meal, and then lay for a couple of hours at ease under the pleasant hawthorns, now filled with may-blossom.