Once more then they started off, though Tubby had great difficulty in “getting a move on him,” as he called it; for that load on his back seemed to make him feel like Sinbad the Sailor when the Old Man of the Sea refused to dismount from his shoulders, after being assisted along the way, demanding that he be carried still farther.
The afternoon was now beginning to wane very fast. Already the westering sun had sunk far down in the heavens, and was heading for the horizon. While their conversation had been mostly upon the entrancing topic of that strict neutrality which had been enjoined on all citizens of the United States while the World War was in progress across the sea, at the same time Tubby’s thoughts would frequently stray to his own present troubles.
“It doesn’t look much like we would run across that old logging camp to-day, where Uncle George was going to make his first stay, does it, Rob?” he was heard to ask for possibly the sixth time.
And as he had patiently done on every other occasion the scout leader answered him pleasantly.
“I’m sorry to say there’s little chance of that happening, Tubby, much as all of us would like it. According to my rough chart, we must be getting in the neighborhood of that camp, though, and, if lucky, we might even run across your uncle to-morrow. Certainly, if we hear any shooting near by we’ll give a shout, and try to find out who’s who. That’s the best I can say, Tubby.”
“Thank you, Rob, very much,” said the fat boy sweetly. “I know well enough that if it depended on you we’d arrive in camp inside of half an hour. Then, having accomplished my mission up here, we could all give ourselves up to a delightful ten days of knocking around, and doing some hunting with his guides. That means we’ll soon have to call a halt ourselves and camp?”
Rob had to laugh at the vein of pleading he could detect in Tubby’s voice when he made that apparently innocent remark.
“I’m looking around for a good site, Tubby,” he announced, and at that the moon face of the stout member of the patrol fairly beamed with pleasure.
It was not more than ten minutes afterward when Rob stopped short.
“Here’s where we spend the night, fellows,” he told them.