“Ouch! Quit that!” he roared, rolling over the side of the bunk and thudding to the floor. “Wait till I get hold of you, Court Parker, and I’ll–”
The threat ended in a sputter as the rest fled, giggling, to gather before headquarters for the brief ceremony of flag-raising. Then followed five minutes of setting-up exercises that sent the blood tingling through their veins and made them more than ever eager for the refreshing plunge, after which came dressing, the airing of blankets, and breakfast–and the day’s work and pleasure had fairly begun.
It was mostly work that first morning. Dale’s tent had pioneering duties, and for two hours or more he sweated with ax and grub-hoe, clearing out more undergrowth and making the camp shipshape. Ranny was no easy taskmaster. He kept everybody hustling without any let-up, and half an hour before inspection he had the whole seven hard at work on the tent, sweeping, folding blankets, and tidying up generally. There were a few grumbling asides, but the credit they received at the inspection silenced all that and made each boy resolved to be just as thorough every day. It wasn’t so bad, after all, most of them decided. Certainly they enjoyed their swim twice as much for the knowledge that the longest part of the day lay before them, unburdened by a single duty.
Both before and during dinner, there was a good deal of speculation as to what had been planned for the afternoon. But this was not revealed until the last spoonful of dessert had been consumed, when Mr. Reed arose from his place at the officers’ table.
“Most of you fellows have heard of Lost Mine Hill,” he said, “and are probably wanting to get a closer view of it. There’s a legend, you know, that before the Revolution there were copper workings in the neighborhood which were long ago abandoned and the entrance to the shafts, or whatever they were, lost track of. This afternoon we’ll take a hike over there and see if a little systematic scouting can’t solve the mystery. To make it more interesting, we’ll consider it a sort of competition on the treasure-hunt idea, each tent working together as a unit against the other five. If the entrance should happen to be located, the crowd that finds it will be given a certain number of credits toward the emblem. Everybody be on hand at headquarters at one sharp, for we don’t want to waste any time starting.”
The idea met with instant approval, and the burst of eager talk that followed showed how thoroughly it had stirred the boys’ imaginations. For the next twenty minutes the camp buzzed with interested discussion, and at one o’clock not a scout was missing from the throng before headquarters tent.
They started at once, with Mr. Reed and Mr. Curtis in the lead. There were no regular roads to follow, but after half an hour’s tramp through the woods they struck an overgrown track, and kept to it until it simply dwindled away into nothing and disappeared. A little distance beyond, the ground began to rise, gradually at first, but with increasing steepness, while outcroppings of rock showed more and more frequently. Presently, reaching a small open place among the trees, the scoutmasters paused and waited for the stragglers to come up.
“We may as well start the hunt here, fellows,” said Mr. Reed, taking out his watch. “I won’t make any suggestions as to how to go about it; each tent-leader must think that out for himself. Use your heads, that’s all, and don’t get too far away to be back here at four-thirty sharp. It’s taken us over an hour to make this point, so we ought to start back then at the latest. Remember, a little blazing will make the return trip easier, and if nobody finds anything to-day, we’ll take it up later in the week. Go ahead.”
The boys had been standing in little groups about him, and at the signal most of these started off hotfoot, as if they expected to gain their end by speed alone. Some hurried on toward the summit of the hill; others turned to right or left and, pushing through the undergrowth, disappeared along the side of the slope. Somewhat to Tompkins’s surprise, Ranny Phelps dawdled along until the others were out of sight. Then, however, he turned swiftly and led the way almost directly downhill.
“What are you going back for?” asked Court Parker, in surprise.