“Take him around behind this big pine tree a minute,” suggested Jim Denton. “He’ll be out of the wind there, and we can give him a drink of the hot tea we brought along.”
Some hot tea, mixed with milk, had been put in a thermos bottle and taken with the party to have ready for Nan and Bert, should the Bobbsey twins be found. Now this hot drink would do for poor old Jim Bimby.
Some of the men managed to light lanterns they carried, though it was hard work on account of the wind and snow, and the whole party, including the rescued man, went to the side of the big pine tree, which kept off some of the storm.
“There! I feel better,” said Old Jim, as he swallowed the warm drink.
“And now can you tell us whether or not you saw my two children, Nan and Bert—the Bobbsey twins?” again asked their father anxiously.
Old Jim shook his head.
“No,” he answered. “I didn’t see any children. I came straight from my cabin, over the hill trail, to go to the village to get some food. The cupboard is almost bare at my house. I didn’t think it was goin’ to storm, and I was all taken aback when it did. I kept on, but I must have lost my way.”
“Guess you did,” said Mr. Peterson. “And you’re not likely to get back on it in this storm, either.”
“What!” cried Old Jim. “You mean to say I can’t keep on to the store and take some food back to my wife?”
“Not in this storm!” said Tom Case. “You’re miles from the store now, and more miles from your cabin. You’d best come to Cedar Camp with us, and in the morning, when the storm is over, you can go on again. Your wife has enough food to last until morning, hasn’t she?”