"Don't all hunt together. Divide your strength and see that results come back with you," advised Alec, rolling up his sleeves preparatory to starting his fire.
"I can't fish like the other boys, so I'll go with the girls who are going for the beefsteaks," said Dick.
"All right. And where will you go, Captain?" asked Alec.
"If Gilly is sent for coffee, I shall hunt for tea. I do not care for his brand of coffee, but I do know where to find the ingredients for a nice fragrant cup of tea."
A laugh circled the group, and Mr. Gilroy said, "All right. Now see to it that you don't ask for a drop of my coffee, hereafter."
So they separated, some of the scouts going with Mrs. Vernon; Bob and Ned going for trout; Hester and Amy with Mr. Gilroy; and Julie, Joan and Judith with Dick, for mushrooms.
After breaking a way through a dense jungle, the latter four scouts came out to a small clearing, but they had not seen any mushrooms.
"What a fine baseball diamond this clearing would make!" said Julie, as they looked around.
"And there are some chestnut stumps—on the far side of the clearing!" exclaimed Dick, crossing to the spot.
But they found no mushrooms on the stumps, much to their chagrin. "There'll be other trees about here, where we're sure to find what we need," said Dick, eagerly.