"What have you done with your gun?" asked Ralph, the youngest. "You said you had one that you stole back from that old Wildcat, but I haven't noticed it anywhere round."
"No," Rupert said; "when we came in sight of this house I felt safe in getting rid of the burden of carrying it for a while. Our blankets too; we were so tired and the sun so hot, that they seemed an almost intolerable load, so I hid them in a clump of bushes a little off the roadside, where I knew I could easily find them again."
"That was wise," remarked his host; "we will go for them in the morning."
"Did that old Wildcat and the rest chase after you?" queried Ralph.
"Indeed, my little man, I do not know," replied Rupert. "If so, it was when it was too late for them to overtake us."
"I think you managed splendidly," remarked Tom, the second son.
"I think God helped and took care of us," Rupert said, with reverent gratitude.
"And there you are right," said his host. "'Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.'"
"Words of inspiration," Rupert said, recognizing them with a smile of glad content. "I perceive that we are fellow-servants of the same divine Master, and much I thank Him for bringing me to the house of one of His followers for a short season of rest."