They started down the road, watching carefully for any signs. Gordon was almost too excited to speak.
“Oh, Harry, won’t it be great when we find them! What’ll we say?”
They came to a blazed tree and turned into the woods. Other trees were blazed at intervals of a few yards, leading deeper and deeper into the forest. They were now shut off from any outlook and did not know in what direction they were traveling; but they followed the blazing, and before long the lake showed in silvery patches through the trees.
“Harry,” said Gordon, stopping, “let’s decide how we’ll act. I say, let’s just walk in as if nothing had happened and sit down. When they ask us questions we’ll just answer kind of careless, and stretch ourselves, you know, as if we didn’t want to be bothered. I’ve been thinking, Harry, and I believe that’ll be better than dragging ourselves into camp, hungry and exhausted, but with dauntless courage. You see, the trouble is, Harry, there’s really enough food left in our packs for several days more. By rights we ought not to find them till about three days after our—what is it they call food, Harry?”
“Grub?” suggested Harry.
“No—means of something or other—”
“Means of sustenance?”
“That’s it, Harry,—till our means of sustenance is exhausted. Then again, Harry, I don’t really look so very bad—I mean I don’t look bad enough.”
“You look very dressy, Kid.”
“Now, keep quiet about that, Harry. I mean I don’t look as if the bleak wind had penetrated to my very—”