But then Frank could fry the sliced ham as well as any one, and he soon had the coffee, the toast, the fried potatoes, and the meat on the table, after which he called the others.
"Take notice that this is the last of our butter, fellows," remarked the cook as he helped each one in turn to a generous portion of what had just been taken, piping hot, off the red coals on the hearth.
"Oh! that's all right, Frank," said Bluff carelessly, "we expect to have plenty more here before sunset, don't we, Jerry?"
"Simply got to," replied his ally, "if we find it necessary to raid some farmer's hen-coop, gather up the eggs, wring the necks of two pullets, clean out his dairy, and leave the ready cash on the windowsill to settle the bill."
"We're glad to hear you talk that way," laughed Will. "For one I'm going to make up my mouth for fried eggs to-night, unless it's chicken on the half shell."
"No danger of that up here in the country; all the eggs are guaranteed fresh by the farmer tribe, you know," asserted Bluff.
"That guarantee doesn't always go with me," Jerry observed. "It's generally the smart farmer who finds a hen trying to sit under the barn floor, and gathers up the seventeen eggs to ship with what he has in stock. They're as bad as the next one when it comes to deceiving the poor public."
"You'll just have to excuse me now, because I've had all I want; and to tell you the truth I'm just wild to see what my Br'er 'Coon looks like. If he doesn't show up, tail and all, I'll have to try for him again, that's all."
With that remark Will hurried off, just as Frank expected he would, for he had noticed how the other hastened with his breakfast. Bluff and Jerry took longer, because both of them realized they might be hours on the journey. The village was possibly further away than they thought; and it was just as well that they "laid in a good foundation to start with," as Jerry sensibly observed.
"Make the start whenever you get ready, fellows," remarked Frank. "I'll look after the dishes, and the bunks too, when the blankets are aired. It seems as if you might have a smooth sea to begin with."