"And I'm glad I thought of this honey. Butter is good with pancakes, but as for me, I like something sweet besides—maple syrup or honey," announced Bluff.
"I agree with you in all but one thing, Bluff," said Jerry.
"What might that be?" asked the other, reaching over for his sixth helping.
"Never, so long as you live, say 'pancakes' when in camp. It may go at home, but under the free sky, with the tents near by, and the glowing fire lighting up the scene, it is considered next door to a crime to call them anything but flapjacks. Get that, son?"
"I'll try to remember; but it's hard to overcome the teachings of infancy, you know. I admit that you know more in a day than I do in a week about woodcraft, but I'll never own up that you are physically sounder than I am. I won out as many times blowing up those beastly old rubber mattresses as you did," declared Bluff.
Frank and Will exchanged quick looks, and both tried to hide a smile.
On their former trip, Frank had fetched along a couple of wide rubber mattresses that could be made into comfortable beds after they had been filled with air. The job of so inflating them had seemed a rather formidable one to tackle, each and every night, and so, profiting by a trick he had seen done elsewhere, he tried a little strategy in order to lighten the burden.
Jerry and Bluff were jealous of each other's make-up. They constantly boasted as to their superior accomplishments, and so Frank easily caused them to enter into a competition to see which one could prove a winner in blowing up the twin rubber mattresses.
The first night it was called a tie. Those eager fellows could hardly wait for the next occasion to come in order to again engage in rivalry. On the second attempt Jerry was the winner, but by so narrow a margin that he could not refuse Bluff's dare to have another try on the next night. Bluff won this time.
And there was never any trouble about getting the beds made up as long as the four chums camped on Wildcat Island.