Russ laughed. “I have to admit that sounds a trifle severe. Let’s compromise. Jerry, you can consider yourself on special detail for one night. All the mess kits and pans.”
Jerry relaxed against his tree. “Whew! That was close. I thought for a while you were going to court-martial me.”
“I’m all for it,” Quiz said testily. “Personally speaking, I think you ought to face a firing squad.” He ducked as Jerry let a pine cone fly at his head.
Prince went running after the cone, retrieved it and dropped it in Jerry’s lap. The boy scowled at the others as he scratched the big dog behind the ears. “At least I have one friend in the crowd,” he said.
CHAPTER THREE
A Midnight Visitor
At noon they stopped in a small clearing for a quick K-ration lunch. The boys were intrigued by the contents of the oblong, waxed-cardboard boxes.
Jerry announced the articles as he removed them. “Biscuits, fig bar, instant coffee, sugar, a can of cheese and bacon—say, who ever said the army eats bad!”
Russell Steele placed a pot of water on the Coleman stove. “Nobody ever said the army eats bad. Matter of fact, it eats darn good. There’s nothing wrong with K-rations, except that a steady diet of them can get monotonous.”
When they were finished eating, Sandy and Jerry scooped out a deep hole in the forest floor with their shovels and buried the garbage.
“Ordinarily, I’d prefer to burn it,” Russ told them, “but a fire is out of the question now.”