“You think Prince got to him with that note?” Jerry wanted to know.
Sandy shrugged. “Even if he did, Uncle Russ must think we’re fried to a crisp by now.”
Quiz gazed affectionately at the exposed tip of the bomb’s fin. “We might have been too, if it hadn’t been for this lovely hole. We never could have dug it ourselves.”
Sandy raised his head and sniffed. “I wonder how the fire is coming? Doesn’t it sound as if it’s letting up a little?”
“The smoke’s not so thick,” Quiz admitted. “Want to take a look?”
“I’ll go.” Sandy sat up, dumping the dirt off himself. “You fellows stay in your cocoons.” Slowly he got to his feet and looked around.
On all sides of the crater, the ground was black and smoking and littered with glowing embers. But only in a few places were there still tongues of flame licking up. The hill had been burned clean, but the danger was over. Sandy felt his knees go wobbly with relief. The forest was still blazing fiercely all around them, but they were safe now.
“I think we’ve made it, fellows,” he said. “All we’ve got to do now is wait for somebody to come and rescue us.”
For the next half hour, the boys watched the fire spreading through the forest to the east. Several times Sandy ventured out of the pit, but the burned ground seared his feet even through his thick-soled boots.
“How long do you think it’ll be before they find us?” Jerry asked impatiently.