The boys looked at each other inquiringly. The question was, what to do and how to do it.
"Suppose we fire a shot; that ought to arouse them."
"That would be a good idea, Harry, but I hate to waste the shot. We might call, and see if we can get an answer."
The plan was adopted and after each "Hello!" a slight answering echo came back. There was no response, and they boldly marched up to the open doorway.
There was no light within, other than that through the door, except a little streak from an opening, due to the partially decayed coating of the hut. There was sufficient light, however, to show that this had been occupied by people who were very primitive, as in the interior, at one side, was a pile of bones, scattered about, and a few broken clay vessels, as well as several clam shells, which had been ground to a cutting edge, the examination of which caused the boys to smile.
"Well, what do you think of this? Nothing but bones and dirt everywhere. I suppose it must have been occupied by the savages."
The large hut was circular in form, not exceeding twelve or fifteen feet in diameter, and its extreme height was probably eight feet. It was built of a framework of saplings, the thickest of them not exceeding two inches in diameter, which had been planted in the earth, and then had the tops bent over and bound together.
Smaller branches, or withes, were then run around and interlaced, so as to make the web fairly close, and over this was plastered a species of blue clay, which, when dried and baked by the sun, formed an impervious coating that kept out the rain.
The boys marveled at the construction, because this was the first example of savage architecture they had seen. The smaller hut was distant about fifty feet, similarly made, but smaller in diameter.
"Let us examine the other place. Possibly that will give us some clue," and Harry started across the intervening space, while George was still rummaging about, uncovering the odds and ends and raking them toward the door.