“I’m sorry for Perk, that’s all,” he remarked.
“Oh there isn’t so much chance of anything serious overtaking him,” Elmer hastily assured him. “To be sure he’s likely to get well drenched, and perhaps the thunder and lightning, as well as falling trees around him, may make it unpleasant for Perk; but that’s really the extent of it. If he wanders far he’s apt to get out of the timber belt, and run on some farm-house where he could get shelter, food and ditto a bed.”
“Yes, no one could ever refuse him anything he asked for, what with that winning smile of his,” said Amos.
They continued shouting at more frequent intervals, until all of them began to get quite hoarse; but there was no perceptible result. The second half hour thus began to draw toward a close.
“All useless, seems like!” admitted Wee Willie in disgust.
“Yes,” Elmer observed, “we’re wasting time doing this, when we’d have shown better judgment in starting out a while ago. Knowing Perk’s failing as we do, we ought to have made up our minds that sooner or later we’d have to go out after him.”
He had seen to it that the single lantern they carried with them to the woods was well filled with oil from the extra bottle.
“Who’s going along?” Wee Willie now asked.
“I thought at first two of us would be enough,” said Elmer, “but changed my mind, and so we’ll go in a bunch”; at which information Amos looked pleased, for he had feared they would figure him out of the game.
“I’ll fix my camera so it can’t possibly get wet, if the storm comes, and the old roof drips in spite of all our fixing,” he hurriedly called out, darting inside the cabin.