“I’m afraid it would,” replied the other, as he started to take off the huge packages with which each of their animals had been burdened.
“What are we going to do now?” asked Roger.
“The first thing is to look over all this stuff, and see what we can do without.”
As he said this Dick cast aside the Indian tent that made quite a good-sized package of itself, even when carefully folded.
Roger gave it a rueful glance, for he had thought more than a little of that old affair. Then he laughed in his quick, nervous way, and on his own account began to toss things from the back of the other horse.
Whenever he came to something concerning which he seemed to be in doubt, Roger would hold it up, and say:
“What about this, Dick; think we really need it?”
In several cases his cousin was able to decide without any consideration, for the boys had thrust in a number of things that, so far, they had found no need for, and probably might not use at all. Some of these had associations that they hated to break; but it seemed absolutely necessary to reduce the stock they carried. And so Dick would grimly nod his head, and say:
“Throw it aside, Roger; no use talking, it’s got to go. Our horses couldn’t undertake to carry us and all this stuff, too. But I tell you what we might do with it, and take a chance of getting it back some time.”