“What’s it made of?” Lou asked.
“Rats and rubber boots,” said Peanut.
Mr. Rogers laughed. “Not exactly—put on your shirt, Peanut,” he said. “Pemmican was originally made of dried venison, pounded up with fat and berries. Now it’s made of dried beef pounded up with dried fruits and fats, and packed into a jelly cake to harden. That’s about what this is, I fancy. It’s very nourishing.”
“All right, but where’s the sweet chocolate?” Peanut demanded.
Rob passed out the chocolate for dessert, and after it was eaten, everybody began to complain of being thirsty. The canteens were empty.
“There’s a spring just below the summit,” said one of the three strangers.
“You mean there was,” laughed a second. “You drank it all dry on the way up.”
“Let’s get there on the way down before he does,” cried Peanut.
“No fear,” the first speaker laughed, “we are going down over the ridge, the way you just came up. We’re doing Moosilauke to-morrow.”
“By the Beaver Brook Trail?” the boys asked.