"Randy! Randy! Come out here!" shouted Ned in a terrified voice. "Light the lantern and waken the boys."
The next instant Randy burst through the flaps.
"Here is the lantern," he gasped. "I have no matches. Good gracious! but you scared me. I thought you were shot."
"I'm not, but I fear some one else is," replied Ned as he hastily struck a match and applied it to the wick of the lantern.
That instant Clay hurried out of the tent, and the three boys advanced timidly to the fireplace. The supposed robber had ceased his outcry, and was propped in an upright position against a heap of stones. Ned turned the lantern on his face and staggered back with a cry of amazement.
"Why, it's Nugget!" he exclaimed. "What under the sun does this mean?"
It was indeed Nugget, and he looked the very picture of fright as he rolled his eyes wildly from one to the other of his friends. It was several seconds before he could speak.
"Where am I?" he gasped. "Who put me out here in the rain? I thought I heard a gun go off."
He was evidently not injured—the position of the gun proved that—and the boys began to appreciate the ludicrous side of the situation.
"You've been walking in your sleep," exclaimed Ned, as a sudden light broke on his mind. "I'll bet a dollar that's just it. Did you ever do such a thing before, Nugget?"