"I want to own up that I'm pretty nearly all in and done for!"

"Same here, Bud. The going was tough over that frozen side of old
Stormberg mountain. Then we are carrying such loads into the bargain."

"For one, I'm glad we are nearly there, Hugh."

"Yes, another steady pull and we ought to strike the shanty. We aimed
to get to it by nightfall, you remember, Bud."

"Yes, and after eating such a big Thanksgiving dinner, we've been
pretty spry to accomplish all we have. Why, I haven't had a pull
anything like this since we broke camp last summer up at Pioneer Lake!"

"And we never could have done it only for the lift we got from
Farmer Badgely, going home from market. That put us some miles on
the way. If you've rested enough, Bud, perhaps we would better be on
the move again. The sun is getting close to the diving line, you
notice."

"Here goes, then!"

With these words Bud Morgan, first-class scout and one of the leading
boys in the Wolf Patrol, inserted his arms in the loops of the pack
he was handling, and managed to heave it on to his sturdy back.

His companion did likewise, for each of them was "toting" much more
than the customary amount of luggage that a scout on the hike would
carry with him.