listened, but Will forced him back with his hand.

"Slap, slap, slap!" came the signal again.

Sandy and Thede were now sitting with knives and forks suspended in
the air, listening wide-eyed to the sound.

"That's the Beaver call!" declared Will in a whisper.

"That means George!" Tommy whispered back.

"Sure!" was the reply. "There's no one else to give the Beaver
call here. I wonder why the boy doesn't show up."

In the meantime, Antoine had been busy over the teapot and had not
noticed what was going on at the table.

"I'm fixing this tea up particularly strong," he said, facing the
boys with a smile on his lips, "so you mustn't wonder if it tastes
just a little bit bitter. There's nothing on earth will do a man
who's been exposed to the weather more good than a strong cup of
tea!"

The man poured the decoction into the tin cups and brought out a
couple of cans of condensed milk and plenty of sugar.

"You see," he laughed, "that I have all the luxuries of an effete
civilization! Put in all the sugar you like, if you find the tea
too strong. I have plenty of it!"