looking directly at what seemed the very acme of destruction and loss,
neither as yet comprehended the full significance of the statement Lew was
quoting.

Charley spread the grub out on his blanket and put the dishes together
near the fire. While he was waiting for a bed of coals to form, he cut
some bread and spread the slices with butter. Presently he put the little
frying-pan over the coals and began to cook some meat. Every time he bent
over his pile of grub, he smelled the coffee. The odor was tantalizing,
almost torturing. Never, it seemed to him, had he ever wanted anything so
much as he now wanted a drink of coffee. But with no water they could
have no coffee. Finally Charley put the package of coffee in the
coffee-pot and clamped down the lid so that the odor could reach him no
longer. From time to time Lew quietly stirred the coals. Charley fried the
meat in silence. Neither boy felt like talking.

When the meal was ready, they sat down on the dry ground and in silence
ate their food.

Presently Lew broke the quiet. "I wonder what Roy had to say to-night. I
thought maybe we'd be able to get our wireless up and listen in. But I'm
too tired to bother with any wireless to-night, even from Roy. It'll be
the hay for mine, quick."

He began to look for a place where they could sleep. When he had selected
a spot, he took the hatchet and with the back of it smoothed the ground,
removing all stones and little stumps. Charley, meantime, put the food
away and piled the dishes. They could not be washed. Then the two boys
rolled themselves in their blankets, put their pack bags under their heads
and were asleep almost instantly. Their difficult climb had tired them