CHAPTER IV

SCOUTING AT MIDNIGHT


It was certainly a queer sound that floated to the strained hearing of
the boy as he crouched there on the floor of the room amidst the folds
of his blanket and listened with might and main.

There followed a brief period of silence and then he felt a thrill,
for it came again, a peculiar whimpering that would have given Billy
a spasm of fright had he been awake to catch it, instead of calmly
sleeping close by.

"What in the mischief can it be?" whispered Hugh to himself as he
allowed his hand to grope around for something he wanted, and which
he remembered placing conveniently by at the time he prepared his
crude bed.

The fire had died down again so that the big apartment on the main
floor was almost wrapped in darkness. Still, when tiny tongues of
flame played at hide-and-seek about the charred log, they caused all
sorts of odd shadows to run athwart the walls.

Hugh gave a grunt of satisfaction when his fingers closed upon the
object he sought. It was only about the size of two fingers, and