Not one of the boys could remember a time when it had ever rained as hard before. It seemed to them as though solid sheets of water were coming down. Yet the position of the tent, aided by the ditches, kept their floor dry. Dan, peering out through the canvas doorway, reported that the ditches were running water at full capacity. "This will all be over in an hour," hazarded Greg. "It may, and it may not be," Dick rejoined. "My own guess is that the storm will last for hours." As the howling wind gained in intensity it seemed as though the tent must be blown to ribbons, but stout canvas will stand considerable weather strain. "If we had driven the wooden pins for the guy-ropes," muttered Greg, "everyone of them would have been washed loose by this time." "They would have been," Dick assented, "and the tent would now be down upon our heads, a drenched wreck. As it is, I think we can pull through a night of bad weather." In an hour the flashes of lightning had become less frequent. The wind had abated slightly, but there was no cessation of the downpour. "I pity anyone who has to travel the highway in this storm," muttered Dave. "This isn't weather for human beings." "Yet every bird of the air has to weather it," observed Hazelton. "Yes," muttered Tom, "and a good many of the birds of the air will be killed in this storm, too." Night came down early. The wind and rain had sent the temperature down until it seemed to the high school boys more like an October night. The warmth and light in the tent were highly gratifying to all. "As long as the tent holds I can't think of a blessed thing we have to go outside for," sighed Reade contentedly. "We don't have to," laughed Dick. "Fellows, we're away off in the wilderness, but we're as happy as we could be in a palace. How about supper?" That idea was approved instantly. "We'll have two suppers to-night," proposed Tom. "That will be the visible proof and expression of the highest happiness that can be reached on a night like this." Even by ten o'clock that night there was no abatement in the volume of rain falling. The wind still howled. "Are we going to turn in, soon?" inquired Dave. "My vote," announced Tom indolently, "is for another supper, and turn in at perhaps two o'clock in the morning." "I second the motion---as far as another supper goes," chimed in Danny Grin. "It wants to be a supper of piping hot stuff, too," declared Greg. "It's warm here in the tent, but the surrounding world is chill and drear. Nothing but hot food will serve us." Preparations for the meal were quickly under way. "I hope everyone within the reach of this storm is as comfortable as we are," murmured Hazelton. "Why, we're so happy, we could entertain company with a relish," laughed Reade. "Say, what was that?" demanded Greg. From outside came a faint sound as of someone stealthily groping about outside in the storm. "Bring a lantern, quickly!" called Dick, going toward the tent door.