Dick looked, and saw that the Raven had been very busy. He had built a fresh fire with a heap of glowing embers from the old one; the billy had served him as an improvised shovel. Over this fire he had erected a cage of bent sticks, and the blankets were stretched on the framework and drying in style; the steam was rising from them in clouds. 'That's great,' said his chum; 'I wondered more than once in the night what we should do with sopping wet blankets.' 'They'll be all right in a while again.' And the Raven gave them a turn. 'Now we've got to wire in and hunt up a brekfus.' Dick turned out the haversack which held the food they had left, but it made a very poor apology for a meal. 'I could put that lot in a holler tooth, an' never know I'd had aught,' said Chippy. 'This scoutin' life mek's yer uncommon peckish.' 'Rather,' cried the Wolf, who was as hungry as the animal after which his patrol was named; and the two boys began to scout for their last wild, free breakfast-table. CHAPTER XLIX DIGGING A WELL The two scouts crept along the edge of the coppice, eye and ear on the alert. They were hoping to surprise a rabbit in a play-hole, but though they saw plenty of rabbits scuttling to shelter, every hole proved the mouth of a burrow, and that was too much for them to attempt. They worked clean round the coppice, saw dozens of rabbits, but were never within a mile of catching one; at last they came back to their camp. 'It strikes me, Chippy, we shall have to divide the scraps we've got left, tighten our belts, and strike out for the next baker's shop.' 'Looks like it,' murmured the Raven. 'I'm jolly thirsty too.' 'So am I,' said Dick; 'let's see if we can find a pool of clear water in the swampy patch yonder.' They went down to the little marsh, but though there was plenty of water, it all appeared thick and uninviting. Being scouts, the boys were very careful of what water they drank, and they looked suspiciously on the marsh pools. 'No drink nayther,' said the Raven; 'we'd better get a start on us for a country wheer there's things to be got.' 'Wait a bit, Chippy,' replied his comrade. 'I think I know a dodge to get round this, if we only had a spade to dig with. It's a trick my Uncle Jim put me up to. He often used it when he was travelling in Africa.' Dick explained what was to be done, and the Raven nodded. 'If that's all there is to it,' remarked the latter, 'I'll soon find the spades.' He returned to the camp, seized the tomahawk, and began to cut at one of the pieces chopped off the rails. In five minutes of deft hewing Chippy turned the broad, flat piece of timber into a rude wooden shovel. Dick seized it with a cry of admiration. 'Why, this will do first-rate, old chap,' he asid. 'The ground is pretty sure to be soft.' 'Go ahead, then,' said the Raven. 'I'll jine ye wi' another just now.'