Dick laughed and poked the fire with a stick. The logs flared up, and the pleasant blaze was warm and comforting. He looked at his watch. 'It's just half-past two,' he said. 'Fancy, Chippy, half-past two in the morning, and we're sitting by a camp fire.' 'It's great,' said Chippy; then he gave a tremendous yawn. 'Feeling sleepy?' said Dick. 'We'd better turn in again, I reckon,' said Chippy, 'or we won't be fit to goo on our tramp again to-morrow.' Dick nodded in agreement, and the boys added a few fresh pieces of wood to the fire, and rolled themselves up once more in their blankets. In a few moments they were soundly off to sleep again, and when they were wakened next time it was by the sun clearing the ridge and shining full upon them. CHAPTER XXXIII THE MARCH RESUMED 'Here's a jolly morning, Chippy!' cried Dick, unrolling himself from his blanket and springing to his feet. 'The sun's hot already. We're going to have another splendid day.' The Raven sprang up in turn, and the scouts shook out their blankets, and tossed them across a furze-bush close at hand to air before they packed them away. The fire had burned down, but they soon revived it by tossing armfuls of their bed upon it, and in a couple of minutes the larch needles were crackling by thousands as the flames ran through the tindery tips. The logs were carried back, and carefully replaced on the heap from which they had been taken. Next they went down to the river, stripped, plunged into the clear, cool stream, and swam about like a couple of young otters. There were no towels in the outfit, so when they came to land again they rubbed off as much water as they could with their handkerchiefs, and finished drying by turning about fifty Catherine-wheels on a sunny patch of the bank. When they were dressed again, they were glowing with warmth, felt as fit as a fiddle, and were ravening for breakfast. 'What's the bill of fare, cook?' laughed Dick. 'Bread, tea, an' trout,' growled Chippy, 'an' a nailin' good brekfus too. I wish as everybody 'ad got as good.' 'Right for you, old boy,' replied Dick; 'which trout shall we have?' 'Yourn, the big un,' replied the Raven. 'I'll show yer how to cook 'im proper.' The fire had burned away to the glowing embers which the camp cook loves, and Chippy, having gutted the fish, broiled it in the hot ashes, while Dick boiled water, and made the tea, and cut more slices from the loaf. Then they attacked the broiled trout, and, big as it was, they made it look rather foolish before they had finished. The piece that was left Chippy wrapped up in dock-leaves and stowed away in the haversack. 'Come in handy next go,' he remarked. After breakfast they sat for an hour to see the fire out, and Chippy took the line from the rod and put it away.