"We've got to frame things up for young Terry, too, then!" whispered Bill Hooper, as the sulky pair stole away. CHAPTER IV THE JOKING SCOUT "Can you see the enemy, Overton?" "I can't see a thing, Corporal." "Move forward cautiously. Don't make a sound. If you do you'll betray our position." "How far shall I go, Corporal?" "Move ahead until you run into signs of the enemy. Above all, bear in mind that you mustn't betray our presence to the enemy." Private Hal Overton gripped his rifle tightly in the darkness as he all but wriggled forward over the ground. It was all very real business to the soldiers engaged in this mimic warfare. If nothing more serious happened, any big mistake on the part of a soldier in this sham warfare would bring upon him the displeasure of his officers. Late that same afternoon B Company had been attacked by lurking C Company. Some very clever manoeuvring of the men under cover bad been done, and a good deal of blank ammunition had been fired. True, there had been no real casualties, but, under the rules of the game, B Company had made such a spirited and excellent defense that C Company had been driven further back. Now the position of C Company was unknown, but the "enemy" was believed to be lurking in the vicinity, bent upon a night surprise. Two thirds of B Company slept back in the camp of pup-houses. The other third, under command of Lieutenant Prescott, was divided up among sentries, outposts and scouts. To Corporal Cotter had been entrusted the problem of taking a scouting party consisting of three privates and trying to locate either the enemy's outpost or the main body. Just a moment before Hal's orders to prowl forward a sound had been heard, evidently about four hundred yards ahead. So now Hal stole forward, moving as softly as any cat could have done, this despite the fact that his advance must be over jagged rocks here and there. The ground was ideal for ambush fighting. Hal now had a new rifle, that had been issued to him when the wagons of B Company came up late that night. The damaged piece was now in the wagon, and Hal bore a rifle on whose efficient action he could depend. "It's almost a mockery to have a gun, though, just now," Hal smiled grimly as he lifted the piece over a ledge of rock and followed. "Wouldn't I get a clever roasting from Captain Cortland if I dared to fire it while scouting." Now Private Overton came to an open space where he could walk more easily. He did not hasten, however, for there was no telling when, in the darkness, he might step on a stone and send it rolling, with a resulting racket that would warn the enemy, if any of them were within hearing. Every step had to be taken as though the troops were in the midst of life and death war. The rules of the game were strict, and any bit of bad judgment was likely to count against the score of the company to which the man belonged.