Nevertheless, he remained on guard, especially after dark. He did not stray far from headquarters without peering about for such pitfalls as taut ropes, water-pails, and the like. At the council-fire he selected his place with especial care, and saw that no one approached from behind without his knowing it. But the evening passed uneventfully, and when he had reached the tent in safety and was undressing by the light of the single lantern, he decided he must have been worrying to no purpose. "Guess I was wrong after all," he thought, tying the pajama-strings about his ample waist. "My, but bed's going to feel good!" If there was one thing Vedder took pains about, it was in the arrangement of his blankets. To avoid the unpleasant exposure of toes he had worked out an elaborate system of folds and safety-pins until the combination resembled a sleeping-bag more than anything else. It was his habit to attend to this immediately after supper so that at bedtime there need be no shivery delay in getting fixed for the night. This evening he climbed ponderously to his perch, inwardly congratulating himself on his forethought, for the others, chattering busily on the day's doings, were only beginning to spread out their blankets. "It pays to be systematic," he thought complacently, and thrust his legs between the warm folds with a luxurious sigh of content. An instant later a howl of terror resounded through the camp, followed by a convulsive movement of Vedder's legs and body which disrupted the neat arrangement in a flash. Dale Tompkins, sitting on the edge of the lower bunk, had no time even to roll aside before the fat boy, still gurgling with fright, landed on him with a crash that shook the tent. CHAPTER XXIV THE MISSING SCOUT "What the mischief is the matter with you?" demanded Tompkins, rubbing his head where it had come into violent contact with the floor. "A snake!" palpitated Vedder, from the entrance of the tent, to which he had fled. "There's a snake in my bed!" "You're crazy with the heat, Puffy!" exclaimed Ranny Phelps, forcibly. "How could a snake get into your bunk?" "It's there, just the same," panted Vedder, his eyes bulging. "When I put my feet down they hit against something cold and--and slimy that squirmed about. Ugh! If I hadn't got out so quick, it would have bit me sure as anything. You look and see, if you don't believe me." By this time the camp was astir. As Ranny took the lantern and went over to Vedder's bunk, several boys from neighboring tents crowded in to see what was up. When they learned the nature of the rumpus they were vastly more excited than the other occupants of Tent Three, who seemed strangely unaffected by the situation. "Hanged if there isn't something here!" said Ranny, in a puzzled tone, looking down on the blankets. "Get a couple of sticks, fellows, and some of you hold down the edges of the blankets so it can't get out."