"Nothing hurt but my feelings," the stout youth assured him. "Say, it _is_ cool down here."
"Well, if nothing's hurt but your feelings you're all right," cried Merritt; "you couldn't hurt those with an axe."
"Just you wait till I get out of here," yelled Tubby from his leafy seat.
"Well, how are we going to get you up?" demanded Merritt. "Guess you'll have to stay there till we get a ladder."
"Tell you what we'll do," said Rob, "we'll take the ropes off the packs and join them together. Then we can knot one end to one of the staves and haul Tubby up."
"That's a good idea," called the stout youth, who had overheard, "and hurry up, too."
"Gracious, it needs an elephant to haul your fat carcass out of there," scoffed Merritt. "I guess we'll take our time over it."
"Take as long as you like, so long as you get me out," parried Tubby, "you always were slow, anyhow, as the fellow said when he threw his dollar watch into the creek."
It did not take long to rig up an extemporized life-line with the pack ropes. This done, one end was made fast to the staves, and the other lowered to Tubby. At Rob's orders the rope was passed round a tree trunk, and when Tubby had adjusted the rope under his arm pits the young Scouts began to haul. As Merritt had said, Tubby was no lightweight. Once they had to stop, and the rope ran back quite a way. A yell from Tubby ensued.
"Hey! Keep on hauling there!" he roared, "what do you think I am, a sack of potatoes?"
"You feel like a sack of sash weights!" shouted Rob, "keep still now, and we'll have you out in a jiffy."
A few minutes later Tubby's fat face, very red, appeared above the edge of the rift over which he had taken his abrupt plunge. Rob seized him by the shoulders and dragged him into safety.
"There now, for goodness sake don't fall in again," he said.
"As if you aren't always telling me to fall in," scoffed Tubby.
"Every time we drill," said the stout youth solemnly, flicking some dust off his uniform with elaborate care.
Owing to the length of time occupied by extricating Tubby from his difficulties, the canoe bearers had become apprehensive of harm to the following body and had halted. Of course questions ensued when the rear guard came up.
"What happened?" demanded the major, noting the suppressed amusement on the lads' faces.