When Bud saw what the patrol leader was doing, he grunted and nodded his head as though comprehending things.  Bud always could “see through a mill-stone that had a hole in it,” as he was accustomed to say; in so many words, he was quick to grasp things after some smarter fellow had blazed the way.  A “hint was as good as a nod” to Bud.

“Fine thing, Hugh!” he commented admiringly.  He realized how valuable such a light might prove under the circumstances.

Ralph removed the piece of board that served to hold the door shut, and boldly led the way outside.  The others pressed closely at his heels, Hugh holding the spluttering torch above his head and Bud gripping his club with the full intention of using it should the occasion warrant such action.

All was dark and still without.  The night wind moaned in the branches of the trees where the leaves had fallen, or rustled the brown foliage of the oaks; but they could see no hostile form.

“Oh! he skipped out, all right, sure he did!” declared Bud, with something like a sneer in his voice.  “He knew I had glimpsed him, and he didn’t have the nerve to hold over and meet us face to face.  Wonder if it would make him run any faster if you banged away a couple of times with your gun, Ralph?”

The idea did not seem to appeal to Ralph, however, for he made not the slightest effort to act upon it.  Standing there, he stared around at the gloomy woods and waited to see what Hugh would so.

The latter had also taken a fair survey of the singular picture as seen by the weird light of the torch.  Presently he stepped forward and turned the corner of the shack.  Ralph followed him closely, while Bud, still holding his cudgel in an aggressive manner, posted himself at the corner, where he could not only watch what the other fellows did but at the same time keep an eye on the door.  He did not mean to leave the way open for anybody to sneak into the shack while their attention was directed elsewhere,—–­not if he knew his duty, and he believed he did.

Now Hugh, being an experienced scout, first of all thought to make sure that they had really been spied upon.  This he knew could be readily ascertained by examining the ground under the opening called a window.  Men can hardly stand on ordinary soil without leaving some sort of impression there.  And those boys who have spent many a vacation in the woods, studying Indian tactics as applied to the life of a scout, know how to read such signs almost as easily as they might the printed page of a book.

Bending down therefore at the suspected spot, Hugh quickly pointed out the imprint of feet to Ralph.

“That proves it!” exclaimed the other as he flung a hasty glance over his shoulder, apparently half suspecting that the object of their conversation might suddenly burst upon his vision.