Part 16 (2/2)
”Well, we'll call them that,” replied the colonel
Under the colonel's direction the chickens and the saddle ofuntil they were thoroughly roasted
”Done to a turn,” as Gerald expressed it
”Better put out a sentinel, hadn't you?” suggested the colonel when they had all gathered about the fire to watch the cooking of the dinner
”A sentinel!” exclaimed Rand ”What for?”
”Well, we don't want our dinner carried off before our eyes,” replied the colonel ”Are you sure that your agile ene for it to be done to his taste beforea raid on us?”
”Monkey Rae!” cried Pepper, starting up ”You haven't seen anything of him, have you?”
”No,” replied the colonel; ”but, still it's well to be on the lookout for him He's rather a tricky sort of a chap, I believe”
”He certainly is,” admitted Rand, ”but it's mostly fun with him; but Sam Tompkins, he's quite a different sort”
”What is the matter with him?” asked the colonel
”I don't know,” drawled Rand, ”except he was just born that way
I think he is bad just fro condemnation, Randolph?” asked the colonel
”Oh, he's the worst of the bunch,” put in Pepper decidedly
”That's all true,” added Jack ”There hasn't been any mischief perpetrated in town for the last four or five years that he hasn't been at the bottom of it”
”He puts the other boys up to do all kinds of things and keeps in the dark himself,” continued Pepper
”He would have been put away long ago,” went on Jack, ”if it wasn't for his father's political pull”
”Where did you learn all these things, Jack?” asked the colonel
”Oh, we find out a good s in the newspaper business, you know”
”So it seems,” ad lately?”
”That's hard to tell,” replied Jack laughingly, ”he does so et up an opposition patrol”