Page:The Outdoor Chums.djvu/121

Rh "Why didn't you lay the outfit down at a safe distance then, and help fight the fire with us?" demanded Bluff.

"I guess I know enough to take warning from your sad experience. They hooked your old gun; the next thing they'll be after will be my camera. No, sir, I hang on to that business through thick and thin. They'll have to chloroform me to get my films away, and that's so."

"Was it an accident?" asked Bluff, looking to Frank for an opinion.

"What do you think, Jerry?" demanded the leader.

"It couldn't have been an accident, and I'm dead sure of it," was the reply.

"Suppose you state your reasons then."

"First, we banked the fire down as usual before crawling into bed. Then there wasn't a particle of wind to scatter the sparks. And last, but not least, those heaps of dead leaves were carried here! I happen to know that place was just about bare last evening!" replied the other, seriously.

Will uttered an exclamation of wonder and alarm.

"Do you really mean to say that some fellows would be mean enough to try and burn our camp?" he asked.