Page:The Outdoor Chums.djvu/178

164 "Say, did he tell you anything about my gun?" asked Bluff, eagerly.

Jerry turned and looked at the questioner.

"No, he didn't. Suppose he confessed to everything he ever did? But here we are, fellows, and our guest looks as if he didn't know whether to run for it or hang by that breakfast Toby is cooking."

Frank advanced toward the man, bowing, and assuming, as he believed, something of a military air.

"Welcome to our camp, Prince Bismarck. Won't you be seated, and wait for breakfast to be served? We have only rude accommodations here, but I hope you will pardon any lack of seeming hospitality," he said.

The wild look vanished from the face of the gaunt man, and in its place came an expression of tremendous importance. Indeed, but for the seriousness of the situation Frank would have felt inclined to laugh outright, it was so absurd to see this poor lunatic putting on such magnificent airs.

"You forget, young sir, that I am the Iron Chancellor, and that while in the field I shun all the comforts of home life. An iron cot, the simplest food, these are enough for me. It leaves the brain clear to handle the tremendous affairs