remained but to await the pleasure of the cook.

It was remarked that Tom did not set about his self-imposed task with any degree of assurance. In a short time, a couple of pots were steaming merrily away, and a rather strange odor began to pervade the air.

"Lunch will soon be ready, boys," volunteered Tom. "I only hope Sam and Dick will get back in time to enjoy the feast. Hark!"

The sound of a shot reverberated with startling clearness—then another.

"That means disaster to some poor, inoffensive animal," declared Dave, and this proved to be true. When the young hunters returned, each was laden with a good-sized rabbit.

Tom dished out a liberal portion of something that had a general resemblance to stew, and then poured the coffee.

"Hope you'll enjoy it, boys," he said. "It's the first time I ever cooked."

A strange silence suddenly fell over the assemblage as they began to eat.

"It seems just a little—err—I might say burnt," suggested Bob.

"And has perhaps too much salt, just a trifle," murmured Sam.

"Is the coffee solid?" inquired Dick, innocently, as he looked at a cup of astonishing blackness.

"Not more so than mud," replied Tom, who was considerably surprised at his own attempt; "it might be improved by a little hot water."

Every one seemed to have lost his appetite. Dave Brandon presently arose, holding his plate. He was seen to make an awkward lurch. The tin did not escape from his fingers, but its contents described a curve through the air and splashed heavily into the water to become food for the fishes.

"My goodness, how awkward," he sighed, with a solemn expression.

The others envied his skill, but did not try to follow his example. Dick, Bob and Sam, martyrs to the cause, munched slowly and sadly away, trying to figure out how long it would be before the taste of the food would compel them to stop.

Tom sat down last, and had hardly started when an exclamation escaped his lips: "Frightful!" he sputtered. "I didn't suppose that anything in the shape of cooking could be so bad. I'd like to know what could have happened to 

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