"Oh," said Kemper, in apparent surprise, "I thought you had slept soundly
all night long."
"Nobody," said I, "could have slept very pleasantly during that musical
performance of yours."
"Were you singing?" she asked innocently of Kemper.
"He was singing when he wasn't firing off his pistol," I remarked. "No
wonder you couldn't sleep with any satisfaction to yourself."
Grue had disappeared into the forest; I stood watching for him to come
out again. After a few minutes I heard a furious but distant noise of
flapping; the others also heard it; and we listened in silence, wondering
what it was.
"It's Grue killing something," faltered Evelyn Grey, turning a trifle
pale.
"Confound it!" I exclaimed. "I'm going to stop that right now."
Kemper rose and followed me as I started for the woods; but as we passed
the beached boats Grue appeared from among the trees.
"Where have you been?" I demanded.
"In the woods."
"Doing what?"
"Nothing."
There was a bit of down here and there clinging to his cotton shirt and
trousers, and one had caught and stuck at the corner of his mouth.
"See here, Grue," I said, "I don't want you to kill any birds except for
camp purposes. Why do you try to catch and kill birds?"
"I don't."