their expressions grew less pained the longer they chewed.
"Beats all how long you can chew this before it disappears," said Lou. "Gets sweeter, too."
"Maybe that's the bread. Bread almost turns to sugar if you chew and chew it without swallowing," said Rob. "But this pemmican stuff certainly is filling."
"What's it made of?" Lou asked.
"Rats and rubber boots," said Peanut.
Mr. Rogers laughed. "Not exactly—put on your shirt, Peanut," he said. "Pemmican was originally made of dried venison, pounded up with fat and berries. Now it's made of dried beef pounded up with dried fruits and fats, and packed into a jelly cake to harden. That's about what this is, I fancy. It's very nourishing."
"All right, but where's the sweet chocolate?" Peanut demanded.
Rob passed out the chocolate for dessert, and after it was eaten, everybody began to complain of being thirsty. The canteens were empty.
"There's a spring just below the summit," said one of the three strangers.
"You mean there was," laughed a second. "You drank it all dry on the way up."
"Let's get there on the way down before he does," cried Peanut.
