one o'clock
If the entrance should happen to be located , the crowd that finds it will be given a certain number of credits toward the emblem . Everybody be on hand at headquarters at one sharp , for we do n't want to waste any time starting . '' The idea met with instant approval , and the burst of eager talk that followed showed how thoroughly it had stirred the boys ' imaginations . For the next twenty minutes the camp buzzed with interested discussion , and at one o'clock not a scout was missing from the throng before headquarters tent . They started at once , with Mr. Reed and Mr. Curtis in the lead . There were no regular roads to follow , but after half an hour 's tramp through the woods they struck an overgrown track , and kept to it until it simply dwindled away into nothing and disappeared . A little distance beyond , the ground began to rise , gradually at first , but with increasing steepness , while outcroppings of rock showed more and more frequently .