about two in the morning
Everything tasted just `` prime , '' as several of the boys took pains to say ; for they were artful enough to know that by showering words of praise upon the cook , they might secure his valuable services for all time to come , because Noodles was open to flattery . And what was better still , there was an abundant supply for all of them , regardless of the difference in appetites ; Fritz was not stinted in the least , for he actually declined a further helping , and had to be urged to clean out the pan just to keep `` that little bit of omelet from being wasted . '' Having no tent along , and only a couple of dingy old blankets which they expected to use for sending smoke signals , should the occasion arise , the scouts were compelled to resort to more primitive ways of spending the night than usual . But then Paul had shown them how to sleep with their heads away from the fire ; and he also arranged to keep the small blaze going during the entire night , since it was apt to get pretty chilly along about two in the morning . All these things had been arranged on the first night out , so that by this time the boys were pretty well accustomed to the novel way of sleeping . And on the whole they had taken to it fairly well , no one complaining save when the mosquitoes annoyed them in one camp near the water . An hour after supper had been disposed of some of the boys were already beginning to nod drowsily .