"There, see that!" exclaimed Bluff, triumphantly. "Just what I've told my dad many a time when he complained that I was falling behind my class. I'll make certain to hold this up as an awful warning."

"Talk to me about you losing your brain by overstudy! There's about as much chance of that as my being made king of England," laughed Jerry.

"But still it has happened, you see. That establishes a precedent all right, and my father, as a lawyer, is always talking about such things," declared Bluff, not in the least abashed.

"Now suppose you sit right down here, Jerry, and let us have the whole yarn from Alpha to Omega. What you haven't been through since you left us yesterday morning isn't worth mentioning, to judge from the hints you let fall. A deer, four wild dogs, lost in the big timber, storm bound, rescuing our most bitter enemy; and now helping to land an escaped lunatic—say, you ought to feel satisfied, old fellow," observed Frank.

Jerry laughed aloud.

All his recent troubles, as viewed from the pleasant seat by the campfire, with his three chums around him, seemed to fade into insignificance.

"Well, I reckon I am. There was a bear, too," he said, nodding.

"What! a bear—you ran across a bear?" ejaculated Will, drawing in a big breath and shaking this head as if he deplored the loss of an opportunity to embellish his album of the camping-out trip with more fetching views.

"Well, perhaps you could hardly call it that, seeing that he came looking for me, trying to push into the hollow tree where I had sought shelter from the storm."

"That sounds mighty interesting—trying to get in, too, was he? And I suppose you objected vigorously?" suggested Frank, falling down by the fire and assuming a listening attitude.

"I knew I hadn't lost any bear, you see; and, besides, there wasn't room for two in that old stump. So I asked him to please go away," said Jerry, with a wink.

"Of course he did just that?" queried Will.

"After I had shouted, and fired my gun through the hole. He was somewhat surprised at such a rude reception, for I guess that stump was one of his dens, and he thought he had the first claim on it."

"Well, start in now with your getting over at the camp of Jesse, and give us all the thrills you want. You've got proof about the deer and the wild dogs; but perhaps we'll have to consider the story about the bear," laughed Frank.

"And Andy Lasher's repentance; that is the most surprising of all," declared Bluff, shaking his head as though he could not understand it at all.

They sat there spellbound while Jerry skimmed over the entire account of his adventures since quitting the camp. As the reader already knows what befell him, it would be useless repeating the story. The three chums, however, listened and exchanged looks with one another as some particularly thrilling incident came along, as though they could imagine Jerry facing that big yellow brute that chased him round and round the tree until he was dizzy enough to drop ere he remembered that he had a gun in his hand.

"I move we go out there right after lunch and get the balance of the venison. We may not have another chance to lay in a stock of fresh meat all the time we're up here," proposed Will, finally.

"Oh! I can see that you're doubting my story about the dogs, and wondering where under the sun I ran across these four tails. All right, fellows, I'll do the best I can to take you to the place. Perhaps if we went to old Jesse he could guide us there much better," declared the mighty hunter, calmly.

"He talks as though he courts an investigation," remarked Frank; "and in justice to his reputation, I think we ought to settle this matter without delay. So I'm in favor of going, for one; besides, I confess to a curiosity to see the dead dogs, and, perhaps, if fate is kind, look into the identical hollow tree in which Jerry passed most of that stormy night."

"It's a go, then," cried Will, eagerly; "for I want a few more pictures. If we could only rig up something to look like that yellow hound, and have Jerry galloping around that tree in front of him, it would be simply immense."

"Talk to me about a faker will you—why, if Will keeps on he'll be bamboozling the public worse than any showman ever did. Thanks, but I guess you'll have to excuse me from that galloping act, Will. Once bit, twice shy, you know. But it was gospel truth about Andy. He even confessed that he had been up to old Rabig's place to get him to join the crowd in playing some more measly tricks on us here. You see he was sorry, and had to just tell all these things."

"All but about my gun, hang him," grumbled Bluff, indignantly.

"Bother your old gun! Will we ever hear the last of it?" exclaimed Jerry, frowning; and yet giving Frank a sly wink with one eye, as if to inform him that he did not really mean all he said.

"You never heard the first of it yet, for I didn't even have a single chance to shoot it off," complained the other.

"For which all the little birds and chipmunks are rejoicing, for they have had a chance to live. Besides, a gun like that is dangerous to the community, I think. If it ever started to going I believe it would spit out fire without any help from you, or any one else. But, for goodness' sake, change the subject. I'm sleepy," declared Jerry, curling up on a blanket by the fire.

"All of us are, I reckon. You see we were having a little circus of our own at the time this happened to you," remarked Frank.

"Yes," exclaimed Bluff, "don't you think you're the only pebble on the beach, Jerry."

"Why, what happened?" demanded the other, looking up.

"Why, what do you think we've got all those things on the bushes drying out for? Yes, one of the tents blew away in the middle of the storm. I think it must have been an hour or two before midnight, when the big gust came that tore it loose. We were all four of us under it, and there was some tall scurrying just then, believe me."

"I can well believe it, Frank. Where was Will with his camera then?" asked Jerry.

"Trying to keep the blessed thing from getting soaked," answered Bluff.

"Then he doesn't believe in wet plates?" laughed the other.

"Seems not; films are good enough for him. Well, we managed to get all the things under the shelter of the other tent, and shivered for some hours. Finally, after the storm passed, and it began to get very cold, we started a fire and waited to welcome the rosy dawn."

"Don't get poetic, Frank. I'm really too dead for sleep to appreciate it now. Wake me up, fellows, when lunch is ready, will you?" and, so speaking, Jerry curled up again, this time in earnest.

The others amused themselves the balance of the morning in various ways. Bluff declared that he believed he would stay in camp while the others went off. Frank looked at him curiously as if wondering what had struck him, for he considered that the trip was well worth taking, if only to see the husky-looking wild dogs Jerry had met and slain.

He could remember having heard one or two persons speaking about the pack that was giving the farmers so much trouble. To think that, after all, their comrade had been the one to relieve the situation, was pleasant indeed.

They aroused Jerry when Uncle Toby announced that lunch was ready. The old man seemed to be kept pretty busy preparing meals for all stragglers happening in; but that part of the business pleased him. The only thing he protested against was being left alone in camp. There were too many visitors at such times to suit him.

First had come the wildcat, and then the wild man. Uncle Toby had therefore heard Bluff's announcement that he intended remaining behind when the others went off, with particular pleasure and much relief.

Immediately afterwards the three lads started out. Jerry seemed much refreshed by his nap, and was as lively as either of his comrades.

A straight line was kept for the shack of the old trapper, and when they finally reached the place it was to find Jesse just starting out.

"Why, hello, boys, glad to see ye," he said, shaking hands all around, gravely. "And I'll be hanged, if thar ain't Jerry, big as life. I was gettin' uneasy about ye, lad, an' just startin' to follow up your route through the big timber. Ye see, I kinder thought ye might a-fallen foul o' them fierce wild dogs I told ye about."

Both Frank and Will laughed.

"Well, he did all right, just that same thing. And we're on our way now to see where he left the critters," declared Will.

"Left 'em—looky here, ye don't mean to tell me—it can't be possible now he fit that hull pack, an' got out o' it alive?" exclaimed the trapper.

Then Jerry, with a laugh, dangled the four tails before his startled eyes.



CHAPTER XX

PROVING HIS CLAIM

"Jerusalem! I surely believes he's gone an' done it!" exclaimed old Jesse Wilcox.

Frank and Will burst out into a laugh.

"Do you recognize these tails then, trapper?" asked the former; "because we even accused Jerry of trying to palm off some substitute on us for the originals?"

"Oh! them there is original tails all right. How did ye do it, youngster? An' if they ever was fierce dogs, that pack filled the bill. I'd kinder hated to be up agin 'em myself; an' you on'y a boy!"

"A boy armed with a double-barreled shotgun loaded with buck is able to do just as much as a man, I suppose. I got my deer, too, Jesse, thanks to the directions you gave me. It was a bully old time all around," said Jerry, contentedly.

"Well, I should smile to mention it. Ye take the cake, Jerry. An' now ye want me to lead ye thar, I s'pose. Can ye describe the place well enough for me to recognize it?" asked the trapper.

"Possibly I can. Let's see, I remember that there was a queer-looking oak standing close by—three trees in one, as though sprouts had grown up when the parent trunk was smashed by lightning long ago. Remember having seen anything like that in your trips through the big timber, Jesse?" asked the other, seriously.

The trapper smiled.

"Why, it's right easy. I know that place as well as I do my own dooryard. Shot a stag down by them three oaks myself ten years ago come Christmas. So that's whar ye met up with the dog pack, was it? All right, if so be ye are ready, we kin start right off," he remarked eagerly.

All of the others were equally anxious to proceed, Jerry because he wished to prove his hunting triumphs, and his chums to see the evidence of his valor. Will, no doubt, still hoped to induce the victor to attempt some sort of running stunt in connection with the tree and the dead dogs, that would form the basis of a striking picture.

Going in a bee line, as led by the sagacious trapper, who knew the woods like a book, the little company did not spend more than an hour on the way.

"Thar's yer three oaks, son; now tell us jest whar ye was when ye shot that deer."

As he spoke, Jesse pointed ahead. All of them could easily see the landmark now.

"It was an old tree, and there ought to be broken branches underneath. Yes, if you look over yonder you'll see it. And isn't there something that looks yellow from here?" asked Jerry, proudly.

"Just what! The dog story was founded on solid facts, then!" exclaimed Frank, hurrying forward, with the others at his heels.

"It was a true tale," chimed in Will, from the rear.

They found the dogs just as Jerry had left them. The big yellow brute lay under the rotten tree, with his head mangled from the discharge of the gun at close quarters; the dingy white one farther off, and presently Jerry led them to where he had dispatched the others.

"And there's my package of vension, all right, hanging up yonder. I was afraid some prowling lynx might get away with it," he remarked, composedly; while his two admiring chums were whacking him on the back admiringly, and insisting on proudly shaking hands with him over and over again.

"Now, to make a clean sweep, come with me and I'll show you where I pulled Andy out from under the fallen tree," he said.

Frank laughed and would have protested, declaring that he stood ready to believe anything Jerry might say after this; but the other would not let him hold back.

"I demand that you investigate. See, here's where my charge tore up the ground when I fired through the rotten wood to scare the bear away. And you can see the plain mark of claws on the old tree-trunk. Is it so, fellows?" he asked.

"Without the least doubt. No Ananias here, that's sure," declared Frank.

"All right. Now walk this way only a short distance. I heard the yells, you see, above the racket of the storm, and that told me the one who shouted must be near by. There's the fallen tree. Think what a narrow escape Andy had from being crushed to death."

"And it's easy to see where you dragged him out. Why, here are the prints of his shoes in the mud as plain as type," remarked Frank.

"Where?" asked Will, showing sudden interest; and then after getting down to look at short range he laughed, saying: "Everything is just as Jerry says. I know it was Andy he pulled out from under this tree."

"How do you know?" demanded the party in question, curiously.

"Why, you see it was Andy Lasher who knocked Bluff off that log into the lake. We guessed it at the time, and he afterwards said as much to Jerry here. Well, we found his footprints, and you see one of his shoes had a queer patch on the sole, a sort of triangle. Here it is, as big as life!"

He pointed triumphantly downward. Frank fairly shouted, and even Jerry grinned.

"Talk about your great detectives! Why, they ain't in the same class as our chum here. You see, fellows, truth will out. What more proof do you want?" demanded Jerry.

"Everything has been proven. You are the hero of the hunt, Jerry. I pass up my claim when you're around. And so Andy means to let us alone, does he? Can he speak for his whole crowd, too?" queried Frank.

"I don't know; perhaps not He said something about Pet Peters having to do it himself if he insisted on carrying on this nasty business of bothering us. So perhaps we may have more trouble with them, unless Andy takes the bit in his teeth, and licks a few of his pals."

Will was meanwhile busily engaged with his camera. He first of all dragged several of the dead dogs around until they presented a gruesome appearance, bunched close together.

"Oh, if you would only run around that old tree a few times, Jerry, you don't know how much obliged I'd be. Of course any one must imagine that the dog pursuing you happens to just be out of sight at the time I snap you off. But think how much pleasure the picture will give future generations. Please do!" he begged.

"What do I care about future generations? It would give me the nightmare every time I looked at the measly thing. I guess you'd feel the same way if you just imagined you were going to have a piece gobbled from your leg with every revolution you made. Nixey for me, old chum," observed the other, indignantly.

"Then if you won't, I suppose I'll have to take a still picture; but it's really too bad. However, I have others of you, and some day I'll try a composite picture, inserting you in the honorable position you decline to fill," grumbled Will, as he pressed the button, and secured his view of the venerable tree with the clump of dogs near its base.

"Talk about your obstinate chaps, did you ever see the equal of him? When I decline to do the tall running act, he's going to get out a fake picture anyway, with me in it! In that case I might as well stand for it. Here, you, I'll conspire with you to fix it. If it's got to be a counterfeit, let's make it a decent one."

So, after all, Will's persistency won out.

"You'll be glad when you see the result, I'm sure," he said, as he assisted Jerry to stand the dead hound on his stiffened feet, and make it appear as though he might be stretching out in furious pursuit of some one.

"Now, let me get started winding up around the tree. Tell me when the humbug business is over with," growled Jerry, beginning to circulate over the same track he had covered on the preceding day at such a speedy pace.

This matter was soon adjusted to the complete satisfaction of Will; though he seemed determined to get results, judging from the several "clicks" that announced his rapid-fire work with the camera.

The boys decided that there was no need of going back to the shack of the muskrat trapper again, while they were just half the distance from their own camp.

Jesse Wilcox directed them, so that there was small chance of their going astray; and, besides, Jerry had been over the ground before on this very morning.

"I wonder whether he'll bother taking the pelts of those four dogs?" ventured Will, as he and his two friends walked briskly along.

"Hardly. Dogskins may be valuable, but the buckshot in my gun just about ruined those for any use, all but the yellow fellow. I had to laugh at Jesse when he saw these tails. His eyes were like saucers," declared Jerry, chuckling.

"All right, it was a pretty clever piece of work, and he knew it. If that big hound had ever laid hold of you—ugh! I don't want to think of it. Let's talk about something pleasant—Bluff's pump-gun for instance," remarked Frank.

His eyes met those of Jerry, and the other turned red in the face.

"I don't see anything pleasant about that subject. Goodness knows we hear enough of it from him. What d'ye suppose he wanted to stay in camp for?" he demanded.

"Perhaps to cudgel his brains in order to remember whether he could have taken it with him when we ran out of camp that night; or, perhaps, to give another look around," suggested Frank, dryly.

"Good luck to him, then," continued Jerry. "He ought to employ the great American detective Will here, who discovers things by the print of a foot. Possibly he could follow up the trail of the thief until it led to the lost Gatling gun."

"It would have been a good idea if taken at the time. What's this plain trail lead to?" asked Frank.

"I think it leads direct from the hemlock camp to where Andy's crowd holds out," replied Jerry, who knew considerable about this region.

"Are we far away from the lake, then?"

"It's some closer than our camp. This trail has been traveled more or less lately, too. That proves those fellows have been back and forth. They're bound to spend pretty much all their time while up here trying to make life miserable for us. We turn to the left here, fellows, and go right along this way."

The other two, after a look along the trail that led to the lake camp, were just starting to follow Jerry when they heard a muffled cry. Looking hastily around, to their great astonishment no Jerry was in sight! And in the trail they discovered a gaping hole which was partly covered with a layer of slender sticks, thickly strewn with dead leaves!



CHAPTER XXI

DOWN THE OLD SHAFT

"He's gone!" cried Will, aghast.

"What sort of a trap has he dropped into?" exclaimed Frank.

He was a lad of action, and throwing himself down flat he crawled to the very edge of the gaping hole.

"Hello, Jerry!" he shouted.

"I'm all right, fellows; only bruised a little, and my feelings considerably hurt. I deserve something for forgetting this hole," came a voice from out of the depths.

Frank looked down. His eyes being accustomed to the sunlight he could not see anything but darkness there. But even as he was trying to pierce this, a match flamed up, and he discovered his chum kneeling on a pile of dirt, holding up his improvised torch as though curious to look around.

"What is this place, Jerry?" demanded the one above.

"Why, Will must remember if he once gets his mind off that miserable old camera of his. It's the shaft of what was intended to be a mine," replied Jerry, with disgust plainly marked in his tones.

"A mine—and here? I never heard of it!" echoed Frank.

"That's because you are a newcomer in Centerville. Years ago—oh! I couldn't say how many—a crank lived in the little hut close by, now occupied by the family of a lumberman. He believed there was gold in this region. For nearly a year he dug down and made this shaft. Then he died in his cabin, and no one else ever had faith enough in the thing to continue the work," said Will, chiming in.

"What! do you mean to say this hole in the ground has gone all these years as a trap, ready to swallow any pilgrim who walked along this trail?" demanded Frank.

"Why, of course not. The boys from town often used to come up here. Will has been down in this hole, and so have I before. It was covered with heavy planks then. Somebody has removed those boards and laid a fine trap. Just like we were over in Africa, among the wild-beast catchers. And I fell in, worse luck," grumbled the boy at the bottom of the shaft.

"I see. And you think those fellows in the other camp had a hand in it?"

"Don't doubt it at all. You know yourself it would be just like that Pet Peters. If I'd only thought of the blooming old thing in time, I might have investigated. Talk to me about your Alpine climbers, I thought I was going into the crevasse, all right."

"But how are you going to get out?" asked Frank, always practical.

"A fellow can't climb out. I know that, for we used to try it. Somebody always had to put down the long pole that we made into a ladder," declared Will.

"Is it around here now?" continued Frank.

"Wait and I'll give a look."

Will very carefully placed his camera with its accompanying case of films. He made sure that it was out of the way, so that no one might incautiously step on the same, and ruin his heart's delight. Then he passed into the bushes to scour the immediate neighborhood.

Meanwhile Frank bent over the edge again.

"I've examined this covering up here, Jerry, and there's not the least doubt but that it was made with a distinct purpose," he declared.

"I reckon it was, and it got me, all right. It looked just like the rest of the trail, and I never suspected a thing until I found myself going down. Speak to me about that, will you? To think that I was caught by such a shabby trick. If it had been you, now, it wouldn't seem so bad, because you never saw this hole before."

"But what object could those rascals have had in constructing the trap?" pursued Frank, seeking more light.

"That's hard to say. I imagine, though, they expected to just badger us from time to time until finally we all set out in full chase of the crowd. Then perhaps they meant to lead us along this old trail, avoiding the pit themselves, and having us tumble in pell-mell. It was a clever dodge, but a mean trick all the same."

"But if that had happened it might have been serious. One of us could easily break a leg or an arm in such a tumble," expostulated Frank.

"Huh! little those fellows care about that They're a rough lot, you know. That Pet Peters thinks everybody is made of iron, like himself. Say, I hope Will finds that old ladder we used to play with. I'd hate to lie in here waiting for you to go all the way to camp and get a rope," grumbled the imprisoned one.

"I hear voices, and I reckon Will must have met some one. Yes, there they come."

"With the ladder?" demanded Jerry, eagerly.

"They seem to be carrying something between them. Why, I ought to know that fellow. As sure as you live, it's Andy Lasher," declared Frank, somewhat surprised.

"Then it's all right; I'm satisfied," said Jerry, resignedly.

The others came forward, and as Frank had said they bore between them a long, slender tree upon which many slats had been nailed by the boys. This formed a rude but effective ladder, upon which one might ascend and descend when desirous of seeing what the interior of the abandoned shaft was like.

"I came across Andy down the trail. Only for him I guess I'd never have lit on the ladder, for they'd carried it some distance off, and hid it," cried Will.

Andy looked Frank straight in the face, and the latter explained:

"It's mighty funny, but you see I remembered about this here trap the boys had set, hopin' some of your crowd would take a tumble. I told 'em I wouldn't stand for it after what had happened; so a bunch o' us was on the way out here to put back the planks, when we heard shouts, and guessed somebody had fallen in. The rest dodged into the bushes, but I commenced to run this way. Then I met Will, here."

"And we got the ladder. He was only too willing to help," went on Will, plainly fully believing in the change of heart on the town bully's part.

"Say, that's all mighty interesting, but talk to me about it after you get a fellow out of this black hole. I thought I felt a snake right then. We used to kill 'em in here, too. Poke the ladder down, boys, please."

"That's a fact. As the drowning boy said: 'Save me first and scold me afterward.' Let me give you a hand, boys," remarked Frank.

"Hey! be careful there about getting too close to the edge. The whole bunch of you will be in on top of me if you don't look out. I had a crack on the head from a rock right then. And be careful how you poke that ladder down, or you may stick it through me like a lady's hatpin. Now I've got hold of the end, lower away, all."

So under the directions of the boy who was in the hole, and in a position to see how things lay, the single-pole ladder was placed in position.

"I'm coming up now, fellows; don't let the dirt crumble in on me," called Jerry.

"It does beat all how the adventures crowd you, old man. Here the rest of us just go along in an average way, and nothing happens to anybody to stir the blood. Hang it, I say it's hardly fair," remarked Frank, in pretended chagrin.

Jerry began to appear in view, clinging to the ladder, for it was a rather rickety affair, and threatening constantly to turn around, so that he had to fasten both knees and hands to the pole as he mounted.

"Keep her straight, Andy; you understand how hard it is to hustle up this old beam. I'm getting there all right, and don't you forget it," he kept saying, with a broad grin on his happy-go-lucky face as it came into plain view.

"Oh! Jerry, please hang there for just twenty seconds! You don't know what a splendid picture you make. I'd give almost anything to snatch it off. Oblige me like a good fellow, won't you, please?" shouted Will, waving his hands entreatingly.

"Talk to me about nerve! You beat all creation. I'm holding on by the skin of my teeth, and you want me to wait till you get your measly old camera adjusted, and snap me off in this ignoble position. Well, I'm waiting, but it's to get my second wind, and not to oblige a crank," gasped Jerry.

"Oh! thank you, Jerry, thank you. It will only take a few seconds, I'm sure, and the result will be a constant source of delight to every member of the club."

"Yes, I've no doubt they'll go into spasms of laughter every time they look at the human ape hanging to his limb. Hurry up, plague take it; I'm getting weary of posing to suit your convenience. Why don't he, come back and finish? I declare if I can stand this any longer. I tell you I'm coming up, Will—picture or no picture."

"Here he comes; just hang on a bit longer," said Frank, soothingly.

Will came dashing up, showing the most intense excitement. His eyes fairly bulged from his head, and he was quivering all over.

"What ails you, man; are you sick?" demanded Frank, in real alarm.

"Sick? No, but I'm broken-hearted, that's what. It's gone!" shouted the other, wringing his hands, "some wretch has stolen my camera, and films!"



CHAPTER XXII

"LOOK PLEASANT, PLEASE!"

"What's that?" exclaimed Andy Lasher, jumping up from the side of Frank, where he had dropped to lend Jerry a helping hand.

"My camera's stolen! I placed it carefully behind that tree so nobody could step on it, and now the whole thing's disappeared!" said Will, almost choking with deep emotion.

"I bet that's the work of Pet Peters and the other fellows!" exclaimed Andy, his freckled face showing dark signs of anger.

"Hey, don't forget about me!" bellowed a voice from the depths; "the blooming old pole turned round then, and I slipped back five feet. Hold her steady, you fellows, and give me a chance to climb out!"

"That's a fact. Come along, Jerry," said Frank.

So the imprisoned one crawled out, only too glad to once more plant his feet on solid ground.

"Talk to me about your trapeze acts, and your parachute drops, I guess I know all the sensations. And let me tell you I don't hanker after any more of the same kind. Now, what's all this row about your black box, Will?" cried Jerry, as he felt of his various joints to make sure he was all sound.

"It's been hooked while we were getting you out. That Pet Peters has made way with it. Oh! if he ever tears open the package that contains my beloved films, I'm just ruined. All my work for nothing; and they can never be replaced again."

"We'll get 'em, don't you fear," exploded Andy. "I'll run back to camp right away, and make him give 'em up."

"If you only would, I'd be ever so much obliged, Andy. Three dozen, yes, four now, of the finest scenes a fellow ever could take. Why, some of them are immense!"

"I suppose you are referring now to that one where that yellow dog was chasing me around the tree; but I wouldn't die of grief if posterity never got a squint at that picture," said Jerry, shaking his head.

"Please start now," urged Will; "for they will be opening the package just for spite. One little bit of daylight and the whole thing will be ruined. And from what I know of Pet Peters, I believe he'd do it."

"I just reckon he would, now. All right, I'm off," said Andy.

"Wait, and we'll go with you," declared Frank, quietly.

"I can do it just as well alone; still, perhaps it is good to have you fellers along. But we must run," Andy observed.

"We can do it. Come on, boys!" cried Frank

They started off through the timber, even Jerry keeping up a rattling pace, although somewhat out of breath.

"Better not talk," admonished Andy, when Will manifested a disposition to continue his doleful wails about his terrible loss.

"That's good advice, Will. If you hope to recover your property, better keep a padlock on your lips just now. Besides, you need all your wind," remarked Frank.

They ran on.

The trail was crooked, but kept drawing nearer the lake all the while.

"Just a few minutes more," panted Andy at length.

And when less than that time had passed they could catch glimpses of the cabin in which he and his crowd had taken up their quarters, after being forestalled by the outdoor chums in the race for the hemlock camp.

Andy said nothing, but the manner in which he put his fingers on his lips as he turned his head, was indicative of silence.

He led them forward in such a way that the cabin stood between them and the spot where several boys seemed to have clustered, interested in something.

When they looked around the corner of the hut they counted five in the bunch. It was Pet Peters, a tall, raw-boned lad, who was swinging the camera to and fro in triumph, while he held up the waterproof package in which Will kept the rolls of films that had been exposed, awaiting the time when he could develop the same.

"Say, but won't them sissies be hoppin' mad w'en they sees it gone?" he was saying, with a grin; "an' we can keep it as long as we wanter."

"What's he got in the black bag, Pet?" demanded one of the others.

"Don't know, but we'll soon find out," grunted the leader of the group, looking around for a place to lay the camera down while he applied himself to the task of opening the tied-up package.

"I bet it's films he's used; I know, because I got a bull's-eye camera to home," exclaimed another chap, pressing forward eagerly.

"Who was it tumbled into the old mine shaft?" asked Pet, as he dug at the knot with which the cord was fastened.

"Don't know for sure, but I kinder think it must a-been Jerry Wallington. I seen that Frank and Will along with Andy," replied a third, quickly.

"Glad of it. Andy says as how he's under obligations to Jerry, but fur me I don't take any stock in that sorter thing. He jest couldn't let a feller lie there and die under that tree. It sarves Andy right because he wanted to cover up the old shaft again afore any purty boy fell down in it and skinned his nose. Say, how d'ye 'spose they ever found that ladder agin after we hid it?"

"'Course Andy got it for 'em. He oughter left the kid in the hole all night. Hope he's bunged up good and hard by the tumble," came from another.

"Looky here, Pet, ye know what ye're doin', I 'spect?" asked the one who had but a minute before owned to having a camera at home.

"Tryin' to open this pesky little package, all right," answered the other.

"But if it has them films inside ye'll ruin the hull bunch if ye lets daylight in on 'em. Undo the rolls that is wrapped each in black paper, and the picters is gone just as quick as that," and he snapped his fingers.

"What do I care? Sarves them right for takin' our camp away. For two cents I'd throw the hull business into the lake, and let her swim," growled Pet, who did not seem to be making much progress in his feat of untying the binding cord.

Frank could feel Will quiver with emotion as he pressed against him. The very thought of his beloved camera and those invaluable films floating on the water filled the boy with unutterable anguish. He even groaned, though the fact that the conspirators were so busily engaged, and talking in the bargain, prevented them from hearing the suspicious sound.

"Andy was a-helpin' 'em," declared one of the group, as though that fact might constitute a crime in his eyes.

"'Course; what more could ye expect arter the way he got us to go out with him to cover up that hole again? Andy's got religion, I reckon; leastways he ain't the same kind o' a feller he was," declared Pet.

"But he turned on you mighty quick, I noticed, an' sed as how he'd wipe up the ground with your remains if you jest didn't go along and help undo our work. He kin fight yet, even if he is changed," said the fellow who hung discreetly on the outskirts of the group, and who was evidently a devoted follower of the said Andy.

"Jest mind yer own business, Tom Somers, an' speak when yer spoken to. Guess I know that yer intendin' to stick to Andy through thick an' thin. But they ain't everybody feelin' that way, understand? If Andy he's a-goin' to turn on us and be chummy with that crowd, we ain't expectin' to stand it, see?" declared Pet, still struggling with the obstreperous knot.

"Them's my sentiments," observed another.

"Me, too, fellers?" declared a second.

"Yes, it's easy for ye to talk that ways when he ain't around; but let him give any one o' ye a single look an' it's eat dirt for the lot. Ain't I seen it done many a time? An' some day Andy's goin' to give Pet the time o' his life," the single faithful henchman kept saying.

"Oh, let up, Tom! Ain't any one o' ye got a knife? I can't never get this here knot untied. Hand it here, Billy. Now watch the fun, fellers," and as he spoke Pet opened a blade of the borrowed knife, and proceeded to lay it across the cord.

To judge by the way he sawed, that blade was too dull to cut butter.

"What d'ye call this thing, anyhow, Billy? One side's about as sharp as t'other, an' a feller couldn't commit suicide, if he tried to, with this frog-sticker."

"Try mine," said the fellow who owned a camera.

"Say, that's the cheese; it's got a edge all right. Now wouldn't little Willie Milton weep tears if he seen me a-doin' this to his property," and he bent down to sever the cord at one vicious blow.

Frank thought it high time to interfere.

These unscrupulous boys would not hesitate to destroy all the results of Will's hard labor, and, in fact, take the keenest delight in wringing his heart by so doing.

There was only one way apparently to stop the desecration and save those precious films from destruction. Although opposed to violence on general principles, still Frank knew very well that there are times when it becomes necessary for every one to stand up boldly for his rights.

He gave a nudge to Jerry which that worthy understood as a signal to be ready. Accordingly, Jerry raised his shotgun until he had covered the group in front of the cabin, and then waited for the word.

"Step out and hold them," whispered Frank, in his ear; and the four boys made a sudden appearance from behind the shack.

"Now, look pleasant, please, you fellows!" exclaimed Frank, as he made sure that he had his gun held on a line to cover the leader of the rebels in Andy Lasher's camp.



CHAPTER XXIII

MORE SIGNS OF TROUBLE

Pet Peters looked thoroughly frightened when he saw that he had been caught in the very act of opening another's property.

The truth of the matter was, he had been warned of late by the town authorities that on the very next occasion when caught taking things that did not belong to him, they would send him to the reform school.

"Don't you dare cut that string," said Frank, sternly; "or I won't answer for the consequences, Pet Peters."

The boy, with a scowl, threw the package down alongside the camera.

"There's yer old shebang. I ain't done it a speck o' harm. Was just kiddin', anyway. Knowed Will was around, an' jest wanted to make him squeal," he declared.

Of course it was a barefaced falsehood, as every one understood; but it seemed to be the natural thing for a fellow like Pet to say; he always squirmed out of a scrape that way, while Andy had at least shown a certain amount of boldness when caught.

"Will, step up and claim your property. If it has suffered any damage I'm going to make him pay for it, if I have to take him all the way back to Centerville," continued Frank.

Eagerly did the one addressed walk forward and pick up both camera and package of films. He was within three feet of those five boys, yet never a hand was outstretched to hinder him. They knew better. Those grim guns that bore upon them, and the angry faces of Jerry, Frank, yes, and Andy, impressed them deeply.

"Examine them, Will. Do you think either has been injured?" asked Frank.

"'Course they ain't. How could they be when I kerried 'em carefully. Them scratches was on ther camera afore I touched it, I'll swar to that!" exclaimed Pet, really alarmed by this time.

At which Andy grinned as if highly amused.

"I guess everything's safe, Frank. They stopped just in time. Another minute and the damage could not have been repaired," sang out the delighted Will, ready to almost dance with joy.

"Which is a lucky thing for them, then. Now, I don't know why we should hang out here much longer. We've got our own, and the air of this camp isn't quite as nice as I'd like. Shall we go, fellows?" asked Frank.

"Might as well," answered Jerry; "but before we do I think these chaps ought to be told that the sheriff promised to drop in and see us to-morrow; and that if there's any more of this humbug and annoyance tried, I'm going to ask him to take the whole bunch back to Centerville."

"And I promise to prefer a charge of malicious mischief against them, and an attempt to destroy property. Incendiarism is a crime, especially when life is placed in peril; and one of us might have been burned while we slept," added Frank, severely.

There were exclamations of alarm from the cowering boys. They had been intimidated by the guns of Jerry and his chum, but this new source of danger chilled their ardor wonderfully.

"I reckon we ain't goin' to try any more tricks, fellers. Thought we'd have a leetle fun out of this campin' business; but seein' as how ye take it so hard, we'd better draw off," muttered Pet, completely humbled.

"Yes, 'fun for the boys, but death to the frogs,' as the old story says. That sort of thing is too one-sided to suit me. Just play your jokes on each other, if you must amuse yourselves. We have our own way of extracting fun out of an outing. Well, come along, boys. And, Andy, thank you for helping get Jerry out of that hole."

He thrust out his hand to the other as he spoke, but Andy did not take it.

"Ain't got anything to do with the rest of ye; but Jerry he saved my life. I told him I was goin' to quit naggin' his crowd, an' so I am; but that don't mean I'm a turnin' a saint right away. Pet here is itchin' for a lickin', an' I got a good notion to 'commodate him."

Andy glared in the direction of his lieutenant, and it was plain to be seen that the spirit of warfare had not as yet been diminished in his bosom.

"Oh! well, have it out among yourselves, boys. As long as you leave us alone we won't bother you in the least, I give you my word," said Frank.

"Come on, you fellows," cried Will. "I'm anxious to get away from here. That Pet gave me the cold creeps when he came so near ruining my films. Ugh! me for the comforts of our own camp."

No one wanted to linger. Even Jerry was glad to turn his back on the old cabin and stalk away, with his gun over his arm.

"Say," called Will, over his shoulder, a few minutes later, as they were pushing through the woods and following the back trail.

"Well, what is it?" asked Jerry.

"We forgot something, boys,'' continued the other.

"What's that?" demanded Frank, coming to a stand.

"Why, when we were about it we ought to have demanded that they return Bluff's dandy, repeating shotgun," said Will.

Thereupon Frank broke out into a laugh and turned upon Jerry.

"Hear that, will you?" he remarked, as if tickled.

"Oh, rats! there's that blessed old gun bobbing up again. Will I ever hear the last of that machine?" exclaimed Jerry, shrugging his shoulders.

"Not till the ghost is laid, I suppose, Jerry," remarked Frank.

Jerry walked along at his side, still grumbling as if he had a difficult matter to solve and could hardly make up his mind.

Thus they came to the spot where the late catastrophe had taken place. The hole gaped at them in the trail.

"Say, this is a dangerous thing to leave uncovered. Some one else might fall in, perhaps one of that lumberman's kids if they happened to be playing hereabouts," remarked Frank, as they paused to look down once more into the dark depths.

"I wouldn't want my worst enemy to slip over that edge. My! but it was a queer sensation I had when falling. Let's cover the hole up again," remarked Jerry.

"If we can find the planks it would be a good idea," echoed Will.

They started a search immediately. When Andy and his followers had removed this cover, to substitute the frail one of slender sticks, quilted with dead leaves and a scattering of soil to deceive the eye, they could not have taken the boards far away.

"I'm dead sure they ain't in the hole," observed Jerry, as they hunted.

"Lucky for you they were not, as you might have broken a leg in striking hard planks instead of soft soil," remarked Frank.

"Here they are, boys!" sang out Will just then.

It took but a short time for them to carry the heavy planks back to the place, and cover up the hole the crazy gold-hunter had dug so many; years ago.

"Hope those sillies won't think to steal them off again. They might trap one of that lumberman's kids, and then the penitentiary for theirs, for sure," said Jerry, as he made sure the cover was secure on all sides.

"I rather think they've had a lesson this time, and won't be in any hurry to repeat the dose," laughed Frank; "come along boys."

Somehow Jerry seemed to lag behind the others.

"What's the matter with him?" asked Will, turning his thumb backward over his shoulder.

"Perhaps conscience is at work. Jerry has queer freaks, you know. Wait and see what develops," answered Frank, mysteriously, and, although his companion tried to get him to say more he absolutely declined.

It was a short time after this that they heard the boom of a gun.

"Hunters abroad, somewhere around. There goes a second, yes and a third. Game must be plenty where they are," remarked Will.

Frank did not reply, but the other saw that he was smiling as if his thoughts might be pleasant just then.

"I just bet he's thinking of my sister Violet," was what passed through the mind of the boy; but for once he was wrong.

They finally arrived at a point not a quarter of a mile from camp. Frank turned to see if Jerry was coming along, for he had not heard a sound from him.

"How about that venison you insisted on carrying? I hope you didn't leave it in that miserable pit, now, for I was calculating on having a feast for supper?" he asked, seeing that Jerry still plodded along close by.

"I've got it on my back all right, so don't worry, boys. And honest, now, come to think of it, I really believe the bundle saved me from a worse shock than I got. I landed on it, if you please. Don't know how it beat me down, but it served as a fine old buffer. I look on that blessed deer as my best friend."

"Listen!" exclaimed Will just then.

All of them could hear what seemed to be shouts ahead. They certainly came from the direction of the home camp.

"Now what do you suppose has happened there this time? Can't we ever take a little saunter through the woods without the camp being made the theater for all sorts of strange dramas—wildcats, lunatics, and now what?" exclaimed Jerry.

"I think it would be just as well for us to sprint along and find out. That Toby seems fated to get into the queerest scrapes ever heard of. Here goes!" with which Frank began to run.

The others kept close at his heels, and as the outcries increased they even put on additional speed, bursting out of the timber to see as strange a spectacle as ever greeted the eyes of woodsmen returning to their camp.



CHAPTER XXIV

WHAT BLUFF DID

"Why, it's a bear!" exclaimed Jerry, as the three boys came to a standstill on the border of the camp.

"It sure is, and nothing less," admitted Frank, his face beginning to pucker up with the advance stages of a laugh.

"Oh! if I can only get my camera on him—what glorious luck!" breathed Will, as his trembling fingers worked to drag the little black box out of its cover.

The bear was busy just then, in fact, exceedingly engaged. He had taken to turning things over around the fire just as though some one had given him a sheriff's search warrant, and he meant to use it to the limit.

"He's hungry, all right; look at him getting away with the corn Uncle Toby was just going to cook for supper. Say, that must be the same old critter I interviewed while I was caged in that tree," said Jerry, tickled at the thought.

"What makes you think so?" demanded Frank.

"He's so curious and so persistent, you see. Besides, I don't believe there's another bear within ten miles of here. Oh! it's my old friend, you just bet. And that means I ought to have the privilege of slaying him."

"Don't be piggish, Jerry. Let some of the rest of us do something or other," remarked Frank, with a touch of satire in his voice.

He had his own gun handy, and meant to have a share in getting a supply of bear meat for the camp larder.

"Do you see Uncle Toby? I'll be blessed if he hasn't gone and made a ladder, and has used it to climb up in that tree yonder," declared Jerry, snickering.

"Sensible old Toby. If I had to make shift to be a monkey as often as he has, I think I'd have a ladder, too. Saves considerable trouble, you see, and the wear and tear on his clothes counts, too. But didn't we leave Bluff in camp—I don't see anything of our pard, do you, boys?"

A sharp "click" close to Frank's ear announced that Will was at his old tricks again. He had snapped off a view of the shaggy visitor squatted there with the open kettle between his paws, scooping up its juicy contents with evident relish. Canned corn was a treat that did not come his way every day, and Bruin meant to make the most of his opportunity.

"I thought I had a glimpse of something moving over there back of the tent, and it might be Bluff. I hope he don't try to shoo the old varmint off before we get a whack at him. I've only got bird-shot in my gun but at close quarters that ought to do as well as a bullet, eh, Frank?" asked Jerry, excited at the prospect.

"Wait I've a notion that you may be surprised yet. I've also a hunch, my boy, that there will be another claimant for the honors of this campaign. Sometimes surprises spring out of the very earth. Watch!" said Frank, laying a hand on the gun of his chum, as though impelling him to hold his fire.

Suddenly there was a loud bang!

The bear rolled over in a heap regardless of the congregated tinware that was consequently sent scurrying to the right and to the left.

"Who fired?" shouted the amazed Jerry.

"Look out, fellows, the old rascal's up again, and I guess I'd better get behind a tree with my camera!" exclaimed Will, suiting the action to the words with commendable rapidity.

Bang! went a second discharge at this juncture, and the bear now turning bit savagely at its hindquarters as though its wounds smarted severely.

Immediately a third discharge followed the others. Bruin had by this time apparently sighted the party from whom all these stinging cuts must have proceeded. He gave a roar of rage and lumbering awkwardly across the space started to try and climb a little tree just alongside one of the tents.

"It's Bluff, and he's up in that tree!" shouted Will, as he peeped around his own shelter, and took in the picture with another "click."

"But—he's got a gun!" stammered Jerry.

"Of course he has. Didn't he bring one with him? Perhaps a good fairy may have given him a tip as to where it could be found. There! he has fired again, and that time he missed, for the range was too close."

Frank, as he was speaking, commenced to advance into the open.

"Looky out, Marse Frank, he chaw yuh up, clean suah!" bawled Uncle Toby, from the crotch in the tree where his ladder had allowed him to reach. "Git up heah, honey, whah he can't reach yuh. Dat b'ar am ma-ad clar t'rough!"

"Four times he's shot—didn't I say he couldn't hit the side of a barn. Think of him carrying a Gatling gun," said Jerry.

"But he has hit him more than once. Look how the brute is bleeding, and just to think, Jerry, he's got two more chances. Those pump-guns don't seem so very bad in an emergency," laughed Frank, who seemed to be enjoying the little affair very much indeed.

"There goes one more; and the bear still lives. Talk to me about that, will you, if he didn't shoot its stub of a tail off that time! What next, I wonder? Why not execute the poor beast scientifically, and not murder him by inches?"

He moved his gun forward again as though bent on shooting. Frank, however, would not let him raise the weapon.

"Wait, I say; give Bluff one more chance. Make allowance for his excitement and his position while the bear is shaking that tree so. If he misses again we will both fire together and put an end to the comedy before it turns into a tragedy."

"That's what it will be if Bluff ever drops down into those claws. Why don't the duffer shoot? I can't stand it much longer, I tell you."

"Hold hard. I've no doubt he's waiting to get a good show, when the bear stops rocking that tree for a second. There now!"

A sixth roar drowned Frank's last words. This time Bluff must have steeled his nerves, and covered the side of the bear, for with the report the animal keeled over, made a vain attempt to get up again, gave a few kicks, and then lay still.

"Hurrah! Bluff has killed his bear!" yelled Frank, rushing forward, and swinging his hat excitedly.

"Come down here and stand over the fallen beast while I immortalize you as the mightiest Nimrod of them all," called Will, rushing up with his camera ready to do the business with neatness and dispatch.

Jerry said nothing. He looked a bit dejected as he stood there and surveyed the dead bear. It was not envy that gripped his soul either, for Jerry was generous by nature. Something else had seized upon him, and Frank smiled as though satisfied with the way things had come out.

Bluff came scrambling down from his uncertain perch, looking wild.

"Is he really dead, fellows? Just to think that after all I did it with my new repeating shotgun! Ain't it a dandy, though? If Jerry hadn't gone to work and hid it away, I might have downed all the game that's come into this camp," he said, looking upon the black, hairy beast with a shudder, for he had had quite a severe fright while swaying to and fro with an angry bear beneath waiting for him to drop, like a ripe persimmon, as Jerry afterwards described it.

"Jerry?" shouted Will, in blank amazement.

"Yes, he stuck the gun in that long box over there. You remember his falling over it and bruising his shins. That was what gave him the miserable idea, I suppose. Anyway, he did it while the rest of us were out in the brush hunting for the fellow who threw those rocks into our camp," declared Bluff, scowling at the author of his woes.

Jerry laughed, a little forcedly it is true.

"I suppose I might as well own up, Bluff. I'm the guilty wretch, all right. The temptation came to me, and I did the job without thinking what it would mean to you. Honestly I've felt sore about it more than once since, and had just about made up my mind to confess, when by some accident, it seems, you found it. But you don't know it all. I hid the gun and then, when I went to see if it was safe, it was gone. I didn't know what to make of that, but fancied somebody else in camp had taken it. Then I commenced a search, and I found the gun down near that hole. I rather think some of the Lasher crowd came and took the gun, but I am not sure. After I found the gun I brought it to camp and put it in the box again. I take back some of the hard things I've been saying about that weapon. She can shoot, all right, and in the hands of an expert might, as I said, clean out all the game going."

"Frank told me to take another look around, just before you fellows left camp. I didn't have the heart to until a little while back, and was delighted to find the gun under those pieces of canvas in the box. It wasn't wet a bit in that hot old storm we had, either," continued Bluff again, as be contemplated his quarry, and then puffed out with honest pride.

"Say, was it you shooting a little while back?" asked Will, just then; "because we heard a lot of shots somewhere around."

"Why, yes, I got Uncle Toby to stand behind a tree, and throw up the wash basin half a dozen times while I banged away."

"Yes," said Frank, picking up the article in question, "and to judge from the holes you put through it we'll have to do without a basin during the remainder of our stay in camp. But how do you suppose this bear wandered into camp?"

"Reckons dat he jest smells de cawn, Marse Frank, w'en I opens up de can, an' by gorry, dat b'ar he can't resist de temptations to hab some. I seen him comin' foh me, an' I jest lets out a yell an' runs up dis yer safety ladder," remarked Toby, as he patted the article in question affectionately.

"We heard the yells, all right, and came running. Look here, Bluff, old man, you got your bear in spite of my playing that mean trick on you; are you going to call it quits, and be friends?" asked Jerry, holding out his hand.

"I—er—I don't know," stammered Bluff.

"I am just as sorry as I can be, Bluff, really I am, and I'd give the world if I hadn't played that trick. At first I was going to own up, but when you went off after the Lasher crowd it—well, I didn't see how I could do it. But after I got it back I hoped every hour that you would look into the box and discover the gun. Oh, say you'll forgive me!" added Jerry, pleadingly.

"Well, I feel a bit raw about it yet, but this is no time to show resentment, with such a glorious trophy at my feet. Yes, we'll call it quits, Jerry, only after this you might forget to sneer at a gun that happens to be different from yours."

"I agree, and that ends it," said Jerry, as he squeezed the other's hand.



CHAPTER XXV

BREAKING CAMP

And they had bear steak for supper.

Honestly, none of them thought a great deal of the treat, only that it seemed to be the proper thing for hunters to enjoy the results of their prowess with their guns.

Bluff was the happiest chap in camp, unless Will be excepted; he fondled that recovered gun almost the whole evening, and while Jerry winced every time he saw it, he dared not lift up his voice in protest after the great work which the so-called Gatling gun had done in the hands of a greenhorn.

Jerry with all his skill in the line of shooting had never been given the opportunity to kill a bear, and he felt that the time had gone by for him to class Bluff as a "come-on."

They spent a joyful evening, though, going over the exciting incidents of the last forty-eight hours again and again.

"And to think that we have only been up here a few days, boys. Why, if this sort of thing keeps on at this rate during our two weeks' stay, whatever in the world am I going to do for more films?" asked Will, plaintively.

"Keep the balance for especially good subjects," said Jerry, carelessly.

"Yes, but sometimes, you know, the best pictures are those you fail to get. Now, there was that one with you hanging to that ladder, I'll never get over my disappointment about losing that. Whenever anything of that sort crops up again, I hope nobody will steal my camera."

"Talk to me about dogged perseverance, this fellow certainly has 'em all beat to a frazzle," said Jerry, with an injured air, "I expect next he'll be proposing that we go back to that old shaft, and while I hang by my teeth to that blessed, shaky ladder, he will crack off a few views of the circus. Don't you dare propose that, or I'll forget my promise to be good, and begin to hide things again!"

"Oh! all right, I won't mention it, only it's a shame, that's what, when any fellow in these days refuses to put himself out a little just to oblige a friend, and interest posterity," grumbled Will.

They stayed up until quite late, singing songs of school and college life, and having a happy time. Not one among the four dreamed of the shadow that was even then hovering over Kamp Kill Kare.

There was no alarm that night, for which one and all felt grateful. This thing of being aroused out of a sound sleep to have the covers whipped off by a roaring gale may read all very nice, but the reality is quite a different matter. And when wild animals invade the peaceful camp it strikes one as very funny in print, but is apt to bring about a chilly feeling when encountered in real life.

As usual, Frank was the first one up, and he soon had the camp astir with his cheery calls. The nipping, frosty air proclaimed that now the Fall had come in earnest, and that they would be glad after this to keep a fire burning during each night, for warmth.

As they sat about the blaze after breakfast, laying out plans for the day, the sound of a horse's neigh startled them.

"It's the sheriff, I reckon," said Jerry, as they jumped up.

And he had guessed correctly, for presently they saw a horseman appear, and as he came up he waved his hand in greeting.

"Sorry, boys, but I've got some bad news for you," he said.

"Anybody dead, or sick?" asked Frank, turning a bit pale.

"Oh, no, nothing of that sort, I'm glad to say. This concerns you fellows only?" was the quick reply of Mr. Dodd, the sheriff.

The four boys looked at one another with alarm.

"I bet I know what it is—the Head has concluded to start the school up under half a roof, and wants us to come back right away!" said Will, mournfully.

Mr. Dodd laughed aloud.

"Hit it the first slat out of the box, Will. And you've got to report to-morrow morning, so you must go back to-day sure. I saw some of your fathers, and they say the same, so there's no escape. Sorry to bring you bad news; but looks like you've been doing your share of game-getting in the short time you were here," nodding toward the bear that was hanging up, and the deerskin, as well as the pelt of the invading wildcat.

"Well, it's hard lines, sir, but I suppose we have to obey. But get off and have breakfast. Toby just loves to cook, you know. There's plenty of coffee left, and you can have your choice of bear steak, or venison," said Jerry, hospitably.

So the sheriff made himself at home. He even assisted the boys get their things together preparatory to moving back to town, before riding on further.

The motor-cycles had been securely packed away under the big fly all this time, and had not suffered at all from the rain. Indeed, the boys took good care to keep them well oiled, knowing the benefit of having such valuable pieces of mechanism in first-class order at all times.

Jerry went over to the farmer's and secured the horses and wagon. Then the work of dismantling Kamp Kill Kare began. They tried to appear gay, but every one of the boys had become attached to the place during their short stay, and felt badly over leaving these scenes with so much undone that they had planned for.

"Never mind, fellows, we're going to come again and again. This first camp of the Rod, Gun and Camera Club isn't going to be the last, by any means. And I guess we've learned a good many things on this trip," sang out Jerry, cheerily.

"That's true every day, with all of us. I'm learning all the time. And next year when we get under canvas we will have a lot of pleasant memories to look back to. Why, with Will's pictures to help out, the winter will be a constant feast of stories about the things that have happened to us up here," remarked Frank.

"I'd like to have seen more of old Jesse. He's just chock full of woods lore, and can give you all the points you want about animals and such. How are things getting on out there, fellows? Is the wagon pretty well loaded?" asked Jerry.

"Have the last tent packed away in ten minutes. Toby says he can drive all right, but we'll keep near by to lend him a hand if necessary. The road is some rough in places until we get on the pike."

Half an hour later the wagon moved away from the camp under the hemlocks. Uncle Toby looked back and grinned amiably as he noted his ladder of protection, and his friendly tree of refuge.

Each boy in turn started his machine by walking, then vaulted into the saddle, and began to move along the trail that led down to the lumber camps at the head of the lake.

No one said a word. In truth all were too full of emotion to speak, for they felt this sudden flitting more than they cared to admit.

A turn of the trail and no longer could they see the twin hemlocks under which the two khaki tents had stood. Frank had broken up many times in his camping experiences and knew just how it felt; but the sensation was new to the others. It was as if they had just lost a dear friend—as though something had gone out of their lives that could never be recovered again.

Now in advance of the trundling wagon, and anon bringing up the rear, they kept on until finally the opening at the lumber camp was gained. From now on their progress would be faster, and if they wished they could leave Toby to come along with the wagon while they opened up and made a speedy run for home.

Somehow no one seemed to care about doing that. The wagon held something that had been associated in their minds with the most delightful of times, and they felt as though they ought to continue to act as a guard of honor to the slow moving team.

"Cheer up, fellows," called Frank, seeing how gloomy his chums looked; "every one of us has good reason for feeling proud and satisfied, even if our vacation has been cut short. I know I'm glad I came. I've had just a glorious time!"

"And to think of the fine pictures I'll be developing to-night. Oh! don't I hope they turn out good, though. Frank, you promised to come around and help me with your advice. I wouldn't take a chance of spoiling those views for anything," said Will, beginning to brighten up at the thought.

"And sure, I ought to be satisfied, with a deer, four wild dogs, and part of a wildcat, too, as my portion," exclaimed Jerry, also smiling again.

"Well, what d'ye think of me then, me and the blessed old pump-gun you used to make so much fun about? A bear, a great big savage bear that was trying to shake me down out of that tree It's in the wagon, too, and all our folks are going to try how sharp their teeth are when they get to biting a genuine bear steak. I rather think I'm in this thing some, eh, fellows?" demanded Bluff, positively.

"Yes, I rather believe you lead the procession this time, Bluff. Go up ahead, and do the grand marshal act when we get near home. But, say what you will, boys, we did have glorious fun. I doubt whether any fellows ever had more adventures crowded into so short a time before. And we're all of the same mind, I take it, ready to try it again at the very first opportunity," said Frank.

And how they did try it again will be told in another book, to be called: The Outdoor Chums on the Lake; or, Lively Adventures on Wildcat Island." In that volume we shall meet all our young friends again, and likewise their enemies, and follow out the particulars of some decidedly thrilling happenings.

"Before we get into civilization again, let's give one last rousing cheer for good old Kamp Kill Kare," cried Jerry.

"Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah! tiger!" rang out four boyish voices; and then, waving an imaginary farewell to the pleasant camp under the hemlocks, the outdoor chums turned once more to the duties of school life.

THE END