s there any other animal that wears hoofs?" asked Ruth, of no one in
particular.

Now, Mr. Gilroy must have dreaded the reply, for he quickly changed the
subject. "How many of you brought the plaster and bottle of water?"
Every one had.

"Well, why not make a little cast of both the tracks you do not
recognize and then compare them with those in the book when we go back
to camp?"

This sounded fine, so the scouts were soon busy making casts of the
tracks. When hard, they were handed to the Captain and Mr. Gilroy to
carry carefully until they all reached camp.

Quite near the camp ground Hester made a discovery. "Oh, come and see!
Here is something with toes. As big as a wildcat, or maybe a little
bear!"

Yes, there were toes in this animal's tracks--as plain as could be. So
the scouts guessed every animal known, excepting the coyote and
water-loving creatures. After many futile suggestions, they made a
plaster cast of these tracks also.

"I'm going to carry this load back to camp, girls, and be ready for the
next one you give me," announced Mr. Gilroy, starting to go down the
trail.

The next two tracks, one that of a large-toed animal and the other of
one whose tracks showed how the hair grew down low on the hind
legs,--for the hair showed in several of the imprints made of
plaster,--strangely ended near the bungalow, and on the other side of
the hard trail again, they ran as far as the barnyard.

"I never saw the beat of it! Any one would think Gilly hung the bait on
the barn door to entice the animals here," said Julie, who was angry at
winding up at such a place three times running. Mr. Gilroy had to laugh
in spite of himself.

"Say, where did you put that bait, anyway, Gilly?" demanded the scout
leader, watching the man skeptically.

"Where we knew it would attract the best results."

"Gilly, I verily believe you are hoaxing us!" cried Julie. Mrs. Vernon
smiled at her bright scout, but Mr. Gilroy shook his head protestingly.

"Why should I hoax any one? I was laughing at the way you brave scouts
dodged when Joan said the animal they lost might be crouching on a
bough of the trees."

"No, that wasn't what made you laugh." Then Julie went over and held a
secret conference with her corporal and Ruth, and they, grinning, urged
her to do as she suggested.

So Julie took a sample of the different casts made in the tracks, and
left the others engaged in finding new and intricate tracks. Mr. Gilroy
and