ter.

"So I shot him," said Bluff, simply. "And at that the remaining beast
lit out as fast as he could, because with the fall of the leader of
the pack he lost his grit. Course after that Sandy'n I couldn't think
of hunting any longer. We figured that we ought to get back home and
have our cuts looked after. And Paul, Phil has done a dandy job with
that potash stuff."

"Glad to hear it," said the scout-master, quickly, "though I'll take a
look myself to make sure. Scratches from carnivorous animals are very
dangerous on account of the poison that may cling to their claws. It's
always best to be on the safe side, and neutralize the danger."

"And Paul," continued Bluff, "will you accept one of these fat birds
from us?"

"Not much I will!" declared the other immediately. "Why should I be
favored over the rest of the crowd? You and Sandy earned the right to
enjoy a feast, and we'll see to it that you have it to-morrow. Let
them hang until then; game is always better for lying a few days
before being eaten, you know."

Of course, those who had remained at home were curious to know whether
the rescue expedition had been successful or not.

"We needn't ask if you found Hank and his crowd," declared Spider
Sexton, wisely, "for as scouts we are educated to observe things, and
first of all we notice that none of you has come back with the pack he
took away. That tells us the story. But please go on and give the
particulars, Paul."

"We managed to find them just when they had their last stick on the
fire," the scout-master commenced to relate. "We had to dig a way in
to them, for there was an enormous drift banked up against their exit
that they hadn't even begun to cut through."

"How lucky you got there on time!" cried Frank Savage. "Once more
scouts have proved themselves masters of circumstances. Bully for
Stanhope Troop! I bet you they were glad to see you! Yes, and like as
not told you they were sorry for ever having done anything to annoy
our crowd."

"You've hit it to a dot, Frank," admitted Jud. "Hank shows some signs
of meaning to turn over a new leaf, and Paul even believes there's a
hope; but somehow the rest of us reckon its the old story over again.
Once they get on their own stamping grounds, by degrees they'll forget
all we've done for them, and be back at their old tricks again. What's
bred in the bone can't easily be beaten out of the flesh, my father
says."

"But it does happen once in a while,"