anything like it?"

"Finest timber I ever set eyes on, Lew. Isn't it wonderful? and to think
that the whole state was once covered with timber like that!"

They climbed down the rude ladder, slipped their packs over their
shoulders, and set off down the mountainside at a fast pace. And they
could go fast in such timber. No underbrush tripped them or caught in
their sacks. No low limbs impeded their progress. Indeed there was hardly
a limb nearer the ground than fifty feet. Their only care was for the
rocks and the roughness underfoot. From time to time they paused as they
came to some mammoth pine, and gazed in awed wonder at its huge bulk.

As they got down into the bottom the timber seemed to be even larger than
it was on the slope. The forest floor was soft and springy. Their feet
sank into it as into a soft, thick rug. The top of this leafy covering was
dry enough; but a few inches under the surface, the forest mold was as
moist as though a shower had just fallen. Yet there had been almost no
rain for months. Not only did the leaves hold the moisture, but the very
shade itself conserved it by preventing evaporation.

In the very centre of the valley ran a little stream. Long before they
could see it, they heard the brook talking to itself. The forest was
filled with a gentle murmur, which grew to a distinct rushing sound as
they approached the stream.

"Can't you just hear it speak?" said Lew. "What do you suppose it is
saying?"

"Those really are voices," insisted Charley.

"Now who's getting dippy?" laughed Lew. "You'll be as bad as I am if you
keep on."

"But I do hear voices," protested Charley. "I plainly heard the word
'six.' Listen. Somebody said 'eight,' just as plain as could be."

Lew looked puzzled. "Of course there might be some fishermen in here
besides ourselves," he said.

They looked carefully about them, but at first saw nothing. Then a voice
distinctly said, "Hemlock--five." There could no longer be any doubt.
Some one besides themselves was in the forest.

They made their way in the direction of the sound. Presently they saw
three men. Two of them carried calipers and walked in advance. The third
came behind and held a pencil and note-book.

"Wonder who they are and what they are doing," Charley said quietly.

"Let's watch and see."

But in a moment the approaching party caught sight of them. "Good-morning,
boys," said the man with the note-book. "Out for trout?"

"Surest thing