olding the bushes aside and lifting her bodily over several big
logs and sharp watercourses. Finally he stopped.

"I think if you give Billy a call now, Jim," he said, "he won't have
much difficulty in finding us."

To the children it seemed an utter impossibility that Billy should ever
find them, though they said nothing, and Jim obediently lifted up his
voice and coo-ee'd in answer to the Hermit's words. For himself, Jim was
free to confess he had quite lost his bearings, and the other boys were
as much at sea as if they had suddenly been dropped down at the North
Pole. Norah alone had an idea that they were not far from their original
camping-place; an idea which was confirmed when a long "Ai-i-i!" came in
response to Jim's shout, sounding startlingly near at hand.

"Master Billy has been making his way along the creek," commented the
Hermit. "He's no distance off. Give him another call."

"Here!" Jim shouted. Billy answered again, and after a few more
exchanges, the bushes parted and revealed the sable retainer, somewhat
out of breath.

"Scoot back to camp, Billy," Jim ordered. "Take these fish and soak 'em
in the creek, and bring back all our tucker--milk and all. Bring
it--Where'll he bring it, sir?" to the Hermit.

"See that tall tree, broken with the bough dangling?" the Hermit asked,
pointing some distance ahead. Billy nodded. "Come back to that and
cooee, and we'll answer you."

"Plenty!" said Billy, shouldering the bags of fish, and departing at a
run. Billy had learnt early the futility of wasting words.

"Come along," said the Hermit, laughing.

He turned off into the scrub, and led the way again, taking, it seemed
to Norah, rather a roundabout path. At length he stopped short, near a
dense clump of dogwood.

"My back door," he said politely.

They stared about them. There was no sign of any door at all, nor even
of any footprints or marks of traffic. The scrub was all about them;
everything was very still and quiet in the afternoon hush.

"Well, you've got us beaten and no mistake!" Jim laughed, after they had
peered fruitlessly about. "Unless you camp in the air, I don't see--"

"Look here," said the Hermit.

He drew aside a clump of dogwood, and revealed the end of an old log--a
huge tree-trunk that had long ago been a forest monarch, but having
fallen, now stretched its mighty length more than a hundred feet along
the ground. It was very broad and the uppermost side was flat, and here
a