Charley.

"'Twill be easy to carry he," assured Toby. "I'll show you how easy
'tis."

Now that the lynx was harmless to attack, and lay quiet and motionless
at their feet, Charley discovered that it was a much smaller animal than
he had thought when he saw its eyes and its crouching form in the
shadows. Still he had no desire to meet a lynx alone in the forest,
though Toby still insisted that the animal would have made no attack,
and would have slipped away from them had he failed in his aim.

Toby drew the twine from his pocket, and tied together the front legs,
just above the padded feet, wrapping the twine around the legs several
times, and tying it in a secure knot. The hind legs were tied in similar
manner. Then cutting a stiff pole, and trimming off the branches with
the ax, he ran the pole between the front and hind legs, with the two
ends protruding.

"Now," said Toby, "and you takes one end of the pole on your shoulder,
I'll take the other on mine and we'll carry he in between us."

"I never would have thought of doing it that way," said Charley
admiringly. "That's dead easy!"

It was dusk when they reached the cabin, and the lynx was growing heavy
to Charley's unaccustomed shoulder, and both boys were tired and happy
with the day's adventure.

"Well, now!" boomed Skipper Zeb in his biggest voice, when the boys
appeared at the door. "A lynx! And a fine big un, too! And the fur's not
so bad for this early in the season. You're startin' in fine as a
Labradorman!" and he slapped Charley on the shoulder. "Day before
yesterday a castaway! Yesterday shipwrecked! To-day settin' rabbit
snares and helpin' Toby knock over a lynx! Aye, and gettin' the lynx!
That's two bad fixes you gets out of yourself, and one you gets the lynx
in that he don't get out of!"

"Toby shot the lynx," said Charley modestly. "He'd have got away from me
if I'd been alone, or eaten me up."

"Charley helped," Toby broke in. "He helped to trail he, though I did
the shootin', and he helped to carry he home."

"Both of you gets un, though only one does the shootin'," agreed Skipper
Zeb with a hearty "haw! haw! haw!" slapping the two boys on the
shoulder with vast approval. "Only one would be doin' the shootin'
whatever. We'll be makin' a hunter o' you before the ship comes back in
July month, lad! You'll be a true Labradorman by then. Now we'll have
roast lynx for dinner to-morrow, and 'tis a fine fat un too."

Supper was not ready, an