lement at Pocassett in
high spirits. The days that followed were filled with similar
sports,--skating where the snow had been cleared from the surface of the
Pocassett River, snowshoeing in all directions over the hills, fishing
through the ice at Lonesome Lake and Wolf Pond and, on one or two
nights, get-togethers with the crowd of young people who were occupying
other camps near by.

Teeny-bits soon discovered that the vigorous, middle-aged man who had
been introduced to him that first day as Ted Norris' uncle was in
reality taking the place of the Jefferson football captain's father, who
had died several years before. It seemed to him that here was the most
intensely interesting man he had ever met. He was a mining engineer, and
from little things that were said now and then it was evident that there
was scarcely a quarter of the world into which he had not penetrated. A
casual remark about India aided by a question or two from Phillips and
Neil Durant brought forth a story of a trip into the jungles of that
distant country; at another time the sight of a bare mountain-side
called forth reference to a snow-covered range in China and led to
interesting details of life in the Far East.

"Sometime you will have to take us on a trip to Japan or China or India
or somewhere," said Ted Norris one night when the six of them were at
supper.

"Well," said the mining engineer, "I'd like to do it. Who knows, perhaps
sometime I can."

Teeny-bits Holbrook would have liked nothing better than to "pump" this
man who had traveled so much, for he found stories of far lands
intensely interesting, and when the first mishap of the vacation
occurred he was somewhat envious of the victim, to whom it opened up an
opportunity for closer acquaintance. On Thursday Neil Durant, in trying
out a pair of skis on a steep slope behind the camp, crashed into a
thicket of young pine trees and, although he came through with a grin on
his face, he discovered that he had sprained his ankle and would not be
able to join the crowd on the ski party that had been planned for
Thursday evening. Wolcott Norris announced at supper that he also would
stay behind; and thus it happened that the former captain of the Ridgley
team sat with his bandaged ankle propped up on a chair in front of the
fireplace while Wolcott Norris settled back comfortably to enjoy an
evening of conversation. They talked about many things--travel,
business, college and sports--before