t how certain kinds
of wild game find their way to the New York hotels in the close season,
than he'd like to own up to. And I tell you right now what I mean to
do."

"Go on, we all want to know," urged Thad.

"While I'm up here," Giraffe continued, loftily, "I expect to keep my
eyes open to find evidences of traps and snares set in the woods to
catch partridges, rabbits and the like. And some time, if anybody wants
to paddle for me, I'm agoin' to go all the way around this here lake,
lookin' for nets, set to haul in the game bass."

"You ought to be wearing the badge of a game warden, Giraffe," declared
Davy, with a mock bow in the direction of the speaker; "but they'd have
to watch you right smart now, because some of that game would go to keep
you from starving."

They continued to talk until a late hour, and every boy was given a
chance to air his opinion. Still, no wonderfully new ideas seemed to be
in evidence; and when the patrol sought the blankets, leaving the
camp-fire dying down, they were about evenly divided on the question as
to whether the educated tramp keeping company with the foreign owner of
the bear was a smart man, or just a scamp.

But a night of peace followed all these thrills. The skies above showed
no sign of storm; and from the neighboring forest there issued no more
bears, or any other savage beast, to raid the camp, and produce another
mad scamper of the scouts to places of refuge among the branches of the
friendly trees.

Once or twice Allan came out to take a look around. It seems to be the
habit of all old campers to do this, whenever they happen to awaken; not
that he suspected that there would be any peril hovering around; but
then possibly the fire might have worked its way through a line of dead
grass, and threaten to extend; or it perhaps needed another small log to
keep the blaze going, and ward off the chill of night.

Over the water came a weird cry at the time Allan last performed this
vigil; and the Maine boy smiled as he listened for a repetition; because
it was a familiar sound in his ears, and reminded him of his former home
further north.

"Was that a loon, Allan," asked a quiet voice near him; and turning, the
Maine boy saw the acting scout-master poking his head out from under the
canvas of the second tent.

"Just what it was, Thad," replied the other, when the last speaker
crawled out to join him; "I think he must have just dropped down here,
for I heard a spl