o learn something from finding tracks,
when you can see in the daylight; is that the answer, Max?" Steve asked.

"Yes, and when you set the trap keep on this side. I should think that
whatever it was picked up the bait might have gone off that other way,"
Max-continued, thoughtfully.

"Unless it came down the tree here, and went back the same way," Steve
proposed. "We know already that the thief is a climber, don't we, Max?"

"You remember, Steve, that ham sailed out of a tree, and whizzed past
your head," replied the one whose opinion had been asked. "Yes, and I
had a glimpse of some moving object up among the branches, even if it
did slip away before I could see whether it had the stripes of a tiger,
the spots of an ocelot, or the gray coat of our American panther."

"Gee! but this thing is getting some exciting, for a fact!" Steve
admitted; "and we'll all feel a heap sight easier in our minds when we
do know just what sort of critter it is hanging around our camp, and
trying to make a living off our stock of good grub."

"But Bandy-legs isn't caring whether school keeps or not," suggested
Max, as they plainly heard a loud snore from the direction of the tent,
where the other chum was evidently sleeping soundly.

"He'll hardly believe us when we tell him in the morning what happened,"
Steve went on to say. "And now that we've gone and set the old spring
trap again, there's not a single thing to show for it, unless we're
lucky enough to get our game the second time around."

"S-s-shucks!" muttered Toby just then.

"What's the matter?" asked Max.

"D-d-don't believe the thing'll come again; it's r-r-raining right now."

"Only a few drops, Toby, and they never make a storm, you know," Steve
informed him. "We don't want to see any rain, and for one I won't
believe it's going to visit us till I see it pouring cats and dogs.
When it comes to the weather I never believe anything until it happens,
and then, like as not it turns out a fizzle."

"Well, there's no use of our staying out here to get wet," remarked Max;
"so I move the meeting be adjourned. All in favor call out aye!"

Both the others were of the same mind, for they hastened to add their
voices to that of Max. And accordingly all of them crawled back under
the waterproof tent, content to let things move along as they pleased,
and quite sure that no matter how the rain did come down they would find
their covering faithful to its trust.

Bandy-legs stil