Perry has to do to return Cub's goat is to prove there isn't any mystery
about the affair."

"I didn't say I was going to do that," objected the adult member of
the party.

"What--return the goat or disprove the mystery?" asked Bud.

"Now you're getting facetious," broke in Cub.

"Not necessarily," objected Mr. Perry. "I didn't promise, or have in
mind, to do either of those things. The fact of the matter is, a mystery
represents the state or condition of mind of the person mystified. Now, I
am not mystified over this affair at all; hence there is no mystery in
it, so far as I am concerned."

"Then explain it to us," Bud challenged.

"Oh, no; I didn't mean I could do that."

"Then you must be mystified," Bud argued.

"Suppose you have a difficult example to do at school, and finally after
working at it a long time you have to confess you can't do it--does that
mean it's a mystery and you are mystified?"

This was a poser for the boys. They had never looked at a subject of this
kind on any such light.

"Cub, you're the highbrow of our bunch," said Hal after some moments of