first the old man paid no attention, but presently he turned his
craft toward shore and came to a halt directly in front of the camp.

"How are you?" said Snap, cordially. A look told him the Stranger
was at least seventy or eighty years old.

"Pretty well, for an old man," was the answer. "Who are you?"

"We are four boys from Fairview. We came up here to go camping.
Who are you?"

"Me? Don't you know who I am? I am Peter Peterson."

"Oh!" exclaimed the boys. They remembered having once heard Jed
Sanborn speak of Peter Peterson as an old fellow who lived among
the hills bordering Lake Cameron. Peterson was a hermit, and
having been crossed in love when he was a young man, he hated the
sight of a woman.

"My name is Charley Dodge," said Snap. "My father owns a share
in the Barnaby saw mill." And then the leader of the club introduced
his chums. In the meantime the old hermit allowed his canoe to
drift to shore and he stepped out and sat down on a rock.

"I know your father," he said to Snap, "and I know your folks," and
he nodded to Shep. "Your father gave me some medicine when I was
sick. So you came up here to go camping?"

"Yes."