for Steve, though he made no remark on the subject, his face seemed to
indicate contentment.

"Is it because he thinks he wasn't seen?" Max kept asking himself,
uneasily; but found no answer.

The plans for the morning were soon arranged.

Steve was to pilot Owen to the river over the trail he and Max had made.
And at the last moment Toby begged for a chance to accompany the
expedition.

"I w-w-want to show that I w-w-wasn't the Jonah yesterday," he remarked,
after Max had said he could be spared.

"Oh! rats!" spluttered Bandy-legs, whose turn it was to attempt the
cooking; but Max thought he did not seem quite as cheerful as ordinarily.

Max himself really meant to have a try in the marsh for woodcock, as they
were known to frequent the low ground when feeding.

So the three boys went off, each with his empty bag, which he hoped to
bring back partly filled with mussels, some of which might develop prizes
when finally opened up.

Bandy-legs pottered around the fire for a while, but Max could see how
unnaturally he acted.

"That boy's got something on his mind, it is dollars to doughnuts," he
kept saying to himself, as he watched the nervous movements of the new