Somehow no one seemed very anxious to stray very far away from the camp.
For one thing it was out of the hunting season; and on this account the
presence of many partridges on the island could not lure Max. They had
stirred up quite a number while making that little hike toward the upper
end of the place; and every time a bird was flushed, going off with a
sudden roar of wings, Bandy-legs had weakened; so that by the time they
got back home again he felt as though he had been through a spell of
sickness.

And then to have that new sensation sprung upon them, and find that an
unknown prowler had paid them a visit in their absence, was, as
Bandy-legs expressed it, "too, too much."

But because the boys lounged around camp was no reason why they were not
enjoying themselves hugely. Why, even Bandy-legs tried to forget all the
dreadful nights ahead of them still, six in a row, and find some source
of amusement.

Each fellow seemed, as the afternoon glided along, to just naturally
gravitate toward the kind of pleasure that interested him most.

Max and Owen were examining some small animal tracks every little while,
which the latter would find along the edge of the water; and as his
knowledge of such things lay in the form of book learning, while his
cousin had had considerable experience in a practical way, he
invariably, after puzzling his head awhile, softly called to Max, who
willingly joined him.

Now it was a muskrat that had wandered along the edge of the river,
looking no doubt for a fresh shellfish for his supper. Then again, Max