the first inquiry, Jack Stormways, whose father owned a lumber yard and
planing mill just outside the limits of the town, which was really the
goal of their present after-supper walk.

"Great place, all right," replied Bobolink. "Paul kept calling my
attention to all the things worth seeing. He seems to think a heap of the
old Radway. For my part, I rather fancy our own tight little river, the
Bushkill."

"Well, d'ye know, that's one reason I asked how you liked it," Jack went
on. "Paul seemed so much taken with that region over there, I've begun to
get a notion in my head he's fixing a big surprise, and that perhaps at
the meeting to-night he may spring it on us."

"Tell me about that, will you?" exclaimed Bobolink, who was given to
certain harmless slang ways whenever he became in the least excited, as
at present. "Now that you've been and gone and given me a pointer, I c'n
just begin to get a line on a few of the questions he asked me. Well,
I'm willing to leave it to Paul. He always thinks of the whole shooting
match when trying to give the troop a bully good time. Just remember
what we went through with when we camped out up on Rattlesnake Mountain,
will you?"

"That's right," declared Tom Betts, eagerly; "say, didn't we have the
time of our lives, though?"

"And yet Paul said only today that as we had so long a time before
vacation ends this year, a chance might pop up for another trip,"
Bobolink remarked, significantly.