“Hi, yi!” he yelped, tearing up the path with a rifle in his hand. “Keep it up, brother! We’re comin’!”
Tom and Bob came with him. Jib saw the expiring bear, and he likewise glimpsed the man who had brought bruin down. In a moment, however, the stranger darted out of sight up the path and they did not even hear his footsteps on the rocks.
“Why, that’s that feller from Tintacker!” cried the Indian. “Hey, you!”
“Not the crazy man?” gasped Jane Ann.
“Oh, surely he’ll come back?” said Helen.
Ruth turned, almost tempted to run after the stranger. “Do you really mean to say it is the young man who has been staying at the Tintacker properties so long?” she asked.
“That’s the feller.”
“We’d ought to catch him and see what Uncle Bill has to say to him about the fire,” said Jane Ann.
“Oh, we ought to thank him for shooting the bear,” cried Madge.
“And I wanted to speak with him so much!” groaned Ruth; but nobody heard her say this. The others had gathered around the dead bear. Of a sudden a new discovery was made: