“What sort of instruments were they?” asked Ned.
“Kind I never saw before. All brass or nickle plated. Then there were some boxes. He seemed to be drying them out, so maybe he did have an upset of some sort.”
“There’s his boat now,” called Frank, and, as the boys watched, they saw the tramp appear from the woods with a canoe on his shoulder.
The boys watched the man carefully place the frail craft in the water. Then he went back into the woods again and came to the shore with something bright and shining in his hands.
“That’s one of the instruments,” said Fenn.
“Maybe he catches butterflies with it,” suggested Frank.
“That was a jolly he was giving us, about being a naturalist,” said Bart. “He’s up to some game, but I don’t see that it concerns us.”
“What’s next on the program?” asked Ned. “Pack up and move along?”
“Rest awhile; good for the digestion,” remarked Bart. “I want to see which way the tramp goes.”