“Mr. Pattison’s place, did you say?” said Bob’s friend, coming forward.
“Mr. Ned Pattison’s, yes; he is my cousin.”
“Oh, I know where that is all right,” said the boy.
“By the way,” interrupted Bob, “this is my friend, Jack Barry. This is Joanne Selden, Jack. You’ve grown so, Joanne, it is a wonder I recognized you.”
“Have you had any supper?” inquired Jack.
“No-o,” admitted Joanne.
“Then you must be mighty hungry. We’ll all have something to eat and then we will escort you back.”
Joanne gave a deep sigh of relief. She was cold, hungry and weary, and the prospect that all her needs would be supplied made her very willing to sit down before the crackling blaze and accept the food offered. A steaming cup of cocoa, bacon and eggs, bread and butter heartened her completely, although she felt worried because of the anxiety she knew her cousins must be feeling.
However the three comrades chatted happily over their supper and Joanne learned that Bob had come to visit Jack Barry for the Easter holidays, that Jack’s uncle owned the ground upon which they were, and that the two boys had walked up from Washington.
“You see,” said Jack, “my uncle sold the timber from this piece of forest, and they have just finished cutting. They had a sawmill set up and that little shack is where the woodcutters lived. The road you came over is the one that was used for the teams that hauled the timber. They have cut out the big timber and have left only that which isn’t fit for cutting. Uncle Phil said we boys could use the shack if we wanted to, and we think it is a great scheme.”