"Then we're all glad we got here in good time to nip that little escape in the bud, Uncle," said Toby.
"And as my cabin is more than a mile off, with the going pretty poor, perhaps we'd better be setting out for the same right away," remarked the scientist. "I can give a pretty good guess that you've been having some rough times, and will be glad of a shelter to-night. As for myself, I'll be happy indeed to have you with me. It does get pretty lonely at times, even though I'm deeply interested in my hobby of taking flashlight pictures of the small animals hereabout. I've even perfected an arrangement so that lots of times they snap off their own pictures; as you'll see later on when we get to work."
"We've only got a few days to spend up here with you, Uncle Caleb," ventured Toby; "and we must see all there is in a hurry. We've just about got tired of roughing it in the snow, and a change to cabin life will set us up again."
"Then let's start right away, if you boys think you can hold out for lunch until we fetch up at my place. The return journey shouldn't take nearly as long as it did to come up here, because we can avoid plenty of pitfalls I fell into. How about that plan, Toby?"
"Whenever you're ready, Uncle, let us know," replied the scout. "Can I carry the fox for you; and how about this trap? Perhaps after catching your prize you won't want to leave it around again. If that's so let me take care of it for you?"
"Well, from the looks of things, it seems to me each one of you has enough to tote right now," chuckled the elderly man; "while I have nothing except my rifle. I'm a pretty hardy sort of an old chap, and able to carry my share of the burdens still; so if you don't mind, Nephew Toby, I'll look after both the trap and the silver fox."
Which he calmly proceeded to do; and they discovered afterwards that Uncle Caleb had an iron constitution, being able to do as much as any grown-up of their acquaintance, possibly barring the strong man of the circus, who could bend iron bars across his knee, and allowed an anvil to be pounded on his chest.
It appeared that Elmer had not been far out of the way when he determined on the direction from which they might expect the trapper to come. His figuring this out on the merits of the fact that their shots had not gone against the wind, had a great deal to recommend it, as Uncle Caleb admitted when he heard how scout tactics had been employed.
"I've been wanting to hear a whole lot more about what Boy Scouts do," he told them, as they trudged cheerfully along; "and while we sit before the fire evenings, you must explain everything to me. From the little I know about it up to date I'm inclined to believe they've at last gotten hold of a very big idea, and one that's going to be of far more lasting benefit to American boys than any other scheme ever thought of in their connection."
"And so far as I'm concerned, sir," replied Elmer, modestly, "I'll be only too glad to give you all the information I can scare up. Our folks believe the same way you do, and as the Hickory Ridge Troop of Boy Scouts has been working for some few moons now, we feel that we've shown what a great improvement belonging to the organization has made in a good many fellows."