In order to tell about that I'll have to go back a little in this history.
When Mr. Richmond told Skinny to go up to Savoy and to be careful not to let the bears get him, he was trying to scare a Boy Scout. He says that he hadn't any idea there would be a bear or deer around, or he shouldn't have let him go. But the next morning a man from Savoy drove past the house and told about seeing a bear on the way down. He didn't have his gun along and besides the bear ran into the woods when he saw him.
That made Mr. Richmond feel uneasy.
"I wish I hadn't let the boy go up the mountain," he said. "I don't suppose anything will happen to him, but I'd feel better if he hadn't gone. I guess, of the two, the bear would be the most scared if they should meet."
"He told me that he'd surely come in time for dinner," said Mary.
When dinner time came she put a plate on for him. He didn't show up, of course. He was up in the tree about that time, wondering how he ever would get down. After that Mr. Richmond grew real anxious and went to the house several times to see if Skinny had come.
"That boy looked to me," he said at last, "as if he wouldn't be guilty of missing a good dinner if he could help it. I am going after him. He may be all right, but I'm going to find out for sure."
With that, he hitched up a horse, took down his gun, and started.
"Let me go, too," Mary called after him. "I can hold the horse while you are looking."
"All right. Jump in. We'll probably meet him on the road somewhere."