"Yes, and who'd tie it and what would the bull be doing all that time?"
"I'd rather go over the mountain on a hike, myself," he said. "Come on, let's ask the other boys."
"Wait a minute while I fill the woodbox," I told him.
Skinny helped me do that and we were soon on our way.
The other boys felt just as we did about it. Of course, it is always fun to be near our cave and it is a fine place to get into when it rains, but we could go there any old time.
The folks seemed to think near home would be better, until we told them about the bull and how near we all came to getting killed. They had forgotten about that and so had we, almost.
Finally Pa settled it for me.
"I am willing to leave it to Mr. Norton," he said. "As long as he goes with you I don't care much where you go, for I know that he will take as good care of you as I could myself. His hold on you boys is remarkable and I am willing to back him in anything that he wants to do. I'll say this much, however. He is going to have his hands full when he undertakes to look after you boys for a week or two at a time."
We hardly could wait until Saturday night to hear Mr. Norton's plan and decide what to do.
He seemed glad to see us when the time came, only he wouldn't hurry the meeting or leave anything out. Skinny, being patrol leader, always acted as chairman and pounded the table, when he could find one to pound.