“Oh, was that your meat?” asked Mr. Swaim with a laugh, when Jack had explained. “We always wondered whom we had robbed. Stephen and I were out for a flight that night, and we had to descend because of an accident to the motor. We came down near the tree where the meat was, and surprised a bear at work getting it. Bruin scrambled down and ran away, and we concluded to take some of the meat, as we were short. Then we started the machine off again, and came here. I hope we didn’t put you to any inconvenience.”
“Oh, no,” replied Jack. “It only puzzled us some, that was all. But have you an arrow in hobnails, on the soles of your boots?”
Mr. Swaim lifted his foot and showed the arrow.
“That explains everything,” remarked Nat.
“Yes, the mystery is ended,” added Jack.
CHAPTER XXXV
JACK MEETS MABEL—CONCLUSION.
“Well,” remarked Mr. Swaim, when the aeroplane had been put back in the shed, “I’d like to have you boys come to dinner with me. We don’t have anything very elaborate in camp——”
“We don’t care for elaborate things,” interrupted Jack. “We’re camping on our own hook, and I was just thinking we had better begin to think of going back, or Budge and Long Gun may get worried, and start out after us.”