“There’s no use trying to follow the trail, I suppose,” observed Ned, after a time, which they had occupied by looking about. They saw where the professor had left his spare nets, and where he had carefully put away his filled specimen boxes. “That is,” went on Jerry’s chum, “until there is some object in going after him.”
“What do you mean?” asked Jerry, impressed by some note in Ned’s voice. “Are you thinking of that stuff Andy talked?”
“Oh, well, you know accidents will happen,” replied Ned, a bit uneasily. He tried to laugh, but it was not much of a success.
“Huh! You’ve got ’em too!” said Jerry. “This solitary place must be getting on your nerves.”
“It is lonesome enough for that,” admitted Ned, involuntarily looking behind him, into the deep and silent woods.
Certainly the camp was not lively, but the boys were used to lonesome places.
“Here come the boys,” remarked Jerry a little later, as a crashing was heard in the underbrush along the trail.
“Maybe it’s the professor,” suggested Ned, hopefully.
“He wouldn’t make as much racket as that,” objected Jerry. “He’d be too afraid of scaring off the two-tailed lizard.”
And Jerry’s prediction was right—it was Bob and Andy returning with a good catch of fish—perch and sunnies.