“No, I don’t think that would be wise,” replied Jerry. “We will divide up the time so that we can use half of the daylight hours in going in a direction away from the cabin, and the other half in returning. We’ll take a compass, so as not to get lost, and we’ll come back by a different route than the one we use going out. That will cover two trails, or paths, every day, and——”
“How many days do you think we’re going to spend on this search?” asked Ned, with an anxious look at Jerry.
“There’s no telling,” and Jerry’s voice took on a solemn tone that made his chums look at him in wonder.
“Maybe the professor will come back while we’re out looking for him,” suggested Bob, who was busy putting up the lunch.
“That’s right—he may,” agreed Jerry, “and to let him know that we are here, and will be back, we’ll leave a note for him that will explain matters.”
“He’ll wonder why we came up here after him,” remarked Ned.
“Well, we won’t explain that—in the note,” returned Jerry. “There will be time enough when we see him.”
They were soon ready to start. The cabin had not been locked when they reached it, and they did not now fasten the door. The note was left in plain sight on the dining table.
They began at the trail farthest to the left of the cabin, intending to work to the right. There were several of these narrow paths leading into the woods, all of them in front of the cabin, except one, and that was at the back, going off into the woods beyond the spring. They decided to leave that until the last.
“Forward, march!” cried Jerry, as they set off. He took careful note of their direction by the compass and was sure they could find the cabin again.