The Ranger Boys and Their Reward

by Claude A. LaBelle

The only logical place, therefore, was the wild land toward which Garry was heading. And, he figured, what more likely place to make a start than the old railroad. One could easily follow that, and let circumstances decide on what course to pursue as soon as the track came to an end.

Garry judged that he had paddled about ten miles, when he came to a bit of beach, or rather a spot where the growth had been cut away, leaving a bare spot except for the scores of stumps that dotted the land.

It has probably been the intention of the railroad builders to make a slide here for the logs to be rolled into the river. Garry headed the nose of his craft into the bank, and hauled up the canoe. Since he had determined to trek into the forest, he had to secrete his canoe. He cast about for a good place, and noting an extra thick undergrowth several yards away, went to see if it was a practicable hiding place.

Great was Garry’s surprise when he parted the underbrush and found a birch-bark canoe already hidden there. He crawled into the thick bushes to make a closer examination of the craft.

The thought that instantly sprang to his mind was that this was LeBlanc’s canoe. If such was the case, Garry determined that it should be put out of commission.

Still, supposing it belonged to some of the boys that lived on the other side of the river? In that case the destruction of the canoe would be rather a mean trick to play.

Garry looked into the canoe and found some trash left there. This appeared to be paper in which parcels had been wrapped, and seemed to have been only lately discarded. Looking closer, he noted the twine that was used. It was a cheap twine composed of red and white strands intermixed.

Immediately Garry remembered that this was the sort of twine used by the storekeeper with whom he had talked the night before, and who had told him of selling supplies to a man that answered the description of the halfbreed.

Garry reflected that it was better to be safe than be sorry, and determined to disable the canoe. In case it was the halfbreed’s, all well and good. If it was that of some of the boys, he could leave word with the hotel man and the storekeeper that he would make good the damage.

There was something else to be considered. Should he disable the canoe and should LeBlanc come back, would it not immediately give warning that he was being tracked, and cause him to turn in his tracks and trace his pursuer?