"That knocks out all the dime novels ever written," said Ben.
"Why, Ben! do you mean to say you have read them all?" cried our hero, in pretended surprise.
"All? I don't read any of them!" snorted Ben. "Just the same, that's the biggest whopper I ever heard."
"Well, I'm not vouching for the story," interposed Shadow, dryly, "I'm just telling it as it was told to me."
"Speaking about being frightened by a bear puts me in mind that it's queer we haven't seen or heard anything more of that wild man," remarked Roger.
"We don't want to see or hear anything more of him!" burst out Laura. "One scare was enough."
"It's queer that the Pooles don't send some one up here to look for him," remarked Jessie. "If he were my uncle I certainly wouldn't want him to be roaming around in the woods that way."
"If he is just roaming around I wonder how he manages to live," said Dave. "And where does he get all that outlandish outfit?"
"He must have some sort of a habitation here," returned Phil. "Maybe he has taken possession of some bungalow or cabin that was locked up. If he has, won't the owners of the place be mad when they find it out, especially if he is using their things!"
"I wonder if we couldn't go up to that cliff and track him in some way from there?" said Phil. "He may have left some sort of trail behind him. Unless he follows some kind of paths through the woods he would be apt to get lost, just like anybody else."