“Now for a good old-fashioned outing in the woods! Boys, we ought to have a bully time!”
It was Gif who spoke, two days later. The boys had seen the girls off on the train at Oak Run across the river from Dexter’s Corners and were returning to the farm. He was running one car while Randy was running the other.
The leave-taking at the last minute had been rather hurried, for the reason that the train was coming in when they arrived. Consequently Jack had had little opportunity to speak to Ruth. Previous to the coming away she had held somewhat aloof from him, and for some reason he could not fathom she had not seemed to care whether he came after her or not.
This was exactly opposite to the situation between Fred and Spouter’s cousin. May and Fred were seen together nearly all the time, and all of the others came to the conclusion that these young folks had some sort of an understanding between them.
“We’ll have a fine time if the weather holds good,” said Randy. “But deliver me from an outing up in those woods if it rains for several days.”
“Oh, see here, don’t be a wet blanket so soon!” cried his twin. “It’s not going to rain for a month. I bribed the weather man to hold off.”
The boys had already decided on where they were going—to a regular hunting lodge in the woods—and what they would take along. Back of the farm was a swiftly flowing river upon which at one point was located Humpback Falls. Beyond this were wide stretches of woodland containing not a few small streams flowing into the river. Here the boys had often gone hunting and fishing.
“We can’t do much in the way of hunting,” declared Jack. “Nearly everything is out of season. Of course you might get a crow, or something like that. But who wants a crow, anyway?”
“I’d like to haul in a good mess of trout,” said Gif wistfully.