"I suppose that's the reason you've been hammering that white oak stump," suggested Mr. Scrapton, with a chuckle.
Archie Jackson saw he was caught, and begged his friends to say nothing about it, as he had already suffered as much in spirit as body.
"But do you expect to find the lion to-night?" he asked, with unaffected interest.
"Yes, we know just where to look for him," said Mr. Scrapton; "he stayed in the woods all day, but just as the sun was setting I catched sight of him along the edge of the fence, and he isn't far from there this very minute."
"Do you want me to go with you?"
"Certainly."
"But I have no weapon."
"All the better; I made each leave his gun and pistols at home, for they'd be so scared at the first sight of the cretur' they'd fire before they knowed it and spoil everything. Like the boys at Ticonderoga, if their guns ain't loaded, they can't shoot 'em."
"But I don't see what help I can give you, as I haven't got a rope; and even if I had, I wouldn't know how to use it."
"Come along, any way; we'll feel safer if we have another with us."