The boys put out the fire carefully and made somewhat silently for camp. Sam and Yan carried [455] the Coon between them on a stick, and before they reached the teepee they agreed that the carcass weighed at least eighty pounds.
Caleb left them, and they all turned in at once and slept the sleep of the tired camper.
[XXIII]
The Banshee's Wail and the Huge Night Prowler
Next day while working on the Coon-skin Sam and Yan discussed thoroughly the unpleasant incident of the night before, but they decided that it would be unwise to speak of it to Caleb unless he should bring up the subject, and Guy was duly cautioned.
That morning Yan went to the mud albums on one of his regular rounds and again found, first that curious hoof-mark that had puzzled him before, and down by the pond album the track of a very large bird—much like a Turkey track, indeed. He brought
