“A ham-bone?” twinkled Tad.
“No, a drumstick.”
“The probability is that we shall never know any more about the affair than we do now,” decided the Professor. “Break camp as soon as 106we have finished breakfast and we will get under way. Have you looked to see which way the trail leads from this point, Tad?”
“Yes, sir. That way,” replied Tad, pointing.
“Northwest?”
“Yes, sir.”
Camp was broken in short order and within an hour they were on their way. Though the country was very rough and rugged and the going awful, they found the trail narrow and perilous only in spots. Generally they found it perfectly safe. That night they camped in a pass through which flowed a rushing glacial stream. Tall cottonwoods lined the stream and giant arborvitæ was thick and almost impassable a short distance back from the stream. The Professor explained that this arborvitæ was ordinarily found about glaciers, and in cool, dim fiords.
Determined not to be robbed of their provisions again, Tad led a string through the loops made in tying the meats to the provision line. He carried one end of the string into his tent and when he turned in he tied the end to his wrist.
Long after midnight he felt a jolt at his wrist that brought him to his feet in an instant. Another jolt followed.
107The boy slipped the twine from his wrist and hurried out. The night was not so dark but that he could make out objects distinctly. There was nothing of an alarming nature in sight. He examined the provisions. None had been tampered with.