But for the sake of the father who had been so kind to him, Oscar was perfectly willing to overlook this unkindly act on the part of the son. He saw that Bugle had forgotten all about it, and he would try to forget it, too.
After the hound's head had been bathed a few times, the animal seemed to be himself again; and when his master led him back to the place where he had been shot he took up the trail of his own accord, and followed it with all his usual energy and zeal.
Oscar went back to his log, and had scarcely taken up his position upon it when the frightened hare broke cover and was neatly stopped.
Oscar continued to hunt through the woods in the direction of the hollow in which Mr. Bacon lived, but at one o'clock he turned and retraced his steps, with both nets of his game-bag completely filled, and as large a bunch of birds and hares as he wanted to carry slung over his shoulder.
The game was left at the depot in time to be placed upon the evening's train for Yarmouth, and on his way home Oscar stopped at the post-office, where he found two letters waiting for him.
One was from Calkins & Son, enclosing a check to pay for the grouse and hares he had sent them the night before, and the other, to his joy, proved to be from one of the committee who had charge of the money which was to be expended in founding the university museum.
The letter was short and to the point, and there were no Latin or Greek words in it to bother him. It contained an invitation for him to visit the city at as early a day as possible, bringing with him some specimens of his skill as a taxidermist. If he would drop the writer a line by return mail, telling him on what day and at what hour he might be expected to arrive in Yarmouth, some member of the committee would meet him at the depot with a carriage.
Then came the following postscript:
Professor Kendall desires me to ask if you think there is any way in which he can recover his gun, which was lost when the president's boat was capsized? It is an imported weapon, costing over three hundred dollars, and as it was a present from a very dear friend he cannot bear the thought of giving it up. His college duties have prevented him from visiting Eaton in regard to the matter.
"I wonder what Sam Hynes will have to say now?" thought Oscar, as he put the letter into his pocket. "If he doesn't come around to-night, I must go over to see him. He is as much interested in my success as I am, and I must keep him posted. Now, what ought I to take with me besides that black fox, and when shall I tell them to look for me?"