“We mustn’t hurt the deer,” declared Teddy. “I wouldn’t want the sharp teeth of a steel trap to snap on one of his legs.”
“I’m not talking about that kind of a trap,” said Mr. Crispen. “What I mean is a box trap. The deer will go in, a door will close behind him and he’ll be nicely caught in a box trap. You can use the box trap to ship that deer wherever you want to send him to get the reward.”
“It sounds easy,” Joe said. “But we don’t know how to make a box trap. Do you, Mr. Crispen?”
“Of course I do. When I was a boy I used to catch all sorts of wild animals in traps—box traps, too. I’ve caught foxes, bobcats, weasels, muskrats.”
“Did you ever catch a deer?” asked Teddy.
“Don’t know’s I did,” admitted the cobbler. “Never had no reason to. But catching the deer in a box trap would be just the same as catching a bear, I guess. Only easier.”
“Did you ever catch a bear?” asked Teddy, his eyes shining. The other boys were equally excited. “A real bear?”
“Of course I did!” chuckled Mr. Crispen. “Wouldn’t be any fun catching a make-believe bear. I caught real bears out in the West when I was younger. And if I can catch a bear I can catch a deer.”
“Will you help us?” asked Teddy, somewhat shyly.
“Of course I will!” exclaimed the cobbler. “It will be like old times for me. I haven’t done any trapping in a long time. It will be fun.”