Some of the lumbermen said the same thing, adding that not unless they were cornered would a bobcat attack a man. So Ted was really not in as much danger as he had tried to think he was. Still it was scary enough for the little chap.
Work at the lumber camp went on from day to day. Dozens of great trees were chopped down to be sawed up into boards. Quite a pile of sawdust was mounting near the mill now, and the children loved to play in this. They would climb to a point near the top of the pile. Then they would leap into it near the bottom and they could not get hurt because the sawdust was so soft.
However, it got into their shoes, so most of the time they played in the sawdust bare-footed. But it also got down inside their clothes and scratched them; so that every time they played in the sawdust pile they had to go in and take off their clothes, shaking them out to get rid of the ticklish, powdered wood particles. Still they thought this was part of the fun.
Once, when Trouble climbed to a higher point for the jumping off place than he had ever before been allowed to reach, and when he had jumped into the sawdust, Ted and Janet couldn’t find him.
“Trouble! Trouble! Where are you?” cried Janet, looking down the sawdust slope for a sight of her small brother.
There was no answer and not a sign of him.
“Oh, Ted!” called Janet. “Trouble’s gone!”
“He’s down in the sawdust!” Ted answered. “He must have jumped into a hole and he’s covered up. We’ll have to dig him out!”
They did not wait to call or run for help, but, with their hands, began digging in the soft and fluffy pile. In a few seconds they had uncovered Trouble’s head. He was all right, except that he was rather badly frightened. As Teddy had explained, Trouble had sunk down in a soft part of the sawdust pile, and more of the dust sliding down had covered him up.
“Are you hurt, Trouble?” asked Janet.